Paneer Bhurji Paratha

Little A loves parathas. He is 9.5 months now and toothless. But you will be amazed at how those hard gums can actually break down food and chew efficiently. I made Paneer Bhurji for dinner last night and since Baby Led Weaning is all about sharing the same meals with your little ones I made Paneer Bhurji Stuffed Paratha for him. Make sure you leave out salt (additional salt is not required for babies under 1 year. Breastmilk contains enough sodium and excess is harmful for your little one's kidneys) and chili. All other spices are ok since they add flavors to your baby's portion. If you are wondering what Baby Led Weaning is please read my previous post HERE. 

This makes a great lunch box recipe for toddlers too.  

You Will Need:

Paneer Bhurji, Recipe HERE

Chapathi Dough (Wheat)

Ghee to smear

The Cooking:

Step 1:

Prepare the paneer bhurji according to the recipe. Instead of salt you can add a dash of lime juice. Remember to leave out chili. 

Step 2:

Roll out two chapathis from the dough and place a generous tablespoon of bhurji on to one chapathi and spread evenly. Place the other rolled chapathi over the bhurji and gently roll the top with the rolling pin sealing off the edges. 

Step 3:

Place the paratha on a hot pan and smear ghee on one side. Cook for few seconds then slip and smear the ghee on the other. Cook till the paratha is done. Cut the paratha into strips and serve on to little one's plate / tray to pick and eat. 

Happy Baby Led Weaning!

Vegetarian

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NAAN Bread with Yeast

After two failed attempts, I have finally got it right. NAAN BREAD with Yeast…I don’t have to talk much about naan here. I already did that in my No Yeast No Tandoor Naan post which also includes the step by step pictorial for cooking the naan on tawa. The difference between yeast naan and yeast-less naan (made with eggs, baking powder and baking soda) is very noticeable. Yeast naan definitely has that taste and chewiness, than the one without yeast. Yeast – less naan is less chewy than the former one. That is all I need to say so will get straight into the recipe.

Oh I totally forgot as for the varieties in naan, its endless.  Plain, butter and garlic naans are the most popular ones. But at my home garlic coriander, onion, chilli flakes and herb naans are the favorites  Just roll out the dough into a small circle and place in whatever stuffing you want, bring all the ends together, and roll out. As simple as that. Now again back to the recipe…

You Will Need:

450g of Plain Flour

2 tsp Active Dried Yeast

3 tbsp Oil

150 ml Warm Milk

150 ml of Yogurt

2 tsp Sugar

1/2 tsp of Salt

Little oil for Brushing

Ghee / Clarified Butter

The Cooking:

In a bowl, combine the milk, yogurt, oil, sugar and active dry yeast. Give a quick stir and leave it in a warm place undisturbed for about 10 mins or until the mixture has become foamy.

In a large bowl combine together the flour and salt.

Once the yeast has foamed well (its called proofing of the yeast, if its not foamy then discard and try with another batch) give it one stir with a spoon. Make a well in center of the flour and pour in the milk slowly combining all the flour and the milk. The quantity of the liquid ingredients are approx. so if the dough is too sticky knead in more flour. Or if the liquid is not enough for the flour then add little milk or lukewarm water.

Make a nice smooth dough a little sticky (not like chapatti dough). Brush the insides of a large bowl with oil and place the dough in, brushing the surface with little oil. Cover with a cling film and place it in a warm dark place to raise for about 2 hrs.

After 2 hrs the dough will double in size. Punch it down and place the dough in a floured surface. Knead the dough for about 10 mins. Think of someone you don’t like and knead ;), just kidding :p  This will make the dough firm and non sticky, resulting in a soft chewy naan and soft palms :)

Ok now make lemon sized balls out of the dough or whatever size you want your naan to be (I like mine big). Roll out the dough in a well floured surface, not too thin hmm maybe 1/2 an inch thick?!! Heat pan and once hot place the rolled naan over medium high heat. Once the sides and the center of the naan begins to form bubbles flip the naan and cook the other side. Once both the sides are cooked through generously brush the sides with clarified butter / Ghee and serve with any of your favourite sides. Mine is Paneer Butter Masala always…

Important Pointers:

• Use good quality yeast.
• The milk should be warm. If its hot it will kill the yeast.
• Don’t forget your sugar, the yeast needs to feed on it to proof.
• First time yeast users don’t be alarmed with the funny smell of yeast. If it smells the yeast is good, if its not the yeast is not working you need to discard it.
• I like my naan cooked on a hot tawa, its more soft and chewy that way. If you like it baked in the oven, then go for it.

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Happy Cooking!

Vegetarian

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No - Yeast Naan

No yeast No Oven…It can’t get easier than this.

NAAN is an Indian Flatbread traditionally cooked in a clay oven or a tandoor in a very high temperature. Its a favourite for many and tastes great when dunked into any gravy or curry. You can make so many varieties of Naan; cheese naan, garlic naan, onion naan, butter naan, you can add just about anything.

There is a phrase ‘Third time’s a Charm!’, which means something attempted for a third time will turn out better than the first two attempts. And this naan is a third time’s at a charm for me :) My first attempt at Naan turned out crisp and biscuit like; my second attempt was much better. I once had Naan at Muthu’s Curry an Indian Restaurant in Little India, Singapore. That’s the best of all the Naans I have ever tasted. It was so delicate and so soft, I ended up eating three or four.

