So it follows that when you ask a foodie for a New Year’s Resolution, it often involves making and sharing some exotic new delicacies in the upcoming year. If you count yourself among this final bunch, I will aspire to provide you with inspiration for your forays into the kitchen with stories and pictures from my own experiments. In that spirit, here is a recipe that you can cook up for a novel breakfast (or lunch or dinner). It’s a slightly different take on a traditional Indian recipe for Aloo Parathas, which are often eaten as a special breakfast treat in India.
Aloo means potato in Hindi, and parathas are a type of flat bread that you may have seen on Indian restaurant menus. Aloo parathas are flat-breads stuffed with a mix of boiled potatoes, peas, and spices and cooked on a hot griddle. While not generally leavened, I made these recently with a yeasty dough that lent a very different flavor and texture to the dish. With a little planning and a little last-minute shopping, you too could be serving up this dish to rave reviews in your kitchen, as early as your first breakfast in the New Year.
Happy New Year, dear readers!
Aloo Parathas
Ingredients
For the dough
3 C unbleached all-purpose flour, or use half whole-wheat flour
2 C warm water
2 tsp yeast
1 T sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 T oil
Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1 C warm (not hot) water, and set aside for 10 minutes
Mix other dry ingredients, and knead into a dough using yeast water and remaining 1 C warm water
Add more water by teaspoons, until dough comes together
Roll dough in 2T oil, and set aside in a covered bowl for 2 hours or until doubled in volume
For the filling3 medium starch potatoes, like Yukon Gold
1 C peas, fresh or frozen
4 T chopped cilantro
2T roasted cumin powder
(You can make this by roasting cumin seeds on a dry griddle and then powdering them)
2T red chili powder (optional)
2T dried mango powder
(If you don’t have this, you can add the juice of ½ lemon for a slightly different taste)
Salt to taste
Boil or pressure cook 3 potatoes until tender. I prefer a medium-starch variety like Yukon Gold.
Steam or boil 1 C peas, until tender.
Mash potatoes in a large bowl, add peas, cilantro, spices, and salt to taste
To make the parathas
Split off dough into 8 equal pieces, and roll into 8 balls
Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand
Make 8 balls of the potato mixture and place in the center of each of the dough disks
Pinch dough closed around the potato mixture, so that you have a ball of dough with the potatoes encased inside
On a lightly floured surface, flatten out the balls again, and roll out to a circle of about 6-7 inches in diameter
Don’t worry about the potato mix coming out of the dough in places; these areas will be the tastiest parts!
Heat up a flat griddle with 1 tsp of oil
Add the paratha, and cook for about 2 minutes or until speckled with brown spots, over a medium flame
Flip and repeat
Serve hot with thick Greek yogurt and an Indian-style pickle.
Yummy, yummy, yummy, I got love in my tummy....
ReplyDeleteI love aalu parathas... Well written and great shots, Harini!
ReplyDeleteThanks Smi...I love them too.
ReplyDelete