Indian Breads.

Flaky Ajwain Paratha 6 portion

Ingredients
100 gm fine wholemeal flour
100 gm plain white flour
3gm salt
100 gm ghee
200 ml water
5 gm ajwain whole
extra ghee for cooking

Method
Sieve wholemeal flour, white flour and salt into a mixing bowl and rub in 1 tablespoon of ghee. Add water, mix and knead dough Cover dough with muslin cloth and set aside for 1 hour.
Divide dough into 12 -14 equal portions and roll each into a smooth ball. Melt ghee over a low heat and cool slightly. Roll each ball of dough into a very thin circular shape. Pour 2 teaspoons of the melted ghee into the center of each and spread lightly with the hand. With a knife, make a cut from the center of each circle to the outer edge.
Starting at the cut edge, roll the dough closely into a cone shape. Pick it up, press the apex of the cone and the base towards each other and flatten slightly. You will now have a small, roughly circular lump of dough again. Lightly flour the board again and roll out the dough very gently, taking care not to press too hard and let the air out at the edges.
The parathas should be as round as possible. But not as thinly rolled as the first time. Cook on a hot tandoor liberally greased with extra ghee.

Naan Baluchistan

Serves 4


15 gm dried yeast
30 gm caster sugar
3 gm salt
3 gm baking powder
125 ml milk
600 gm maida
1 no beaten eggs
120 ml natural yoghurt
30 ml vegetable oil
3 gm zattar
40 ml ghee
Method
Warm the milk until it is just hot to the hand. Stir in the sugar and yeast and leave for 10 minutes. Sift the flour and add the salt and baking powder to it. Slowly stir in the yeast mixture and the rest of the ingredients and mix to a dough. Knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes and place it in a covered bowl for an hour and a half in a warm place. It should double in size. knead the dough gently and divide into 4 portions and roll into a tear shape. Cook for 10 minutes and then place the nans under a hot grill for a further minute or so until brown. Lightly dust the breads with extra ghee & sprinkle zattar before serving.

TANDOORI PARANTHA

Lachha parantha

Maida 600 gm
Salt 5 gm
Refined oil 45 ml
Warm water for kneading

Preparation

Sieve the flour and salt together in bowl. Rub in the oil and add warm water gradually. Knead until smooth. Cover and leave aside for 20 minutes
Knead again and divide the dough into 8 portions. Shape each into a round ball. Flatten a little.
Roll out each flattened ball into a circle of 150 mm. (6") diameter. Cut into 50 mm. (2") strips lengthways. Place all the strips over the center one.
Roll like a Swiss roll. Press a little with your fingers. Pour 1 teaspoon of oil on each roll.
Take one roll at a time and roll it out into a round of about 125 mm. (5") diameter.
When you remove the round, place it on your palms and lightly press towards the center to show the layers clearly
Place in the tandoor till done or the parantha tends to fall off.
Make sure it doesn’t burn.

dal poori

Ingredients:

200 gm atta
100 gm Black gram dal (urad)
10 gm Red chillies
2 gm Cumin seeds
1 gm Cardamom
2 nos Cloves
1 gm Cinnamon
40 ml Water
refined Oil To fry
Salt To taste

preparation:
Mix 5 ml oil into the wheat flour. Add 2 gm salt to the flour.
Make soft dough using small amounts of water.
Set aside the dough for half an hour, covered with a wet cloth.
Soak black gram dal for at least one hour and grind to a paste adding very little or without any water. Grind together red chillies, cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and keep aside.
Heat 15 ml of oil in a fry pan; add the lentil paste and the ground masalas, stirring constantly till the lentil is fried and the water is absorbed leaving it dry.
Knead and divide the dough into 10 balls.
Make a cup with each ball and fill with the prepared lentil mixture.
Seal by extending the dough over the filling.
Flatten and roll into a ball, 3" in diameter. Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown. Drain and serve hot.

Appam

(Vellayappam)


Ingredients

Boiled rice 400 gm
Grated coconut 200 gm
Yeast 1 gm
Sugar 45 gm
Salt to taste


Method:

• Soak the rice in plenty of water in the morning.
• Grind the coconut and rice with some water in the evening in to a fine paste.
• Dissolve the yeast in some warm water and mix well with the batter and keep it overnight.
• In the morning grease the thick curved pan specially meant for appam.
• Pour the batter and spread it in thin layer by rotating the pan once and cook the appam by closing the pan with the lid.


Tips and Variations
• Best if served with stew (a dish made with potatoes, onions & coconut milk).

Batata Puri

Plain flour 200 gm
Curd 50 gm
Potatoes, boiled 200 gm
Water for kneading
Ghee or refined oil 15 ml
Ghee or oil for frying
Salt to taste


Mash the boiled potatoes finely (No lumps should remain as it will break the puri).
Sift the flour and salt, add the curd and mashed potatoes with 1 tbsp of ghee or oil.
Knead to soft dough, divide into 10 balls and roll out each ball into 4" diameter circles.
Heat ghee on in heavy pan and deep fry, 1 or 2 puris at a time until the colour turns golden brown.
Serve hot with bhaji or curd

Batura

Refined flour (maida) 500 gm
Yogurt 100 gm
Baking powder 2 gm
Soda bicarbonate a pinch
Sugar 10 gm
Oil 30 ml
Oil for frying
Salt 5 gm


Take flour and add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well and pass it through a sieve.
Mix yogurt and sugar. Add this to the flour and add about a cup of water and mix gradually to make soft dough by light kneading.
Incorporate 30 ml. Of oil into the dough and cover the dough with a wet cloth. Keep it aside for an hour.
Divide it into 16 equal portions, shape them into balls. Cover and keep to ferment for ten minutes.
Grease your palms with a little oil and flatten the balls. Roll into 5 inch diameter diskettes.
Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry bhaturas on high flame till light on both sides. Goes well with channa or chik pea preparation

