Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Methi parathas

How is your part of the world? Mine is all topsy-turvy!  In a flash I am busy and then, all of a sudden I find myself doing nothing. One minute I am thinking of a dozen things and then nothing, blank!  Am I going crazy? Or is this just a phase? Hopefully, it is a phase and I shall soon be as normal (or as close as I was to it) as before. 
Moving and in a hurry does that to one, I suppose. At least I'd like to blame it on that and get on ~wink~! 

I had packed all odds and ends ( last second finds when vacating the apartment) in one bag. Flinging it in in the depths of the SUV, I left it at that, not giving it another thought. After all, there was so much more to worry about. After settling in the new apartment and  one fine day 'discovering' the bag in which I had rolled and put an elastic band to secure a bunch of papers covered in my handwriting and photocopies, mostly recipes! My joy was probably a jot short of someone discovering a pirate's chest full of treasure.

I had anticipated my mover to get everything in about 10 days.... silly, naive girl that I was! Of course it took a long time and a lot of stress, calls made, endless follow ups and name calling ( in my mind) I was left to using many shortcuts when cooking. With limited utensils, I could do no more.

But the tummy rules and demands and hence the offering! There are a million ( okay, so I am exaggerating.. a lot, I know) Indian stores in my neighborhood and I like taking turns to go to each and buying what I fancy. I always come back with fresh bunches of Fenugreek leaves (at an unbelievable price of 50c a bunch!~does the absurd 'Dharmendra style' dance here~  ) and think of all the wonderful things I want to make. Well, wonderful things need my cook books / notes etc. and of course my favorite blogs and pots and pans to cook serve and photograph in. I had the blogs  and notes but not many pots, pans  to cook and none to take pictures in. the notes / photocopies proved useful, I found a copy for Methi Paratha and it was different from my earlier version  and I had to try it!
I am glad I did.
This recipe is a keeper, the parathas are good on their own, making them great choices for lunch boxes and  picnic food. If eating at home, a side of some  stir fried veges, pickle, yogurt make suitable accompaniments.  




























You need:

3 Cups  Whole Wheat Flour / Atta

1 1/2 cup Fresh Fenugreek leaves ( wash and finely chop)

1/2 cup Finely chopped Onion

1 Tbsp Finely chopped or grated Ginger

1 Tbsp Finely chopped or grated Garlic

1 tsp Finely chopped Green chilies

1/2 tsp Garam Masala

2 Tbsp Finely chopped Cilantro leaves 

2 Tbs Ghee

Salt to taste ( around 3/4 - 1 tsp)

1 tsp Red chili powder

Water as required to make dough

Oil, preferably Ghee to fry the Parathas

Mix together all the ingredients listed above from the Flour to  Red chili powder

Add water, slowly, and knead well to form a soft and pliable dough

To make Parathas, heat the skillet on med heat.

Pinch off a ping pong size ball of the dough, using  dry flour, roll the ball into 4 inch diameter disc and smear the center with a dab o ghee and fold in half, dab another drop pf ghee on the semi- circle and fold in half to now form a triangle and roll into a triangle do not roll out uniformly thin, leave it  slightly thick) 

Transfer the rolled paratha onto the hot skillet

Soon you will see small bumps appear on the surface, turn the paratha over ( you will see brown spots on the semi-cooked side) smear with ghee, turn and smear the other side with a dash of ghee.

Turn to cook both sides  until light golden brown spots appear.

Similarly make parathas of the remaining dough.

Serve right off the skillet with an accompaniment of your choice. Enjoy! 


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14 comments:

Reshmi Mahesh said...

Healthy and yummy methi parathas...

Tina said...

Lovely clicks..Methi paratha looks delicious..

chef and her kitchen said...

very delicious parathhas..love this 2 d core

Finla said...

I wish I had atleast one Indian store near to my place :-( deliciouslooking parathas and healthy too.

Anonymous said...

50c a bunch!!! Are you kidding me....WOW!!!!!!! I would do a Amitabh style dance for that! :D
The parathas look so warm and welcoming, I would love to try these soon with the $1.99 a bunch methi I get here :|
I have one doubt...does the chopped onion give a hard time when one tries to roll the dough?

- Priti

Unknown said...

Looks like you really do not need any utensils to take yummy pictures of the yum food u make....I ma already drooling at my desk staring at these paratha's.. methi in all forms is loved at my home...and we do get it at the same price in the Indian store..but this lazy mom needs to get it clean it, wash it and then make these...OMG how lazy I am getting...will get it and soon try the paratha's.
Love Ash.

Vaishali said...

50 cents for a bunch of methi-- I am so jealous! I just love the look of your methi parathas, Manasi...they look so delicious and so healthy.

Manasi said...

Thank You all so much for the lovely comments!

@ Priti- The onion has to be very finely chopped, yes- it does not make smooth rolling but it is okay, can be handled easily. I have also tried grating onion with good results, just be careful of adding too much water to the batter as grated onion releases liquid more than chopped one.

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

wow...yummy n inviting...excellent presentation manasi..:)
Tasty Appetite

Priya Suresh said...

Healthy parathas looks marvellous..

Anonymous said...

Hey Manasi! I tried your recipe for Methi Parathas for breakfast today and we Loved it!!! Thanks a lot for the recipe, this will be made again and again at our home. The addition of very finely chopped onion did not interfere with rolling the parathas and kept them so soft!

- Priti

Lakshmi said...

delicious parathas....
http://ourlens360degrees.wordpress.com

Unknown said...

Hello Manasi;
I did try the methi paratha many times your way and believe it or not, I found Fresh Kasuri methi in my store, and that Uncle made me buy it for $1.49 a small bunch. NO regrets as it did make the parathas unique. I grinded the onion, ginger and garlic with some cilantro and lemon juice...and the garam masala made the parathas so yummy. I did the same with Palak also one day. Thanks for introducing a different way of theplas to my family. Phulka is kind of not our favorite anymore. Kids are eating well and I am a happy mom.
Love Ash.

Anonymous said...

Just finished eating a really tasty Methi Paratha made with your recipe. Since I've been making them from your recipe all the time, there are a few tips I'd like to add for those readers who would like to try this recipe.

I follow the recipe exactly as it is, it is perfect! I would only recommend putting in 2 cups of flour in the mix and keeping 1 cup on the side and adding it little by little later as needed to stiffen the dough, the entire 1 cup gets used up in this process. Avoid kneading a soft dough cause the methi and onion will water and make it softer, so I knead a really hard/stiff dough and always find it turning into the desired softness. Althought there is considerable amount of chilli (powder and green) in this recipe the parathas are not too spicy, they are just perfect. These parathas stay soft hours after being made and are loved by all. Thanks Manasi for this wonderful recipe!

- Priti

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