Mughlai Paratha ( with chicken bharta stuffing )

There goes the last non-vegetarian post before Navratri kicks off !! A simple yet delectable Muglai paratha mad with whole wheat and stuffed with a deliciously finger-licking chicken stuffing. Most folks usually use maida instead of whole wheat which looks great in terms of presentation, but the best way to do it is to use atta and maida in equal proportion which not only looks great but also tastes much better than the maida variety.

However, I have used only whole wheat which I fortified with some flaxseed powder. For the stuffing, I pressure cooked the chunky chicken pieces with some spices, then shredded it and mixed it up with boiled and mashed eggs, chopped onion, green chili, cilantro and just a tint bit of garam masala (optional). Lower calories without compromising on the taste.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 30-40 mins

Ingredients -

For dough-
1 cup whole wheat atta
4 tbsp warm milk
2 tsp oil
salt to taste
just enough water for kneading into a stiff dough

Rest -
1 cup chicken bharta (chk recipe HERE)
1 egg
2 pinch salt
oil for cooking the paratha


Preparation - Take the atta in a wide plate. Add the oil and salt. Rub it in.

Then add the milk and a little water. Knead into a stiff dough.

Smear more oil on the dough and keep it aside (covered) for 30 mins.

Break the egg into a bowl, add salt and beat it lightly.

Cooking - Take small portions of the dough. Roll it out into rotis.

Heat a flat tawa or frying pan. Place the roti on it. Smear 1 tsp egg mix over it.

Add some of the chicken bharta to the center of the roti. Fold it from all sides into a parcel. Brush more egg on top of it.

Drizzle with oil and cook on both sides. (Usually Mughlai paratha is shallow fried with lots of oil but I prefer to cook it with a few drops of oil in a nonstick skillet )

Serve hot it green chutney, ketchup and onion rings.

Bathua ka Paratha

Another recipe with leftovers !! By now most of you would be aware that I tend to add the remaining veggies to make a paratha, so this one is no exception :) ...

Read on for the quick recipe -

Preparation Time - 15 mins


Ingredients -

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup bathua or chenopodium leaves 
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 2 pinch cumin powder
• 3 tsp oil/white butter 
• salt to taste

Preparation - Blanch the bathua leaves and keep aside to drain excess water.

Add the blanched leaves, crushed garlic flakes, flour, salt, chili powder, cumin powder and 1 tsp oil/butter to the food processor. Blitz it while adding a few teaspoons of water at a time.

When all of it just comes together, take the mixture onto a floured working surface. Knead it into a smooth dough. Rub a little oil all over it and cover with a moist cloth or a bowl. Keep aside for 15-20 mins.

Divide the dough into 3-4 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a circle of about 2-3 mm thick.

Cooking - Heat a non-stick tawa. Put the paratha over it, apply the oil/butter and cook on either side for 2 mins.

Serve hot with some pickle and more white butter (makhan) if you are in the mood for some indulgence.

Khoya Paratha

If there is one food hotspot of India that gets featured over and over on television, its the -'Paranthe wali gali' in Delhi. Ofcourse the 'Khao Gali' in Mumbai comes close. Or maybe its a tie between the two for the Numero Uno position. I guess it just depends on how many times an individual has caught it on television. But coming back to the 'Paranthe Wali gali', the last time I caught it on TV inspired me to try out atleast a dozen of the varities described. Some really sounded exotic like this 'Khoya parantha'.

Preparation Time - 12-15 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat atta
• 2/3 cup unsweetened khoya
• 1/4 cup chopped raisins and cashews
• 2-3 tsp sugar
• salt to taste
• milk for kneading the dough (optional)
• 3-4 tsp oil or ghee for frying the Paranthas

Preparation - Take the dough on a kneading plate/ wide vessel. Sprinkle salt and mix in.

Add milk little by little and make a smooth and soft dough. Apply little oil or cling film over the dough and keep aside.

Cooking - Heat a frying pan. Add 1/2 tsp oil/ghee. Add the raisins and cashews and fry for 10-15 seconds.

Next add the crumbled khoya and fry till it turns light brown in color. Sprinkle sugar and cook on low flame till sugar melts in. Switch off flame and keep aside.

Pinch small balls out of the dough and roll into small circles. Place a little of the khoya mixture over one circle and apply little water around its circumference. Put another circle over it and press lightly to close the ends.