Bikaneri chana dal parantha

Ingredients
Maida: 500 gms
salt & red chilly powder: to taste
oil: 200 ml
dhaniya powder or coriander powder: 3 gm
chana dal: 250 gms
garam masala: 2 gm

method
add salt and 30 ml oil to maida. Add water and make soft dough.
Soak chana dal for 6 hours. Boil it in a pressure cooker with a glassful of water. Wait for 1 whistle. Turn off the gas. Drain away the water and grind the dal.
Heat 30ml oil in a kadahi. Add dal paste and roast it for 3-4 minutes. Add all the masala powder. When it cools down stuff this paste into maida balls.
The paranthas should be as thin as a papad. Make soft paranthas an hour before serving.
Serve with aloo dum masala, raita and chutney.

Kulcha

Ingredients -

Flour - 450 gm
Yoghurt - 50 gm
Ghee - 15 gm
Sugar - 10 gm
Yeast - 15 gm
Salt - 5 gm

Method -
1. Prepare a flying ferment with yeast and sugar in warm water.
2. Sift the flour, make a bay in the centre, add the above milk, ghee, yoghurt, salt and make smooth dough.
3. Cover with a damp cloth and allow rising for about 1\2 hour.
4. Make into equal rounds, and bake in a tandoor, baste with some ghee \ butter after it is done (optional

Laccha / pudina paratha

Ingredients -
Atta - 400 gm
Maida - 50 gm
Salt - 5 gm
Ghee - as reqd.
Besan - as reqd
Pudina - as reqd.
Water - for kneading

Method -
1. Make dough, using the atta, maida, and the salt. Dive the dough into equal balls.
2. After having divided the dough into equal round balls, roll then out on a work table, flatten it out and then leaven and spread it, by using both sides of your hands.
3. Now apply some ghee to the paratha, then dust the same with some flour ( for pudina paratha and besan for laccha paratha ) then roll it up and place as a in a round shape.
4. Now flatten on a work table, flatten it out and then leaven and spread it, by using both sides of your hands.
5. Bake in a hot tandoor, and baste with ghee \ butter (optional).
6. In case of the pudina paratha, sprinkle some dry pudina powder over the paratha before step number, four.

Sheer-mal

Plain Flour 450 gms.
Dry yeast 25 gm
Castor sugar 40 gms.
Eggs, beaten (optional) 2 nos.
Warm milk 200 ml
Khoya, mashed 400 gm
Raisins, seedless 25 gms.
Double cream 100 gms.
Poppy seeds 30 gm
Kewra or rose essence 2 ml
Saffron, soaked in 1 tbsp. Milk 1gm
Ghee or Butter 225 gms.
Extra milk As required
Salt 5 gm

Heat the milk but do not boil, then sprinkle yeast and sugar over it.
Sieve flour, salt in a bowl, add eggs, raisins, khoya, double cream and half the
With the yeast mixture.
Mix well and make into smooth dough, add the essence.
If the is stiff then sprinkle little extra milk and knead again, cover with damp cloth and keep in a warm place to rise for 8 hours or overnight for best results.
Punch the and knead it again and divide into 8 equal parts.
Roll out each part into a round thick circle and leave aside for 20 minutes until it becomes double the size.
Prick the roti all over with a fork, leaving 1" margin around, brush melted
Or butter and saffron solution and sprinkle poppy seeds.
Bake in a pre-heated moderate oven (180° C-350° F-Gas mark 4) until the roti turns light brown in colour.
Sprinkle little cold milk over them when they are half done, then put them back into the oven for a few minutes more.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle cold milk well over both sides, as this makes the roti soft.
Wrap with foil or butter paper and keep aside until required.
This roti can be kept for 4-5 days.

Roomali roti

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 150 gm
Refined flour - 50 gm
Salt - to taste
Melted ghee - 10 ml
Water - for kneading

Method
1. Swift the refined flour and the whole wheat flour with salt.
2. Rub in the ghee, slowly add the water, and make soft dough.
3. Allow the dough to rest for about 1\2 of an hour, knead well again, and divide into six equal pieces.
4. Now roll out the dough, using some flour and a rolling pin.
5. Hold this on the back of your palm, and circle it \ twist it, anti - clockwise, and swing it, then again catch it on the back of the same hand.
6. Repeat the process, till the roti, has a radius of 15 centimeters.
7. Care should be taken to maintain the round shape of the roti and the even thickness.
8. The roti is then cooked on the convex side of the kadhai, which is mounted over a high pressure range burner; the cooking time is approx. 45 seconds!
9. These rotis are usually folded into four halves.

Gobi Paratha.

Ingredients:

Plain flour (Aata) 2 cups
Water for kneading
Salt 1 tsp.
For Filling
Grated cauliflower 2 cups
Green chilies finely chopped 2-3
Coriander leaves finely chopped 1 tbsp.
Salt according to taste
Vegetable Oil for making the parantha

Method:

For Dough
1. Sieve flour. Add salt.
2. Add water a little at a time.
3. Knead into a medium soft dough.
4. Cover with a wet cloth and keep it for half an hour

For Filling
Add coriander leaves,salt and green chillies to the grated cauliflower. Mix well.

For Paratha:-

1. Divide the dough into balls of equal portions and
2. Roll one ball at a time in the form of a small puri.
3. Now put a small quantity of above mixture (filling) over it, close it from all sides.
4. Apply some flour on both sides and roll it gently into a paratha.
5. Now cook on a tava, by applying 1/2 to 1 tsp. oil on each side, until light brown and serve hot.

Serve with Chutney or Pickle or Plain Curd.