A platter of Aloo Paratha with curd, tamarind chutney and coconut chutney
Paratha for up north may be a breakfast to start the day with but for me and my cousins was a treat when we were kids. Uncle M was the north frequenter in his younger days as a trekker so he got the taste of it first. I loved to listen to his stories about trekking in the Himalayas and the Aloo Parathas straight from the hot girdle and on the plate. He then took us to fancy restaraunt's like Kandeel and Copper Chimney to get a taste of Aloo Paratha. I was very young that time but loved the gastronomic delites I was introduced to.
The my mother started making them for the entire family. She made it only for dinner I remember. May be because my Dad would be at home too. Also if she had to make them for breakfast or lunch she would not be able to get help in making them. It was always a daunting task for her to make Aloo Parathas for the entire family. We were 10 people then as part of my family, 8 of them were in Thal. So it would start with boiling the potatoes in our big 10 liter cooker. Then everyone sitting around the cooling potatoes to peel them. Yes if we wanted treats we better help was my Mom's rule. She did not have domestic help many times and she did every single chore herself. Waking up at 5.00 am to make packed lunch for my uncles, breakfast for all, sometimes she would drop me off to school too. Buying vegetables was always her duty. My elder bro V helped at times with the groceries. I refused to do any work as I pretended to study. Yes but if I wanted Aloo Parathas I better help. So I would join the gang.
Then was the garlic peeling that I hated and the unwritten rule was that V bhau was supposed to do it anyways. Once the garlic was skinned. Mom would bring the mortar and pestle and bang it in front of me saying, "Will you do this now?" I would sit and mash the garlic, ginger and green chilies as my Mom scolded again, "Put a gonpat/gunny bag under it! The downstairs neighbor will come running up to see what is going on!" Even as a child I was a solution provider. I told Mom to use the chutney grinder but she would refuse. It would not taste the same she'd say.
Then V Bhau would expertly knead the dough. See my Mom trained him well M Vahini. He was an expert at making spotless chapatis too but Paratha needs a woman's hand my Mom would say.
Once that was done she would make few baskets of dough stuff them and deftly roll and spin the parathas on the polipaat/ chapati rolling board. V bhau would then do the roasting by my mother's side. I want to roast too. "Shoo go away, you will tear the parathas". Uncle M would smile, "Vahini it smells divine" appreciating her efforts. She would have to make a whole pile for the 10 people. I think she used 2 kgs of dough at a time. We had 6 men in the family at the time and only one lady in Mumbai to take care of them. Yours truly was then still a girl naa.
"Aai Naivedhya kaadh naa, bhuk lagli" would be the next thing :)! I would insist after the first paratha was made to offer it to God so that I could feast on it. I'd sit at the window with my plate in my lap and sauce bottle handy. Who had the patience to wait for the raita to be made!
Ingredients
The Dough
1.5 cups Whole wheat flour
2 tablespoon curd
salt
water
Knead together all the item into a smooth dough. Let it stand till you prepare the stuffing. The curd makes the dough slightly tangy and flaky after roasting the paratha.
The stuffing
6 medium boiled potatoes
3 cloves garlic
1/2 inch ginger
2 green chilies
1/2 teapsoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon dry mango/ amchur powder
handful chopped cilantro
salt taste
ghee for roasting
The my mother started making them for the entire family. She made it only for dinner I remember. May be because my Dad would be at home too. Also if she had to make them for breakfast or lunch she would not be able to get help in making them. It was always a daunting task for her to make Aloo Parathas for the entire family. We were 10 people then as part of my family, 8 of them were in Thal. So it would start with boiling the potatoes in our big 10 liter cooker. Then everyone sitting around the cooling potatoes to peel them. Yes if we wanted treats we better help was my Mom's rule. She did not have domestic help many times and she did every single chore herself. Waking up at 5.00 am to make packed lunch for my uncles, breakfast for all, sometimes she would drop me off to school too. Buying vegetables was always her duty. My elder bro V helped at times with the groceries. I refused to do any work as I pretended to study. Yes but if I wanted Aloo Parathas I better help. So I would join the gang.
