Ingredients

• For the dough

• 500 gm. (3 1/2-4 cups) chapatti flour. If you do not get chapatti flour where you live, mix 2/3 plain white flour with 1/3 whole wheat flour

• Salt to taste

• 1 tsp. ajwain or carom seeds (optional)

• 200 ml. milk

• 100 gm. oil or ghee

• 300 ml. water approximately. Add a little more or a little less until you get a soft dough

• For pan frying

• Cooking oil of choice or ghee. I use rapeseed oil these days.

Instructions

1. Making the dough

2. Place flour carom (ajwain) and salt in a bowl, mix.

3. Add ghee/oil and rub it in.

4. Add milk and enough water to make a soft…ish, chapatti like dough.

5. Add water slowly, a little at a time, so that you do not get a dough that is too soft to roll out. I never knead dough too much. I just get the dough together, sprinkle a little water, cover and leave it for 15-20 minutes. Then I give it a quick knead, to make it smooth and soft, just as I am about to make parathas. Dough can be made quickly in a food processor.

6. Rolling Out Lachcha Parathas

7. Divide the dough in 14-16 portions and roll into balls, using a little dry flour to dust your hands. Keep covered with a wet cloth. I make one ball at a time, as the previous paratha is cooking.

8. Roll one ball out into a disc of approximately 6 inches or 15 cm. in diameter. Now you can follow any of the following methods from A to E, using this disc.

9. A: Spread a thin layer of oil on the surface of this 6 inch disc. Make a slit in the radius, starting from the edge to the centre of the disc. Holding the centre as a pivot, roll the cut edge, like you were making a tight, paper cone. Pick and lift the pointed end of the cone and press it onto the base of the cone, flattening it with your palm, to get a flat ball.

10. B: Spread a thin layer of oil on the surface of the 6 inch disc. Cut 1 1/2-2 inch wide strips along lengthways. Place all the strips on top of each other, starting with the centre strip at the base. Now roll this long pile up of strips like a coil of rope. Press the resulting ball with your palm a little, to get a flat ball.

11. C: Spread a thin layer of oil on the surface of the 6 inch disc. Roll it up from one end to other, making it like a tube. Now roll this tube up like a coil of rope. Press the resulting ball with your palm a little, to make a flat ball.

12. D: Divide each ball into 3 equal parts. Dust it with flour and roll each out with your hand to about 10-12 inch rope. Brush one side of this rope with ghee or oil. Now roll this rope up like a coil, so that inside of each coil is covered with oil. Press the resulting coil with your palm a little, to make a flat ball.

13. E: Divide each ball into 3 and roll each portion into a long, thick noodle. Coil it like a rope. Repeat this process with each noodle. Now brush oil on the top of first coil. Place the second coil on top. Brush it’s surface with oil too. Place the 3rd coil on top. Press the resulting layers of coils with your palm a little, to make a flat ball.

14. Final Rolling out of the Paratha

15. Dust the flat ball that you have made, whichever method you used to make it, in dry flour. Roll it out into a circle of approximately 6 inches or 15-16 cm. diameter again. Now you have a ready to cook paratha.

16. Cooking:

17. Put the paratha on a pre-heated and greased griddle or tava.

18. Turn it over when it changes colour to semi-translucent and you can see a few blisters on the under surface.

19. Cook the other side same way and turn over again.

20. Brush oil on both surfaces, generously. This can be done with a small ladle or a soup spoon.

21. Cook until crisp and nicely browned on both sides, pressing gently all over with a flat spatula or a small ladle or a round spoon.

22. Serve hot with pickles of your choice and lassi.