Pocket Paratha
Have you ever got a keeda in your head, a bug, a tick? Well I have that often and when that happens I simply have to work on it as soon as possible..like yesterday!!
If you are a Bengali living in Delhi then the best place to be is in Chitarranjan Park, which is also called mini Kolkata. Here you get the food, grocery, music, conversation, sweets, in fact the whole shebang. If you go to the markets in evening you will be enveloped with all kinds of food smells. There is the quintessential phucka, jal muri, chops and cutlets, egg rolls, mishti doi, shandesh, and Oh so much more!
What is missing nowadays, however, is the Mughlai Paratha. 10 years ago whenever you came to the market there were always these huge Mughlai Parathas frying away in a pool of oil.
As the name suggests it is indeed Mughlai, very royal. There is a filling of mutton mince, chopped onions, green chillies and beaten egg. Deep fried these are crunchy with the filling oozing out with every bite.
But these beauties are missing from the market nowadays. When asked the cooks told me that people have stopped eating these Mughlai parathas because they are deep fried white flour and so quite unhealthy. Well that is true but how can my visit to CR Park be complete without them?
So now we come to the keeda/bug. I had been dying to have a Mughlai Paratha for quite some time. Like most people, I too was counting the calories. Still the tick would not stop ticking! The bug would not stop bugging! I decided to make a variation of the parathas at home with a few changes. I will make pocket parathas. They will be smaller in size and will not be deep fried.
Ingredients
3 cups maida/flour
1 tsp salt
½ cup curd
½ cup milk
For the filling
Chicken filling
Here I have used chicken sausages. You can use chicken mince if you want.
2 chicken sausages, chopped
3 tbsp chopped onions
1 green chilli, chopped
1 egg
Salt to taste
Paneer filling
1 cup grated paneer
3 tbsp chopped onions
1 green chilli, chopped
1 egg ( If you want a pure vegetarian pocket paratha you can just skip the egg)
Salt to taste
Sift the maida and salt. Mix together the curd and milk. Knead the maida using the milk+curd. Knead well till you can feel it becoming silky and smooth. Wrap with a clingfilm and keep for 2 hours.
For the filling mix all ingredients together with beaten egg.
Lightly dust the working surface with flour. Divide the dough into four balls. Roll out one of the balls as thin as possible. Place half the paneer filling in the middle.
Fold the longer sides over the filling.
Then fold in the other two sides making a pocket.
Heat some oil. It is totally up to you how much oil you want to use. The parathas taste best when they are deep fried (of course)!! However I have used less oil and cooked on low heat so that they are cooked through and yet absorb less oil.
These taste god without any vegetables or side dishes. I prefer just a dab of ketchup and I am good to go.
Have you ever got a keeda in your head, a bug, a tick? Well I have that often and when that happens I simply have to work on it as soon as possible..like yesterday!!
If you are a Bengali living in Delhi then the best place to be is in Chitarranjan Park, which is also called mini Kolkata. Here you get the food, grocery, music, conversation, sweets, in fact the whole shebang. If you go to the markets in evening you will be enveloped with all kinds of food smells. There is the quintessential phucka, jal muri, chops and cutlets, egg rolls, mishti doi, shandesh, and Oh so much more!
What is missing nowadays, however, is the Mughlai Paratha. 10 years ago whenever you came to the market there were always these huge Mughlai Parathas frying away in a pool of oil.
As the name suggests it is indeed Mughlai, very royal. There is a filling of mutton mince, chopped onions, green chillies and beaten egg. Deep fried these are crunchy with the filling oozing out with every bite.
But these beauties are missing from the market nowadays. When asked the cooks told me that people have stopped eating these Mughlai parathas because they are deep fried white flour and so quite unhealthy. Well that is true but how can my visit to CR Park be complete without them?
So now we come to the keeda/bug. I had been dying to have a Mughlai Paratha for quite some time. Like most people, I too was counting the calories. Still the tick would not stop ticking! The bug would not stop bugging! I decided to make a variation of the parathas at home with a few changes. I will make pocket parathas. They will be smaller in size and will not be deep fried.
Ingredients
3 cups maida/flour
1 tsp salt
½ cup curd
½ cup milk
For the filling
Chicken filling
Here I have used chicken sausages. You can use chicken mince if you want.
2 chicken sausages, chopped
3 tbsp chopped onions
1 green chilli, chopped
1 egg
Salt to taste
Paneer filling
1 cup grated paneer
3 tbsp chopped onions
1 green chilli, chopped
1 egg ( If you want a pure vegetarian pocket paratha you can just skip the egg)
Salt to taste
Sift the maida and salt. Mix together the curd and milk. Knead the maida using the milk+curd. Knead well till you can feel it becoming silky and smooth. Wrap with a clingfilm and keep for 2 hours.
For the filling mix all ingredients together with beaten egg.
Lightly dust the working surface with flour. Divide the dough into four balls. Roll out one of the balls as thin as possible. Place half the paneer filling in the middle.
Fold the longer sides over the filling.
Then fold in the other two sides making a pocket.
Heat some oil. It is totally up to you how much oil you want to use. The parathas taste best when they are deep fried (of course)!! However I have used less oil and cooked on low heat so that they are cooked through and yet absorb less oil.
These taste god without any vegetables or side dishes. I prefer just a dab of ketchup and I am good to go.
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