Cauliflower Stuffed Paratha
Gobhi (Phool) Ka Paratha
Mamta Gupta
This paratha is very popular in India during winter months, because cauliflower grows abundantly during winter and it is very cheap. If you travel in India by road, many roadside Dhabas, the truckers stops, offer you freshly made, delicious, crisp parathas, served with pickles, natural yoghurt or a glass of cool Lassi 1 or Lassi 2 or Lassi 3.
Makes approximately 10-12
Note: The stuffing in some of the pictures looks green and is obviously not cauliflower. These pictures are simply to show the different methods of making stuffed parathas.
Ingredients
For the dough:
500 gm. ( 3 1/2-4 cups) chapatti flour (keep a little aside on a plate, to use for dusting)
1 tbsp. oil or ghee
1/2 tsp. ajwain or carom seeds
300 ml. water approximately. Add a little more or a little less until you get a soft dough
For the stuffing:
1 medium sized cauliflower
1 or 2 green chillies, very finely chopped
1/2 inch ginger, peeled and finely chopped/grated
1 tbsp. finely chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp. salt, to taste (stuffing should be slightly over salted, as it is filled in unsalted dough)
Oil for pan frying
Instructions
Making dough:
Save 2 tablespoons of dry flour on a plate, for dusting while rolling out parathas.
Mix the remaining flour, salt, ajwain and oil/ghee in a bowl and add enough water to make a firm...ish dough. If you are new to making parathas, it is better to have a firm dough, which is easier to control while rolling out. Experienced cooks prefer a little softer dough; softer the dough, softer the parathas. There is no need to knead it a lot.
Leave to stand for 10 minutes or so. Knead briefly again, to make the dough smooth.
Making Stuffing:
Place all stuffing ingredients in a food chopper and chop until fine, but not pureed. Squeeze handfuls between your palms, to make sure all excess water is removed.
Rolling out the Parathas
Break dough into approximately 10 portions. Proceed with any of the following methods below. I mostly use method 1.
Method 1: Break each of these portions again into 2 and roll into balls (20 balls). Each paratha will require 2 balls. Keep covered with a moist cloth. Once you learn to make them, you can make 2 balls for one paratha at a time and roll the next 2 balls and paratha while the previous one is cooking.
Dust 2 balls with flour and roll out to 8-10 cm. in size.
Take roughly 1/10th of the filling and spread out in the centre of one circle.
Cover with the second circle on top and gently press the edges to seal. Now you have a stuffed double circle, with the filling between the two layers.
Method 2: Roll out 1 of the 10 balls to 10 cm. or 4 inch circle.
Place 1/10th of the filling in the centre.
Pull edges towards the centre and make a ball again.
Method 3: Roll out one of the 10 balls into a 15 cm. or 6 inch circle. Place stuffing on the one half, folding the other half.
Seal edges by pressing.
Heat the griddle or tava.
Dust the stuffed ball with flour, from any of the above 3 methods, and roll out gently, to approximately 20 cm. in size. You may need to dust it with dry flour a couple of times during the rolling out process. If a little filling escapes, don't worry, just remove it.
Cooking the parathas:
Place the paratha on the heated tava or griddle (medium hot, not smoking hot). Turn it over when it changes colour slightly, you can see a few blisters on the under surface.
Cook the other side the same way. Turn it over again.
Brush oil on both surfaces, using a long handled spoon or ladle.
Press gently all over, using a flat spatula. This helps to make it crisp. Cook until nicely browned and crisp on both sides. It is important that you crisp the paratha on medium heat and not cook it too fast.
Serve hot with a knob of butter, pickles of choice, natural yoghurt or Lassi .
