Paneer Parantha/Parota/Paratha

History:

Parantha is a flat bread with its roots from Punjab in India. These are usually stuffed with paneer (cottage cheese), aloo (potatoes), peas, methi (fenugreek leaves), or radish. Paranthas are tasty and filling. Moreover, the best to be consumed during winter. For better digestion, these are had with tomato-garlic dip (chutney) or with hari-dhaniya (coriander leaves) dip and curd.

Cooking Time: 15mins to make the dough and stuffing+7mins to roll and fry (per paratha)

Ingredients:

1. Wheat flour (atta)
2. Cottage cheese (paneer) - grated/mashed
3. Green chillies - 4Nos. finely chopped
4. Ajawain/Ohmam/Carom - 1.5tsp
5. Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
6. Coriander leaves - 2tbs. finely chopped
7. Dry mango powder (aamchur) - 1tbsp - optional
8. Cumin powder (jeera powder) - 1tbsp - optional
9. Salt to taste
10. 2tbsp oil to knead
11. Water to knead
12. Ghee/Oil to fry on tava (griddle)

Procedure:

1.  Take the wheat flour in a bowl. Add salt to it and mix the flour well.
2. Slowly add water and knead the dough. When the dough starts becoming intact, add oil and knead it into a non-sticky, tight, uniform ball. Apply pressure of your palms while kneading to get an even ball.
3. Take the paneer in a separate bowl. Add green chillies, ajwain, garam masala, coriander leaves, aamchur, jeera powder, little salt (as we have already added to the dough) and mix them well. Ensure the consistency of the stuffing and the dough to be the same.
4. Take a small ball of dough and roll it into a small thick circle (not as big as a chapathi). 
5. Take the stuffing (lesser than the size of the ball of dough taken) and place it in the center of the rolled, flat dough.
6. Seal the filling by bringing all the sides of the flat dough together.
7. Pinch off any excess dough in the center, and roll the dough to evenly spread the stuffing.
8. Heat a griddle and place the parantha on it and fry it with ghee or oil. 
9. Repeat the process to make paranthas from the remaining dough. 
10. Avoid rolling all the dough first. This would make it dry and hard.
11. Health conscious people may spray it with oil and bake it in an oven.
12. Ensure that the dough is non-sticky and tight, yet soft. Otherwise, the paranthas would become sticky or too hard to eat.
13. Tasty and spicy paneer paranthas are ready to eat. Enjoy!

Share your comments once you make them. Happy cooking!

Kaaram Murruku/Chakli (Savoury)

History:

This is a recipe that I have learned from my mother. I have a lot of fond memories making them with my mom for several occasions. As this recipe doesn't consume a lot of time, I make them as a stress buster.

Cooking Time: 25-30mins

Ingredients:

1. Rice Flour - 400g
2. Fried Gram (pappulu or pottu kadalai) - 3 tablespoon
3. Red Chilly Powder - 2tbsp (can add 3-4tbsp for more spice)
4. Dry Red Chillies - 5Nos
5. Asafoetida - a pinch
6. Cooking Oil/Ghee - 4tbsp (heated)
7. Water
8. Sesame Seeds (nuvvullu or ellu) - 2 tablespoon
9. Cumin Seeds (jeera) - 2 tablespoon
10. Salt - to taste
11. Refined oil for deep frying

Procedure: 

1. Grind the fried gram and red chillies into fine powder in a blender.
2. Add this fried gram-red chillies powder to the rice flour.
3. Add red chilly powder, asafoetida, ghee(or cooking oil), sesame seeds, jeera, salt and mix it with little water.
4. The flour should be thick and not watery. You should be able to make non-sticky balls
5. Heat oil for deep frying.
6. Take a plastic cover and smear oil on it.
7. Take murruku mold (available in Indian stores), add a ball of the flour into the mold with a dab of water and press it to make small-sized murrukus on plastic cover.
8. Carefully drop these small-sized murrukus into hot oil and fry until they turn slightly golden.
9. Take these out and place them on paper towels to drain the excess oil.
10. Tasty and spicy murukkus are ready to eat. Enjoy!

Share your comments once you make them. Happy cooking!