Methi Parathas

There are various delicious breads in Indian cuisine which combine vegetable and whole wheat flour together, forming a tasty meal by themselves. These breads known as parathas can be prepared in two ways. The easy method being where the vegetables in their finely chopped / mashed form are directly incorporated into the flour while making the dough. They are then fried on a griddle with little oil / ghee and these kind of parathas are perfect for novice cooks.

The second kind of parathas need some skill and expertise to perfect them. First a dough is prepared using wheat flour, salt and just plain water. And then a dry, spicy vegetable dish is prepared which forms stuffing for the bread. A small portion of the dough is rolled out, stuffing is placed at the centre and encased with the rolled out dough and again rolled into a thin circle and fried, resulting in yummy, flaky stuffed paratha. The traditional, popular stuffed parathas are aloo, gobi and mooli parathas.

My 6th grader acts like a six year old when it comes to handling spicy food. Even though she eats mildly spiced side dishes at home, she flatly refuses when I pack them with rotis for her lunch box. Also stuffed parathas are a big no no for her. And so I resort to the first method and prepare parathas like these methi ones. I sneak in any vegetable I can or even cooked lentils mildly spicing it, while preparing the dough itself. This way I am assured she eats her veggies during lunch hour. These methi parathas can be served with any vegetable subzi or dal. If they are made spicy enough, just plain yogurt and pickle will do. Sometimes my daughter takes them with a ghee - chutney powder smearing or you can just apply some ketchup for kids.

Ingredients: (Yield 10 parathas)
2 cups atta / wheat flour + extra for dusting
1 cup methi leaves - washed and coarsely chopped
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp oil
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Extra oil for making parathas

Depending upon the age of kids to whom these parathas served, any of the following can go into the dough additionally - Cumin seeds / grated ginger / garam masala / chili powder.

Preparing dough:
Combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix them with your fingertips. Gradually add water and make a soft, pliable dough. (I used the same cup used to measure the atta and added a little less than a cup of water to prepare the dough.) Let the dough rest for a couple of hours.

Making rotis:
* Divide the dough into 10 portions, shape them into balls and keep them covered.

* Take out a dough ball, flatten it and roll into a thin circle of about 6 inches diameter, dusting with flour if needed.

Repeat the steps with the remaining dough. You can simultaneously keep rolling and frying the parathas or roll some and start frying while keeping the rest covered.
* Heat a griddle or a shallow pan. Place the rolled out dough circle on the griddle. When the bubbles start to appear, flip it. Spread 1/2 tsp of oil around the edges and fry flipping in between, until brown spots appear on both sides. Remove and repeat the steps with the remaining rolled out circles. Serve them with any subzi / dal.

This is my entry to

1. Srivalli's "Kids' Delight" event, hosted this month by PJ, with the theme "Lunch Box Recipes"

2. Blogging marathon #25.

Check what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.

 

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