Dal Paratha

I don’t know if this is a common occurrence or not but it sure happens a lot in my house. Left over dal and lots of it. My family wants a different dal every time and invariably i will have small quantities of left over dal in the fridge. So in a week i wil accumulate at least four types of dal in small quantities. And guess who wants to have the leftovers? No one!!! Yes!!! Everytime!!
The best way to use up these are to use them in parantha. It can be any kind and combination of dal. Typically i have masoor, arhar and chana dal that are left over. Whatever the tadka or flavouring you have used while making the dal doesn’t matter. Make delicious paranthas that are not only healthy but also utilize the left overs.


Ingredients

For the filling
About 2 cups of cooked left over dal
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp chopped green coriander
For the dough
2 cups atta
1 tsp oil
Salt to taste
Water to knead

Heat some oil. Add the cumin seeds. Then add the cooked dal. Cook on high flame till the dal dries up totally. Since this is already cooked dal you don’t have to add any salt or masalas. Add chopped green coriander.
Add the salt to the atta. Add the oil and rub it in. Make a tight dough.
Now make small ball of the dough. The size of the paratha is upon your preference. Roll out each ball a little. Place a tablespoon of filling inside, seal and then roll it out again. Cook on the tava.

Aloo paratha

Aloo paratha

Being a Bengali aloo paratha is not a staple in our house. Sure we love aloo paratha but they are made on rare occasions. I loved having them in my Punjabi friends’ homes. They used to have aloo paratha on a  regular basis. It was not uncommon for me to drop in unannounced at their place just to have the parathas.

Practice makes perfect and this adage was roved true when I started making aloo paratahs at home. I could never perfect the technique of making them round and fat. The potato filling would always sneak out from my parathas. If I tried to make them thin then filling disaster. If I tried to keep the filling inside then they would become too thick. Many a days I have spent in my kitchen battling with the aloo parathas.

Finally I succeeded in overcoming my nemesis. The trick that finally helped was rolling out the dough into a roundel, placing the filling inside and making a potli. Then slowly and gently rolling out the paratha.

 There are many ways and means of making the perfect parathas. Infact I think some people just have that special knack or Midas touch and don’t need any such trick. However this worked for me and that makes me happy.

Ingredients

3-4 potatoes, boiled

1 onion, chopped

3 green chillies, chopped

1 tsp chopped ginger

2 tsp chopped green coriander leaves

Salt to taste

1 tsp aamchur powder

½ tsp lemon juice

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp ghee

½ tsp salt

Water to knead the dough

First make the filling. Mash together boiled potatoes, chopped onion, chopped green chilles, ginger, coriander leaves, aamchur powder and lemon juice. Check the salt. Make sure that the filling is dry and the potatoes are not watery.

Now make the dough. Sift together the atta and salt. Mix in the ghee. Now using little water at a time knead the dough. The dough should be a bit dry and firm.

Make balls of the dough. Take one ball and roll it out into a small roundel. Take 2 tablespoon of the filling and place in the middle. 

Now gather up the roundel and make a potli. 

Gently pat the potli down into a disc. Apply atta and start rolling out gently. Do not exert too much pressure.

Heat a tava or girdle. Place the paratha on the hot tava and let it cook. Turn over, apply some oil/ghee and cook some more. Once both sides are cooked properly take off heat.

You can have the aloo parathas with butter and achaar.