What's in a shape? Triangular rotis!

Seriously, who made the rules of cooking? Why follow a set of rules when you know you can do better? Cooking is an art and is dictated by taste buds and nothing else. When I started cooking, I used to be worried about the measure all the time. Am I putting more masala? Am I putting less spices? more salt? Is my roti geometrically round?? Practice and a bit of imagination is all you need to get it right. Now, if someone asks me how much salt should be used, I would have nothing to say- You just have a measure in your sub-consciousness and it will be tough to explain that to anyone. Enough bantering and lecturing on rules now! 

The other day, I finally chucked my regular round shape and created triangular shaped paranthas (roti's/stuffed indian flat bread). It turned out good and I just loved the new avatar of my roti's. Trust me, there is nothing fancy about the shapes and it is pretty easy to make. You don't have to worry about the precision of the triangle (some are hung up on the precision of the round shape, which won't be a problem with the triangular shape). Maybe, I will go overboard with my imagination and come up with star shaped roti's??? Just watch out for this space...

What do we need?

For the base-

Wheat flour

Water

Salt

For the filling-

Chopped coriander leaves (around a small cup)

Chopped green chillies (used about 3 green chillies)

Cumin seeds (around 1 tsp)

Salt (according to taste)

Preparation- 

Gently crush the cumin seeds and mix it with salt and chopped green chillies in a small cup. Keep the coriander leaves separately. Knead the flour with water and salt to a smooth and consistent dough. I used around 1 & 1/2 cups of flour. 

Method I followed-

Take a small ball of dough and flatten it to a round shape with rolling pin. Spread cumin seed mixture and coriander leaves on one portion of the round dough. Fold the other half over it so that it becomes a semi-circle. Gently fold the semicircle to a triangle. Now, gently flatten this triangle to a medium size keeping the shape intact. (I know it sounds super confusing, but you can get there if you fiddle around with the dough a bit)

Cook the roti (both sides) in a pan with oil/ghee/butter. Serve hot with Mango chutney/pickle and enjoy!!!

Another method- Mix coriander leaves, cumin seeds and green chillies to the flour and then knead the flour to a smooth & consistent dough. Now take a small ball of this dough and flatten it to a round shape. Fold it to a semi-circle. Gently fold this semicircle to a triangle. Flatten this triangle to a medium size keeping the shape intact.

Exciting Lentils (dal parantha- Indian flat bread stuffed with lentils)

I was in mood for something special- not the same old boring dal and roti or dal and rice. So I am raking my brain and in hunt for something sizzling! I was surfing TV when I landed up on this cookery show where they made some spicy dal. Then suddenly it dawned on me, why not make the dal interesting by filling it in a roti and making dal parantha?? So, I took time to make some lovely paranthas- come, join me for a bite- won't ya??

What goes in?

For the filling-

1 cup Chana dal- soak it for an hour or two in water.

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1 green chilli finely chopped

1 tsp Garlic and ginger paste

1/2 tsp Garam masala

1/2 tsp Coriander powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

salt according to taste

Other minor ingredients required for filling- 1 onion chopped, 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves.

For the base-

wheat flour

water

salt

Preparation-

1. Knead the flour with salt and water to a smooth dough (add oil towards the end to make it silky). Set it aside (I used about 11/2 cups of flour, you can use as per your requirement).
2. In a pressure cooker, heat oil and add cumin seeds. As the seeds begin to sputter add garlic-ginger paste, green chilli pieces. Cook for few seconds on a low flame.
3. Add garam masala, coriander powder, red chilli powder and salt.
4. Rinse the lentils thoroughly in water and add them to the above cooking spices.
5. Add around one cup of water and pressure cook the lentils till they are soft and have absorbed all the water.
6. Once the lentils are soft and well cooked, gently smash them with a spoon.
7. Add the chopped onions and coriander leaves to the cooked lentils, mix them thoroughly and ensure it is a dry mixture and not sticky- our filling is ready!
8. Now, take a small ball of dough and flatten it with a rolling pin.
9. Add around 1 tbsp of filling in middle and fold it to a pouch (with filling in middle).
10. Flatten this pouch on a lightly floured surface to a medium sized round shape.
11. Cook the roti (both sides) on a frying pan with sufficient oil.
12. Serve hot with mango pickle and raita! Enjoy-

Carrot-paneer stuffed roti (parantha)

Carrot works great with paneer and onions. I accidentally stumbled on this combination and boy am I glad to have found it! The stuffing requires grated carrots, crumbled paneer with finely chopped onions and spices. You can be creative with the stuffing and it tastes great with raita/pickle.

What goes in?

For the stuffing-

Grated carrots- 1 cup
Finely chopped onions- 1/2 cup
Crumbled paneer- 1/2 cup
Dry roasted cumin seeds (1 tsp)- gently crushed
Black pepper- crushed 1/2 tsp
Oil
Salt according to taste
1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)

For the base-


1 1/2 cup wheat flour
water for kneading
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp salt

Preparation- 

• Knead the flour with salt and water to a smooth dough (add oil towards the end). Set it aside.
• In a separate bowl, mix grated carrot, paneer, onion, and the rest of the spices mentioned above. 
• Toss the filling well with oil and ensure it is a dry mixture and not soggy.  Some people tend to saute carrots and onion before mixing with spices for filling. But I tend to use it raw (the carrot flavor comes out really well, if used raw).
• Once the filling is done, rest is easy!
• Take a small ball of dough and flatten it with a rolling pin.
• Add around 1 tbsp of filling in middle and fold it to a pouch (with filling in middle).
• Flatten this pouch on a lightly floured surface to a medium sized round shape.
• Cook the roti (both sides) on a frying pan with sufficient oil.
• Serve hot with mango chutney/pickle.

