Friday, June 20, 2008

Spinach Roti / Palak Paratha Pictorial

Adding or stuffing vegetables / paneer / leafy greens while preparing rotis can add a new dimension to them. They are not only more interesting and appealing but also are healthier. In this recipe, while preparing the dough for spinach rotis, I replaced water by fat free milk to make them more nutritious and softer. Ingredients to make a dozen rotis: 
Chapathi flour - 2 & 1/2 cups 
Spinach leaves from a bunch with stalks removed 
Fat free milk (or water) - 1 & 1/4 cups ( more or less depending upon the quantity of the flour. If using milk, let it be at room temperature.)  
Salt - 1 tsp 
Oil / ghee to fry the rotis  

Preparing spinach rotis: Cook briefly the spinach leaves adding a tbsp of water until it is just wilted. Wash them with cold water, drain and finely chop. Squeeze out any extra water present. Add salt to the flour to a bowl and mix well. Then add spinach and later milk little by little till a soft, pliable dough 
is formed.
   
Knead for five minutes, cover and rest it for at least 30 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 balls equal in size. Work with one ball at a time keeping the rest covered. On a lightly floured surface like a rolling board or the counter top, evenly roll out the ball in to approximtaely 6 - 7 inches circle with a millimeter thickness. Keep dusting lightly with flour to avoid sticking
the dough to the rolling surface.
 
 If you want layered, flaky parathas instead, roll the dough ball into a five inches circle, spread 1/4 tsp oil, fold into half and then fold one more time to get a triangle. Roll it into a thin triangle as below.
   
Heat a tava / griddle / heavy based frying pan. Fry one roti at a time on medium heat. Place the rolled triangle onto the hot griddle. Toast for about a minute. Small bubbles start to appear on the surface. Then flip it to the other side using a spatula. Add 1/2 tsp oil around the edges and spread around 1/4 tsp oil on the surface. Toast the other side too. Keep moving around and pressing the roti a little with the spatula for uniform toasting including the edges. Flip the roti one more time if required. Properly toasted roti / parathas have small brown spots all over it. Remove the roti and keep it covered.
   
Make rotis similarly with the rest of the dough. Serve it with any vegetable dish / pickle / yogurt.  

Post a Comment

9 comments:

  1. WOW... Those are amazing rotis. Look so good. The pictures are so clear and perfect. YUM! An apt recipe for roti mela....

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  2. Delish.. Parathas look great dear!!!

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  3. Wow..amazing pictures..great job!!adding milk instead of water is a good idea too..great entry!!

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  4. Delicious roti and beautiful pictures.

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  5. Beautiful and healthy too Suma. I love the plate too!:)
    You can send this to Mansi for her "Healthy food" event, great entry for that as well!

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  6. They look lovely, I love the pictures.

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  7. woo excellent look and delicious...perfect parathas..great entry

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  8. Lovely rotis, Suma! Perfectly soft and delicious! :)

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