I checked my email with the SRC assignment while on my way back from Phoenix, on our four hour drive to our small mining town.
As soon as I clicked on the link Jane (our group’s hostess and such a dedicated member) sent me, I was literally bowled over by the ingenuity of the dishes Allesio’s blog had. Seriously it was like reading the menu of some Michelin starred restaurant. Case in point- Dark chocolate eggplant. Seriously, who thinks of that!!
There is no bound to the creativity on his site. But honestly, I was intimidated as hell. Having never worked with half of the ingredients on the site, I couldn’t help it. But at the same time, I was loving the challenge ahead.
Just check his top 24 of 2012 list. Seriously, if you are not intimidated its only because you are a professional chef and even then I won’t blame you if you are taking notes!
A parantha/paratha is one of the most popular unleavened flat-breads in Indian Cuisine.
Crispy yet soft.
Stuffed or plain. Or maybe just with a little salt in between.
Topped with homemade (white) butter. Or even store bought (yellow) butter.
With some pickle. Or without.
Dipped in yogurt, plain or raita. Or just on its own.
Whatever way you take it, it is always loved.
They are the perfect way to start the day.
Being from Punjab, these were a staple on the Sunday breakfast table growing up.
And never was there a complain. Even when I was conscious of my weight, Sunday was the day to just let go. Of course I would skimp on the butter, but paranthas were always relished.
As many ways there are of eating your parantha, there are even more varieties of paranthas.
In the past, I have shared recipes for aloo parantha (unleavened flatbread stuffed with a spicy potato filling), and mooli parantha ( parantha stuffed with a radish filling).
Since I am always left with a cup of leftover cooked lentils (not enough to carry over to the next meal), I quite often make another unleavened flatbread by mixing the leftover lentils (like V’s crockpot lentil recipe)with whole wheat flour and cooking the resultant dough rolled on a skillet. We, in our household, call them Dal ka parantha.
These paranthas serve as a great breakfast or as the perfect on-the-go meal when rolled up . Nutritious and tasty, these paranthas are quick to make and are the perfect use of leftover cooked lentils/ lentil soup and even small leftover servings of cooked vegetables.
Today, I guest post for Priya of Bon Appetit and am sharing the recipe for my version of Dal ka Paranthas.
Priya is a wonderful lady with a blog centering on varied vegetarian recipes. Check out her recipe box and I am sure you will find plenty of things to make. I am definitely intrigued by her spiked up 7-up pulao and oats lassi
Priya also blogs at Straight from my heart which has her travel footprints and other interesting musings.
Puree the dal/cooked lentils and any leftover veggies to a smooth paste in the blender.
To the pureed dal, add rest of the ingredients, adjusting the quantity of flour sufficient to make smooth dough that is not sticky and can be rolled out easily.
Divide the dough into a little larger than golf sized balls.
Roll out a ball into a circle and apply some ghee.Bring the edges together and twist into a ball again, flatten it slightly. Dust each portion with some wheat flour
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the flattened dough ball into a circle ¼th inch thick with a rolling pin, applying additional flour as necessary to avoid the dough sticking to the pin.
Heat an iron skillet/tawa. If you do not have an iron skillet use a non-stick pan. Gently pick up the rolled circle and place it on the hot skillet. Cook for a minute and flip it over with a spatula. Each side should have tiny brown spots.
Drizzle one teaspoon of oil on each side and cook the bread while gently pressing down on them. They will get slightly crisp and dark with more brown spots on them.
Wrap the cooked rotis in a dish or paper towel and store them in air-tight containers till ready to serve. (I generally take a bite or two while I am waiting to make the other paranthas. It's ok if you do too!)
Being Indian I hate wastage. Of any kind. One of the reasons why I gained weight when I came to US (besides, the cliched that I got married) was that I was so used to finish everything on my plate, whenever we went out to eat, I ended up finishing the ridiculously huge portions of food served in restaurants here. Since we stay 4 hours away from all restaurants, doggy pack or to-go was not an option, and since I had the habit of not wasting, I ate everything. That’s why this month’s Daring Bakers’ challenged proved to be double the challenge it was.
Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.
I have missed the last two challenges. Although I did a part of the April challenge, I could not get it posted because I was busy with my in-laws visit. Hopefully I should be able to post the recipe soon. ( I seriously have huge backlog!)
Now, I have been eyeing this cake- the Battenberg cake for a while now, ever since I was introduced to the Great British Bake Off cookbook. I don’t have it yet, but amazon’s site has a preview of the book and in that they show pictures of the cake. Since then it’s been on my mind. So when I saw this month’s Daring Bakers challenge, I knew come hay or sunshine, I would make it.
