Broccoli Parathas

Another round of BM#8 starts from today and among the various interesting themes given, I chose to go with "Cooking with five or less ingredients" this week. That means the recipes I am going to post for the next seven days contain five or less ingredients. Srivalli however has given a concession that the seasonings / salt together can be considered as one ingredient. My first post under the above said theme is going to be broccoli parathas. And check what the other marathoners are cooking today.

My son has always been an easy going kid and so before I had my daughter, I thought raising kids was child's play. :) Oh boy, my daughter showed me practically how wrong I was. Everything turns into a fuss when dealing with her and of course it's more obvious when it comes to food. If anyone chooses to start a "picky eater club", my daughter would be the perfect president for it. She prefers to go hungry instead of eating something that is not appealing to her. Whenever she has to eat something, she has some standard lines to say - "I am not hungry" or "this looks gross / weird" or "I don't like it" or "I asked for that, not this" or "this is not my favorite" or "I asked for rotis" (particularly when I don't have dough handy) or "I will eat later" and the list goes on. I like the roti excuse more since I can sneak in whatever veggies I like and I know that she is going to like and eat some healthy food in the process. Over the years, my daughter has taught me that if a kid doesn't like any particular veggie / fruit, sneaking it in other forms works better than presenting it in the most obvious fashion. These parathas are one such example. No steamed broccoli / broccoli soup suits her and so I puree the broccoli and add it to the roti dough. Any faint smell that broccoli rotis have is masked by the side dish that goes along with them. I thank God that she likes rotis or otherwise it would have been a different story altogether. :)

Ingredients (for 20 parathas):

3 cups atta / wheat flour + extra for dusting

1.5 cup broccoli puree (Broccoli florets lightly cooked in microwave and pureed.)

Salt to taste

1 Tbsp oil (optional) + Oil to make rotis

(Green chilli - ginger paste can be added if preferred.)

Method:

* Combine atta, broccoli puree, salt and a Tbsp of oil in a mixing bowl. Gradually add water as needed to form a firm, pliable dough. If the dough becomes too sticky, add some extra flour. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes and shape it into a ball. Cover and allow it to rest at room temperature for at least an hour.

* Place a cast iron skillet or a low rim frying pan over medium heat. While the skillet is heating up, knead the rested dough for a minute. Divide the dough into 20 equal portions, roll each portion into a ball and flatten it between your palms. Take a flattened dough ball and keep the remaining ones covered. Dip both sides of the flattened dough ball into loose flour, place it on a flat rolling surface. Roll it into a thin circle of about 4 - 5 inches diameter.

* Place the rolled out circle on the hot skillet, cook for about 30 - 40 seconds and flip it using a spatula. There should be brown spots on the flipped side. Cook for another 30 seconds and flip again. Spread 1/4 tsp oil around the edges if desired. Press down on the bread with spatula while cooking to allow the bread to puff up. Remove it after it puffs up and you see brown spots on both sides.

Repeat the steps with the remaining dough.

Note:

If not using immediately, the dough may be refrigerated for a couple of days. Just remember to bring it back to room temperature. Or put in the microwave covered, for about 30 - 60 seconds depending upon the quantity of the dough.

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