My first two attempts on Naan, I used dried active yeast and cooked in my oven. And it took lot of time to prepare the dough. First you need to wait till the yeast proofs, then make the dough and let it raise double its size. It was not at all working out for me. Yeast can be tricky at times, you need good quality yeast and the dough smells of yeast even after its cooked. It was big NO. I adapted this recipe from Anjum Anand cookery show ‘Indian Food Made Easy’, where she used baking powder and baking soda instead of yeast. Making this dough with these two chemical leavening is easy and fast. But unlike yeast the dough doesn't double in size but just a little. Adding eggs to the dough is optional, the taste and texture is hardly noticeable.

I cooked these on a hot tawa instead of oven. I like it soft and somehow cooking them in oven never helped me. It tasted delicious with Paneer Butter Masala (it’s always paneer butter masala for me) or any of your favourite gravy.

Makes 6 Depending on the Size You Make Them…

You Will Need:

2 Cups of All – Purpose Flour

A tsp of Baking Powder

1/2 tsp of Baking Soda

Tsp of Salt

2 tbsp of Thick Yogurt

Approx. 1/2 Cup of Lukewarm Milk

1 1/2 tsp of Sugar

An Egg Beaten

2 tbsp Oil

Melted Butter

The Cooking:

In a bowl combine together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a cup, stir together milk, half of the beaten egg, sugar, yogurt and oil. Make a well in the flour mixture and slowly pour in the liquid mixture.

Now, combine this well with your hand to form a non – sticky soft dough. If the dough is too dry, add bit more of the milk. If its becomes too sticky add bit more of the flour. Apply little oil on the dough to avoid it from drying out. Cover and let it sit for 30 min.

The dough will rise a little, unlike the dough made with yeast which doubles its actual size. Put this on a floured surface and knead the dough for about 10 min. The dough will become softer and smoother when you finish kneading it.

   

Make small lemon sized balls out of these and roll it out (thin or thick however you like your naan to be), sprinkling little flour to avoid it from sticking. After rolling it out apply little oil on both the side and place on the hot tawa. Immediately after a min or so you can see the top of the naan begins to bubble up.

Flip the naan and apply oil and cook for another 2 mins on low heat. Take off heat and brush the naan with melted butter / ghee.

  

These are plain naan, for making garlic naan gently press down chopped garlic when you roll out the dough and cook just like the plain ones.

Serve hot with any of your favourite sides.

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Happy Cooking!

Vegetarian

0

Aloo Paratha

ALOO PARATHA is one of the most popular dishes throughout the western, central and northern part of India. I have never really tasted Parathas before marriage. They are my husband's favorite and he introduced me to these. Parathas are thick roties with a filling inside. Aloo, which means potatoes are stuffed inside the dough and are cooked over hot tawa with ghee or butter traditionally. It is so versatile  that you can stuff the parathas with absolutely anything. Any vegetable or any ground meat can go into the dough. They don't need any side to go with, they taste yum just the way they are. But usually they are served with chutneys and pickles or a glass of lassi (Sweetened Yogurt). I like my paratha thick and soft. You can make it bit thin and crispy too either way they taste great.

Makes 4 Parathas 

You Will Need:

For the Dough:

A Cup of Wheat Flour

75ml (approx.) of Warm Water

1/2 tsp of Salt

1 tbsp Oil

For the Aloo Filling:

2 Large Potatoes 

2 tbsp of Finely Chopped Onions

1 tbsp Finely Chopped Green Chili

1 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves

1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/2" Ginger Grated

1/2 tsp Chaat Masala

1/2 tsp Coriander Powder

1/2 tsp Cumin Powder

1/4 tsp Red Chili Powder

Pinch of Salt

For the Yogurt Dip:

1/2 Cup of Thick Yogurt

1 tsp Chaat Masala

1 tsp Sugar

Ghee/ Butter / Oil to brush

The Cooking:

Mix all the ingredients to make a soft non - sticky dough. Apply little oil to the dough and let it rest for 15 min. Now make lemon sized balls out of the dough and keep aside. 

For the filling, mix all the ingredients and divide into 4 equal portions.

Mix all the ingredients for the yogurt dip and let it cool in the fridge (I like mine chilled).

Now on a flat surface, roll the dough into a circle (if you are not good in geometry like me that's fine, it can be imperfect). Just make sure you don't roll it out too thin. 

Take the filling and place it in the center of the rolled out dough. 

See I told you am bad in geometry. The rolled out dough looks thin in the image, but trust me they are little thick. Now, bring the ends together and pinch the top to seal the stuffing safely inside. 

Again very very gently and carefully roll out the dough with the seam side up. DO NOT apply too much of pressure, if you do the stuffing will come shooting out. 

If there is a tear like mine on your rolled out paratha that's fine, but not too many.

Heat a tawa on high. When its hot place a paratha and cook on medium heat on one side for a min. Then flip and brush ghee or butter. Flip again and brush ghee or butter on the other side. Once the sides are cooked evenly and the paratha starts to puff up, its done. It will take around 3 - 5 min for them to cook thoroughly. 

Serve hot with the yogurt dip or any of your favorite chutney and pickle. 

Important Pointers:

• The volume of water given in the ingredient is approx. I would suggest you to add enough water to make it non - sticky and smooth. The required water may vary from the volume mentioned.
• Perfect dough will not stick to the surface when rolling. If it does just dust the surface with flour so it doesn't stick. 
• After stuffing the paratha with aloo, dust the surface you are rolling out the dough. The aloo kind of makes the dough to stick to the surface a little.
• Add spices according to your liking.

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Happy Cooking!

Vegetarian

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