Stuff Paratha Minus Aloo

The paratha always made me guilty with the potato and ghee laden versions. In my struggle with weight I have learnt a few things though to make eating guilt free.

This version of stuff parantha or Prontha as the Dheer's would call it is minus the potato and the ghee. What you see in the plate is a bowl of curd with chat masala sprinkle, the stuff paratha, Chunda and the hot raw mango pickle. The platter is a balance of taste with the sour, sweet, spice and salt. It is a complete meal with the carbs in the dough and protiens in the peas with curd to balance the pH in the tum.

Ingredients

For the stuffing:

2 onions chopped fine
1 tomato chopped fine
2-3 green chillies chopped fine
1 cup fresh green peas
2 teaspoon oil.
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds coarsely crushed
1 bay leaf
handful of cilantro chopped fine
few curry leaves
salt to taste

In a wok add the oil and heat. First fry the onions to nice pink. Add the dry ingredients in the order of turmeric, chili, coriander, fennel, bay leaf and stir to fry well. Take in the aroma should make you hungry;). Add the peas and cook till done. Once soft use a ladle to crush the peas a bit later you will know why. Then add the tomatoes and keep stirring to get a dry mix. Once that's done just before removing from heat add the cilantro, chopped green chillies the curry leaves, salt and mix well. Allow to cool completely.

For the cover:

1 cup wheat flour.
2 teaspoons oil
3/4 cup water
salt to taste

While the the stuffing is cooling get the dough ready. In a bowl measure out the flour. Rub in the oil into the flour and add salt. Last knead the dough by adding the water. The dough should be a little soft. Leave it for 1/2 hr to stand.

To Roll out and Roast:

Divide the dough into 5 equal parts. With oiled hand shape into a basket. Fill the basket with 1-2 table spoons of the stuffing we made earlier and close the mouth of the basket by gathering the dough together to make a now stuffed ball. Flatten the ball between the palms. Flour the counter lightly and pat the ball to roll out like a pattie. This should distribute the stuffing evenly before we roll out the paratha. Since we are using peas when we roll out they just surface up through the cover just tearing it when we put pressure. So now you know why we crushed it when we got the stuffing ready. Its a smart thing to do so that you get the perfectly rolled out parathas with the cover intact. At home everyone loves to play the guessing game about the stuffing when the perfect parathas are served.

Heat the girdle and roast till one side is done turn over and roast the other side. The parathas are done when they are freckled. I did not use any ghee to roast. But if you don't have to worry too much about your weight go ahead and use it or just use it when you are in an indulgent mood.

Tip:

When roasting any type of rotis/paratha use a twice folded kitchen napkin to swirl the rotis. It helps to puff up the roti with the light pressure and roast it evenly. Else one can wear oven gloves too if you prefer to roll out all the rotis first and then roast all at one time.