Messy & tasty affair...My Zuchinni paranthas/Indian flat bread/roti!

Oh my, I have to blog about my messy kitchen- Yesterday, I tried my hand with something new and the dish was fantastic, came out really good- but the mess I created took double my cooking time. Before creating anything new, I worry about what kind of mess it will create in my cute lil' kitchen. LOL! I know, people worry about the process of creating a new dish and I worry about how long will it take me to clean. I have shades of Monica geller in me (remember the character from Friends serial???)- which means I have this compulsive disorder to clean up immediately or my mind simply preys on the mess. It is a simple parantha or stuffed Indian flat bread dish- trick is the stuffing - once you get it correct then life is simple. I have never tried out zucchini filling and yesterday was my first time. It is a watery veggie and you have to literally squeeze it dry and use it for filling- You grate the zucchini, mix it with salt, squeeze the water from it and mix it with spices for a sumptuous filling. Sounds fun eh? Trust me, it tastes wonderful in a parantha! Worth all my effort :)

Ingredients-

For filling-

1 zucchini (grated)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin powder (fry cumin seeds in a pan without oil and then grind it)

Powdered dry kasoori methi leaves (fenugreek leaves)

1 green chilli chopped finely

coriander leaves (about a handful) chopped finely

1 onion chopped finely

For the base

1 cup wheat flour

water to mix

1 tsp oil 

1/2 tsp salt

Preparation-

Knead the flour with salt & water to a smooth dough (add oil towards the end).  Set it aside. For the filling, grate zucchini and mix salt. With your hands make a ball and squeeze out the water from zucchini. It should be dry with no trace of water. Once the water is squeezed out put it in a dry mixing bowl and mix onions, green chillies, coriander leaves and rest of the spices mentioned above (cumin powder, fenugreek leaves). Toss it well and ensure it is a dry mixture and not soggy. Some people tend to saute zucchini with onions before mixing it with spices but I tend to use it raw. If you get the filling right, rest is easy. Take a small ball of dough and flatten it with a rolling pin. Add around 1 tbsp of filling in middle and fold it to a pouch (with filling in middle). Flatten this pouch on a lightly floured surface to a medium sized round shape. Fry it to golden brown on both sides and serve hot with mango chutney/pickle!

Finally some aloo parantha (Rotis stuffed with potato filling)

There is always one dish which is done by everyone belonging to a particular region/country. I consider Aloo parantha (rotis stuffed with potato filling) as one of the popular dishes in Northern India. I was intending on making this dish and blogging about it some months ago- never had the opportunity with so much going on in my head :)- I had a friend coming home for lunch and the request from the friend was simple- Aloo parantha. Finally, I had a go at my favorite dish, which turned out pretty sumptuous. It is really simple to make and can be prepared at a short notice with minimal ingredients!

Ingredients for the stuffing-

One big onion- chopped finely
2 boiled and mashed potatoes (medium sized)
Coriander leaves- chopped finely (about a handful)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp corriander powder
chilli flakes or paprika powder (1/4 tsp)
Salt (according to taste)
Oil to mix all the ingredients mentioned above.

Ingredients for the Base-

Wheat flour (2 cups)
salt
water to mix

Preparation-

The base is pretty simple- You have to knead the flour with salt to a fine and smooth dough. There are two ways to actually go about your filling- you can sauté the potatoes and onions with the spices mentioned above in a wok and then use it to stuff the roti's. The other way (which I follow) is to just mix all the ingredients in a bowl without cooking and use it for stuffing. Once you have the base and the filling ready all you need to do is take a ball of wheat and flatten it to a small round. Fill around 1 to 2 spoons of the filling in the middle. Fold the roti with the filling in middle so that it appears as a small pouch. Flatten this pouch with a rolling pin to a medium sized round shape.

Fry the parantha in a hot pan till both sides are golden brown. Serve with chutney/pickle and enjoy!

Stuffed spinach roti!

The dark clouds threatened rain and my stomach was rumbling with hunger pangs- Me gazing the pitter patter of rain drops thought- why not cook something different and spicy? I did not have much time as my television enticed me to the usual drama...I tried out this stuffed spinach roti and took me flat 30 minutes to make them. Rushed to my favorite couch and enjoyed my usual dose of drama junk with piping hot roti's and pickle-

Ingredients-

Wheat flour, spinach, salt for the base

Crumpled tofu/cottage cheese(paneer), finely chopped onions, crushed and chopped garlic, dash of pepper, chopped green chillies, garam masala/curry powder, salt according to taste for the filling.

Preparation-

The spinach has to be washed and boiled in water till they soften. Grind it to a fine paste. In a big bowl mix wheat flour (2 cups), spinach paste (about 1 cup) and salt till they become a smooth dough- the trick is avoid mixing water to make the dough. With the help of spinach paste knead the wheat flour to a smooth dough (if need be use oil to knead the dough).

For the stuffing- In a bowl mix the crumpled tofu/paneer, chopped onions, garlic, chillies, pepper and spices. I used the garam masala to bring in some flavor (you can choose to omit the spices). 

You can add in your own creativity for the filling like ginger, chopped corriander leaves, mashed potatoes...

Cooking- Take a small ball of dough in your fist and flatten it with a rolling pin. Take about two spoons of filling and place it in middle of the flattened dough. Fold the sides with the filling in middle so that it appears as a small pouch.  

                       

Flatten this pouch again with the rolling pin using a bit of flour so that it does not stick to the surface. Cook this roti in a shallow frying pan with oil till they become golden brown on both sides. Enjoy it with yoghurt and pickle!