Gobi Paratha

I have always loved north Indian food and never said no when Amrita, my best friend, has invited me over for lunch. It's plain luck that my mom could make good north Indian food and now, serendipity at having married a guy who loves north Indian food!! We are both paratha freaks and I make it a point to make parathas once a week.

I usually make aloo/ potato, gobi/ cauliflower or carrot parathas and occasionally paneer paratha as well. This afternoon I made gobi paratha and decided it has to go on my blog.

For the dough:
Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1 cup
Oil - 1 tsp

Knead the above into a firm but moist dough. Cover and allow to stand until you are ready to roll out the parathas.

For the stuffing, you will need:
Shredded or grated cauliflower : 2 cups
Minced green chilies - 1 tbsp
Chopped coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Carom/ Ajwain seeds - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp

Mix these in a bowl, cover and let stand for about 15 to 20 minutes. The salt and a natural phenomenon called ex osmosis causes the cauliflower to release water. So here comes the irritating but crucial part to making yummy gobi parathas. The best way to do this is to use your hands. Take a bit of the filling at a time and press in between your palms. This will drain the water and you can put the dry filling into another bowl. Here's how it should look at the end of this process:






Now divide the dough into 5 or 6 lemon sized balls. Flatten one a bit and dust both sides with flour. Roll out into a thick circle of 3 inch dia. Put 2 tbsp of the filling at the center. Gather the edges together at the center and top like a dumpling and slightly flatten it.


Again dust the filled dough with flour on both sides. Keep the folded part facing upwards and roll out into a paratha, taking care to apply slow and ever pressure. Using half a teaspoon of oil per paratha, shallow fry on a hot skillet. Serve hot with pickle and thick curd.