Then was the garlic peeling that I hated and the unwritten rule was that V bhau was supposed to do it anyways. Once the garlic was skinned. Mom would bring the mortar and pestle and bang it in front of me saying, "Will you do this now?" I would sit and mash the garlic, ginger and green chilies as my Mom scolded again, "Put a gonpat/gunny bag under it! The downstairs neighbor will come running up to see what is going on!" Even as a child I was a solution provider. I told Mom to use the chutney grinder but she would refuse. It would not taste the same she'd say.
Then V Bhau would expertly knead the dough. See my Mom trained him well M Vahini. He was an expert at making spotless chapatis too but Paratha needs a woman's hand my Mom would say.
Once that was done she would make few baskets of dough stuff them and deftly roll and spin the parathas on the polipaat/ chapati rolling board. V bhau would then do the roasting by my mother's side. I want to roast too. "Shoo go away, you will tear the parathas". Uncle M would smile, "Vahini it smells divine" appreciating her efforts. She would have to make a whole pile for the 10 people. I think she used 2 kgs of dough at a time. We had 6 men in the family at the time and only one lady in Mumbai to take care of them. Yours truly was then still a girl naa.
"Aai Naivedhya kaadh naa, bhuk lagli" would be the next thing :)! I would insist after the first paratha was made to offer it to God so that I could feast on it. I'd sit at the window with my plate in my lap and sauce bottle handy. Who had the patience to wait for the raita to be made!
Ingredients
The Dough
1.5 cups Whole wheat flour
2 tablespoon curd
salt
water
Knead together all the item into a smooth dough. Let it stand till you prepare the stuffing. The curd makes the dough slightly tangy and flaky after roasting the paratha.
The stuffing
6 medium boiled potatoes
3 cloves garlic
1/2 inch ginger
2 green chilies
1/2 teapsoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon dry mango/ amchur powder
handful chopped cilantro
salt taste
ghee for roasting
Now in a big bowl. Mash the potatoes, the masala, garam masala, amchur powder, cilantro and salt. Knead together. Shape balls of 2 inch size.
The Rolling out
Now pinch of another 2 inch sized dough. Roll out into a small disc. Place the Potato stuffing on it and gather together the ends. Shape it round and pat it a bit. Roll out into a big round like you do for chapati but smaller. Parathas should be little thicker than chapati. They taste better when slightly plump. Roast them by applying ghee on both sides.
Serve hot with curd and an assortment of chutneys.
Joint family is always fun. Even I grew up in a joint family. Looking back, I understand, how much my Mom must have slogged in the kithen.
ReplyDeleteYour parathas look deliciously soft.
Lovely parathas ..am sure it tasted great with those chutneys!
ReplyDeleteMorning dear,
ReplyDeleteI love your simplicity in your post. Whenever u write about your mother I visualise her and also u sitting at the window pane eating the parathas and must be chatting with her (my imagination in this post).
Tks. for the lovely receipe for aloo paratha.
With love, blessings and good wishes,
Anon I take a bow...
ReplyDeleteI am on this diet and was feeling light headed, then I saw your post and have promptly quit my diet !! I need to go home and make some aloo parathas for myself :))
ReplyDeleteKiran no no don't you must be on diet for a reason? ;)
ReplyDeleteHaha - I did abandon my diet, went home and made your cauliflower rassa, turned out very good. Will make aloo parathas today !! There, now you have the paap of making me stray from my diet ;)) Kidding...amazing recipes. Great job !
ReplyDeletei love the pictures you take of the food ... makes me hungry (and still two hours or more to go for Dinner) ... you are actually the second person to go with the Parantha with Coconut Chutney combination ... Pushpanjali from KM team here was the one who introduced me to this ... and, although i found this unusual, its quite nice.
ReplyDeleteAtul true even I used to and still find the coconut chutney with Paratha strange. Remember we are from the coastal region and Dad likes coconut chutney with everything as much as he likes ketchup so I make it for him :)
ReplyDelete