Garam Masala Tuesdays : Dal Parantha

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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.

Head over to priya’s blog for today’s Garam Masala Tuesday recipe and do check out her mouthwatering recipes while you are there.

Garam Masala Tuesdays & a Guest Post
 
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Serves: 5 paranthas
Ingredients
  • 1 cup + 2tbsp Whole wheat flour
  • ⅔ cup leftover cooked lentils/dal
  • 1 tsp ajjwain/carom seeds
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
  • salt, to taste
  • 5 green chilies, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp finely chopped onion
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tbsp ghee/clarified butter/oil
Instructions
  1. Puree the dal/cooked lentils and any leftover veggies to a smooth paste in the blender.
  2. 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.
  3. Divide the dough into a little larger than golf sized balls.
  4. 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
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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!)
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Garam Masala Tuesdays: Punj Rattani Dal

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Dals are an integral part of Indian meals. In some form or the other, they are eaten daily in almost every Indian home.

Dals- lentils or pulses- are varieties of dried beans and peas. They are the main source of proteins for the average vegetarian Indian. Although dal generally refers to split pulses, in actuality there are two types of dal. Whole pulses are known as sabūt dal and split pulses as dhuli dal. The hulling of a pulse is intended to improve digestibility and palatability, but as with milling of whole grains into refined grains, this affects the nutrition provided by the dish, reducing dietary fiber content

Each state in India cooks its dal in different ways.  In south, dal is mostly eaten in the form of sambhar. People of Uttar Pradesh swear by toovar dal which is tempered with asafoetida, cumin seeds and sometimes garlic. Punjabis love their dal whole and unhulled, in the form of the delicious dal makhani, or rajma to accompany their rice or chole with their bhaturas.

When I have to describe dal to people in America who haven’t eaten it, the easiest way is to give them a picture of a lentil soup, although dal is a far cry from just a simple soup. The dal that we have is not as watery as soup, generally being creamier (without necessarily adding cream). A well cooked dal is generally quite thick, but sometimes just to keep it light, people thin it down a bit, such being the case for some of the dals that are cooked in southern India.

The tadka or the tempering is what gives a dal its distinct flavor, and is probably what distinguishes it from soups.

Tempering involves heating oil/ ghee in a small pan, to which whole spices are added, which in turn is poured over the cooked dal. Tempering can be simple with a little asafoetida and cumin seeds being tempered in some ghee/or oil, and then mixed in with the cooked dal. Or it can be elaborate by tempering some onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes in ghee/oil, before adding to the cooked dal.

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