In India, one of the popular and most common breakfast option are the Paratha. They were so popular especially in North India, that everybody likes to have them even on lunch or at dinner. Parathas are famous in India because they are a versatile, delicious, and filling flatbread that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, with a wide variety of fillings depending on the region, and are considered a staple food across the Indian subcontinent, especially in North India, due to their flaky texture and ability to pair well with various curries and accompaniments. Essentially making them a beloved culinary staple across different cultures within India.
Today being Sunday and having some idle time at home, I tried my hand on Paneer Paratha.
In the market, you will get all kind of stuffing paratha, from onion, to potatoes, to cauliflower. Paneer is an Indian cheese that's similar to ricotta. It's made by curdling milk using an acidic ingredient like lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, yogurt, or citric acid.
Paneer paratha is made by mixing paneer, flour, spices, and herbs together with water to form a dough, rolling it out, and then toasting it until golden and puffed. In my case, I tried bit differently. To prepare, I needed
- Fresh Paneer (available in market)
- Wheat floor (2 cup)
- Chopped Onion (one onion)
- Black pepper powder (as per taste)
- waterto knead the flour.
- Salt to taste
- Green Chilli (2 pcs)
As I am trying something different, I crushed / grate the paneer and mix it well with chopped onion. I added little bit of black pepper, salt, chopped chillies and mix them all perfectly. One can add different spices to it. This mixture is going to the filling or stuffing.
As the stuffing material.is ready, I kneaded the wheat flour seperately to make a dough. I have added enough water to the dough so that it's soft but not sticky. If it's too wet or sticky, we can add more flour.
I took a little piece of dough and rolled it between my palms. I pressed the middle of it, to make a bowl shape. The bowl shape is important for placing the stuffing mixture to it. It was quite similar like playing with clay.
We covered the stuffing with the dough. It was like the filling in the centre and rest everything covered it. Then we need to roll it flat. Use a gentle touch when rolling out the parathas.
Once it was flattened, we put them in warm pan. Press down on the edges of the paratha with a spatula to cook them. A well-stuffed and rolled paratha will puff up slightly while cooking.
Apply little quantity of cooking oil or Ghee to cook the paratha properly. Once cooked from.both sides. It appears like this.
Being an Indian, this recipe comes easy to every household. It's high in protein, fiber, calcium, and iron, and can help with weight loss. I enjoyed my cooked paratha in the morning. It was perfect to combine it woth Curd or ketchups.