Heat a flat tawa and place the parantha over it. Drizzle ghee/oil and cook on medium flame till little brown spots appear. Flip over to the other side and add some more ghee/oil. Cook till brown spots appear and then remove from tawa.

Repeat for the remaining paranthas.

Serve as it is or with some sweet / savoury side dish. ( This is usually accompanied by 'kele ki chutney' in Paranthe Wali Gali. Will post the recipe soon. )

Note - Any leftover khoya mixture can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for upto a month (as per my experience). No need to warm it before using. It reverts to its original texture as it gets cooked with the paranthas.

Pudina Paratha (Mint leaves Indian bread )

Parathas are wholesome, filling and can be made with a variety of stuffings. With the kids at home these days, it is time to treat them to such a leisurely breakfast. This is another variety of paratha that I made yesterday. Also made a cooling aam-panna to go with it.

Read on -

Preparation Time - 10-15 mins

Ingredients -

• Whole wheat flour ( 1 1/2 cups)
• onion ( 1 small, chopped )
• mint leaves ( 3 tbs, finely chopped )
• cumin seeds ( 2 tsp )
• ajwain(carom) seeds ( 1 tsp )
• dry chilli  ( 1 no )
• crushed green chili (optional)
• salt to taste
• oil/ghee for frying paratha ( 2 tsp )
• buttermilk/yogurt for kneading the dough

Preparation - Dry roast the cumin, carom seeds and red chili till the seeds start to pop. Grind into a fine powder.

Take the flour in a plate. Add the chopped onion, mint leaves, green chilli, 1/3 tsp of the roasted masala powder and salt. Mix well. Add buttermilk/yogurt little by little to get a stiff dough. Cover with moist cloth and keep aside for 15 mins.

Make 4-5 balls out of the dough. Roll out the balls into parathas/circles.

Cooking- Heat a non-stick tawa. Put one paratha, add little ghee/oil and cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip and add some more oil/ghee. Cook till done.

Repeat for the other parathas as well.

Note -Serve hot with some cooling aam panna / lassi or shikanji. ( Kneading with buttermilk/yogurt ensures soft parathas even when cooked/fried with very less oil. )

Gobi and Chenna Paratha

When the kids start school, one invariably runs out of options for the tiffin/lunchbox sooner or later. With time being a constraint and junk not a healthy option, a variety of parathas/upmas and sandwiches are the best alternatives available to working mothers. This is one such 'Paratha' that is filled with the goodness of cauliflower and chenna(panner). Best part is that it takes very less time to make and can also be made in the microwave (Just brush on some oil on the rolled out paratha and place it in the microwave for 2 mins) .

Read on for the easy recipe-

Preparation Time - 15-20 mins

Ingredients -

• Whole wheat flour ( 1 1/2 cups)
• chenna ( 1/3 cup )
• cauliflower florets (1/2 cup)
• onion ( 1 small, chopped )
• coriander leaves ( 1 tbs, chopped )
• cumin powder ( 1/5 tsp )
• red chilli powder ( 1/5 tsp )
• salt to taste
• oil/ghee ( 2 tsp )
• warm ghee ( 1/2 tsp ).

Preparation - Boil water in a saucepan. Add salt and a little turmeric. Add cauliflower florets and boil for 3-4 mins. Drain and transfer to a bowl containing cold water. Allow to stand for 2 -3 mins. Darin excess water. Buzz in a hand blender/food processor for 1 minute along with the chenna to get a coarse mix.

Take the flour in a plate. Rub in the warm ghee.

Add the chopped onion, chenna, cauliflower paste, cumin powder, red chilli powder, coriander and salt. Mix well. Add water little by little to get a stiff dough as the chenna and cauliflower also have quite a bit of moisture. Cover with moist cloth and keep aside for 15 mins.

Make 4-5 balls out of the dough. Roll out the balls into parathas/circles.

Cooking- Heat a non-stick tawa. Put one paratha, add little ghee/oil and cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip and add some more oil/ghee. Cook till done.

Repeat for the other parathas as well.

Note - Skip the chenna or replace with some grated silken tofu for a vegan version.

Vegetarian Kheema Paratha

Consuming soya nuggets have many benefits. They are low in fats and have a high protein content. As it provides all the amino acids that are present in meat, it is an excellent choice for vegans. For the same serving size, soya provide more protein than meat. One serving of soya nuggets is enough to provide more than the daily requirement of iron and almost half of the daily requirement of calcium.
Also its mild taste and texture makes it quite easy to incorporate it many recipes.

