Cheese capsicum paratha

I wanted to prepare something special yet fast for today's lunch. I had come across this recipe in various blogs and decided to alter the ingredients according to my preference and then give it a try! So here is the recipe for an easy and yummy paratha, that can be prepared in a jiffy!

INGREDIENTS:

• Whole wheat flour/Atta - 1 cup
• Water - as needed
• Salt - as needed
• Capsicum - 1 , finely chopped
• Cheese - 1/2 cup, grated (I used mozzarella)
• Onion - 1 small, finely chopped
• Pepper powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Oil - for pan fry

METHOD:

1. Mix whole wheat flour, salt and water and knead into a soft dough. Keep it aside
2. Mix capsicum, onion, grated cheese and pepper powder
3. Divide the dough into equal balls
4. Flatten one ball and fill a teaspoon of the prepared capsicum-cheese mixture, close the ball and roll into thick parathas on a flour dusted surface
5. Heat a pan and cook the parathas evenly on both sides by adding little oil
6. Serve hot with curd and pickle of your choice! 

Note:

• You can replace pepper powder with chilli flakes/chilli powder
• Onion can be omitted
• You can add different colored capsicums

Palak Paneer Paratha

Whenever milk curdles, mom makes paneer out of it and comes up with a tasty dish. This time it was my turn to come up with a special paneer dish as I was cooking a special lunch for her on mother's day! I have already posted the recipe for palak paneer and when there was a little palak in the fridge, the idea of palak paratha with paneer stuffing struck me! It turned out to be very tasty. Here's the recipe....

INGREDIENTS: (Makes 6 parathas)

• Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
• Palak/Spinach leaves - 1 cup
• Green chilli - 1
• Paneer - 1/2 cup, crumbled
• Red chilli powder - 1/4 Tsp
• Salt - as needed
• Oil - for pan fry
• Water - for kneading dough

METHOD:

1. Wash and roughly chop the spinach leaves
2. Add the spinach to salted boiling water. Cook on medium flame for 2 minutes
3. Strain the spinach and immediately wash it with cold water
4. Now grind together palak and green chilli, with little salt, into a smooth paste
5. Take whole wheat flour in a mixing bowl. Add little oil and mix well. Now pour in the spinach paste and knead into a smooth dough by adding water little at a time. Cover and set aside for 15-20 minutes
6. In the meanwhile, prepare the filling. Crumble the paneer and knead it for a minute. Now add red chilli powder and salt to it and mix well. Make small balls for stuffing and keep aside
7. Divide the palak dough into equal portions. Now divide each portion into two and roll them into small rotis on a floured surface
8. Place the filling on one small roti and cover it with the other small roti. Seal the edges with little water. Gently press and roll into a thick paratha
9. Heat a tawa and cook the paratha on both sides with very little oil
10. Serve hot with any dal or raita of your choice 

Plain Kulcha

When I planned for a fine dining menu, I decided to make kulcha and as the platter had lots of varieties, I didn't go for any stuffed kulcha but opted for a plain one. I served this along with Kadai Gobhi and Dal Makhani and it was yumm!! This recipe is inspired from Rak's kitchen. She had used only plain flour/ maida, which is what is ideally done at restaurants too but I didn't want to use so much of maida and hence replaced half of the maida with whole wheat flour.

INGREDIENTS: (Makes 4 kulchas)

• Maida - 1/2 cup
• Whole wheat flour - 1/2 cup
• Milk - 1/2 cup (a little less or as needed)
• Curd - 1 Tbsp
• Baking powder - 1/2 Tsp
• Baking soda - 1/4 Tsp
• Sugar - 1 Tsp
• Salt - 1/2 Tsp
• Black sesame - as needed
• Coriander leaves - very finely chopped ( about 2 Tsp)
• Oil - as needed (for rolling)
• Butter - for brushing (optional)

METHOD:

1. Sieve together the flours, baking powder and baking soda. Add sugar, salt and curd. Mix well so that the flour crumbles. Now add in the milk little by little and knead the dough for a minute. Cover the dough for an hour and again knead it for a few minutes till the dough becomes soft
2. Divide the dough into equal sized balls. Dust the working table with lots of flour and start rolling the balls. When it is rolled half way through, lift the rolled kulcha and spread some oil on the working table. This will avoid the dough from sticking to the floor
3. Roll the kulchas such that they are thin and even. Lift the rolled kulcha and now spread some black sesame and chopped coriander leaves on the working floor and then place the rolled kulcha over it. Now gently roll, so that they sesame seeds and coriander leaves stick on to the kucha
4. Heat a non-stick tawa. Brush the plain side of the kulcha with very little water and place the kulcha on the hot tawa with the water brushed plain side facing down
5. When bubbles start forming, flip the kulcha over direct flame (with the black sesame + coriander side facing down). Remove from fire when brown spots start to appear
6. Brush with melted butter and serve hot!

Click here to check out different side dish for rotis that I have tried

Bajri no Rotlo (Millet flat bread)

Bajri no rotlo is a traditional Gujarati dish which is a millet roti or flat bread. Millets come with a wide range of health benefits and it is very good for weight watchers and diabetic people. This is the first time I have tasted bajra roti and I liked it a lot. I made it along with kadhi and Tindora (Kovakkai) subji but the traditional way of serving bajri no rotlo is with a spoonful of ghee and jaggery (Yumm :P )

INGREDIENTS:

• Bajra flour (Millet flour) - 3 cups
• Water - 1 and 1/2 cups
• Salt - 1/2 Tsp
• Oil - very little for pan frying

METHOD:

1. Mix the flour, salt and water and knead it well into a soft dough
2. Allow it to rest for 20 minutes
3. Divide the dough into small balls and roll them into thick rotis
4. If the dough sticks to your working area, place a cling flim and roll out the rotis over it
5. Pan fry the rotis on both sides with very little oil
6. Serve hot

Accompaniments options:

• Ghee and Jaggery
• Tindora nu shaak
• Kadhi

Dhebra

Dhebra is a traditional Gujarati snack, which is a spiced millet flat bread. Dhebras are either deep fried like pakodas or they are rolled into small tikkis and pan fried. I have tried the second variation here. Dhebras can be made in huge batches and taken as a travel snack and can be had as such or with any pickle of your choice.

• INGREDIENTS:
• Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
• Bajra flour (millet flour) - 1/3 cup
• Sour Curd - 1/2 cup
• Jaggery - 1 Tbsp
• Ginger-garlic paste - 2 Tsp
• Cumin seeds powder - 1/2 Tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 Tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1/4 Tsp
• Salt - as needed
• Kasoori Methi - 2 Tbsp (even finely chopped fresh fenugreek/methi leaves can be added)
• Oil - 2 Tbsp
• Oil - for pan fry

METHOD:

1. Combine sour curd and jaggery and mix very well to avoid any lumps
2. Add in all the spices and mix well. Keep aside
3. Add 2 Tbsp of oil to the flour and mix well till oil is well incorporated into the flour
4. Pour in the spiced curd mixture and make a soft dough without adding water
5. Knead well and drizzle few drops of oil over the dough. Cover and allow it to rest for 20 minutes
6. Divide them into small balls and roll into small thick rotis/tikkis
7. Pan fry them on both sides with very little oil
8. Enjoy the flavorful dhebras as such or with any pickle of your choice!