Ingredients

• 2 cups wheat flour

• 1/2 cups Bengal gram or chickpea flour (besan)

• 1 tsp. chilli powder

• 1 large pinch of asafoetida or hing

• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, dry roasted on a griddle and coarsely ground

• 1 tsp. carom seeds or ajwain

• 1 tbsp. oil (If you have any oil left at the bottom of a mango/chilli/other pickle, add a bit of that too.

• 1 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 tbsp. coriander leaves, finely chopped (you can use 2 tbsp. chopped fenugreek or methi leaves instead)

• 1 tsp. ginger, peeled and finely grated

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

• Ghee/oil for pan frying

• Optional

• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

• 1 tsp. turmeric powder

Instructions

1. Making the dough:

2. Save 2 tablespoon of dry flour, for dusting while rolling out parathas. Place all remaining ingredients, except water and oil, in a bowl. Add enough water, a little at a time as you knead it, and make a firm...ish dough. If you are new at making parathas, it is better to have a firm dough, which is easier to control while rolling out. Experienced Indian cooks prefer a softer dough, which makes softer parathas but is a little more difficult to roll out.

3. Knead well for 5-6 minutes. Leave to stand for 10 minutes or so. Knead briefly again. This process can be done quickly in a food processor.

4. Rolling out parathas:

5. Break dough into 10-12 portions (size is your own choice) and roll them into balls, using a little dry flour to dust. Keep covered with a moist cloth.

6. Roll one ball in dry flour and roll it out to approximately 7 cm. or 3 inches diameter.

7. Place 1/8 tsp. (a few drops) of oil in the centre of the circle, pull the edges in and seal it in the centre. Now you have a ball again.

8. Heat a griddle or tava.

9. Roll out the ball into a 6-7 inches or 16-18 cm. circle. It should be rolled from centre outwards so that the edges are thinner than the centre. You will need to dip it in dusting flour, on both sides, a couple of time during this process. Parathas should not be too thin, approximately 2-3 mm. thick, as very thin ones do not have 'bite'. This again is your personal choice, some people prefer paper thin parathas.

10. Cooking:

11. Put the paratha on the hot griddle/tava. Turn it over when it changes colour to semi-translucent and you can see a few blisters on the under surface. Cook the other side the same way and turn over again.

12. Brush a little oil on both surfaces, one by one. This can be done with the back of a long handled ladle or a soup spoon.

13. Press paratha gently all over, using a flat spatula, coaxing it to fluff up into a ball. If you see any steam escaping, seal it by pressing it with the spatula. This ensures fluffing up of the paratha. Cook until crisp and nicely browned on both sides.

14. Next paratha can be rolled as the previous one is cooking.

15. Serve hot or cold, with a selection of pickles and chutneys and a Raita of choice.

Notes

• Parathas can be made in advance, stacked on top of each other and wrapped in Aluminium foil. They can be re-heated before serving, either individually on a griddle or in a microwave - place 4-5 parathas spread out on a plate and heat for 2 minutes on maximum power.

• They freeze quite well too, but should be defrosted properly before re-heating.

• If you want to make parathas crisper and flakier, add 2 tbsp. oil to the dough.

• Experiment with shapes. You can make square parathas. At step 9, after putting oil in the centre of the rolled out ball, fold over both edges to meet in the centre, both in vertical and then in horizontal directions, to make a square. Now roll it out into a square paratha. For a triangle, fold in half once and then half again. Roll out the resulting triangle into a paratha.