Read on for one of my favorite recipes:

Preparation Time - 25 mins ( minus 10 mins if you have the dough ready/ if using soya granules )

Ingredients - Whole wheat flour ( 1 1/2 cups or enough for making 4 rotis ), 3/4 cup soya chunks, 1 small onion, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 1/3 tsp coriander powder, 1/4 tsp cumin powder, 1/6 tsp garam masala or meat masala a pinch of turmeric, salt to taste, 6-7 tsp oil.

Preparation - Take the dough in a open vessel . Add salt and 1 tsp hot oil. Mix together.

Add water little by little to the above mixture and make into a firm dough. Keep it covered and allow to sit for 5 -10 minutes.

Chop the onion into small pieces.

Cooking - Cook the soya chunks with a little salt in a pressure cooker. Allow 1 whistle. Remove and keep aside till steam escapes.

Drain all the water and squeeze out the water in the chunks. Wash twice with fresh water and squeeze the chunks to remove remaining water.

Transfer the chunks to a grinder cup and grind into a coarse paste (kheema).

Heat  2 tsp oil in a wok. Add the chopped onions and fry till translucent. Add all the powdered masalas and fry for 30-45 seconds.

Add the kheema and fry till it turns to a brown color.

Remove from stove and allow to cool down.

Make 4 balls out of the dough prepared earlier. Roll out into rotis.

Divide the soya kheema into two portions. Spread the kheema over one roti and cover with another roti.

Pinch the sides to close the paratha.

Heat a tawa. Place the paratha on the tawa and cook for 1 minute. Flip over and drizzle with oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes till done on both sides.

Repeat the process for making another paratha.

Serve hot with sweetened yogurt.

Chenna paratha

This is a quick paratha recipe. I had some leftover chenna in the fridge after preparing a lip-smacking 'Chenna Tarkari' for lunch. So when dinner plans were dropped at the last moment due to an unusually heavy downpour, I decided to turn it into these delicious and wholesome parathas. And i have been hooked to them ever since. Unlike other stuffed paratha recipes, this does not require boiling, peeling, mincing, chopping or grating.

Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients - Whole wheat flour ( 1 1/2 cups), chenna ( 2/3 cup ), onion ( 1 small, chopped ), coriander leaves ( 1 tbs, chopped ), cumin powder ( 1/5 tsp ), red chilli powder ( 1/5 tsp ), green chilli ( 1 no, finely chopped (optional)), salt to taste, oil/ghee ( 2 tsp ), warm ghee ( 1/2 tsp ).

Preparation - Take the flour in a plate. Rub in the warm ghee. Sprinkle salt. Make a small well at the centre and add water. Mix throughly and knead into a soft dough. Keep aside for 10 mins.

Take the chenna in a mixing bowl. Add the chopped onion, green chilli, cumin powder, red chilli powder, coriander and salt. Mix well.

Make four balls out of the dough. Roll out the balls into rotis. Divide the chenna mixture into two portions. Spread over two of the rotis.

Cover with the remaining two rotis. Seal the sides.

Cooking- Heat a tawa. Put one paratha and cook on one side for 1 minute. Flip and add oil/ghee. Cook till done.

Repeat for the other paratha.

Note - These parathas taste equally delicious without adding onions. On the day of Osa/Vrat I make them without the onions and just add a rock salt instead of normal salt.

Cookies Stuffed Paratha (meetha parata)

Cooking Time Required: 15 mins
Cost of Preparation: 20-25 Rupees


Ingredients:

For Paratha: Wheat flour ( 1 1/2 cups ), ghee ( 1 tsp ), ripe banana ( one half ), salt ( a pinch), water to knead the ingredients into a soft dough.

For Stuffing: Crumbled chocolate-chips cookies ( 3-4 nos), sugar ( 3 tsp).















Ghee to fry the parathas.


Preparation: Mix all the ingredients for the paratha togather along with a little warm water. Keep aside for 10 mins covered with a warm moist cloth.















Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll out the balls into small roties ( more like a puri )and keep aside.

Spread the crumbled cookie and sugar over one roti and close by putting another roti over it.















Roll the sides or press a little to close the parathas.

Repeat for the second paratha.

Cooking: Heat 1 tsp of ghee on the pan. Add the parathas and cook on each sides for 2mins each.

Serve hot.