Friday, December 19, 2008

Matar ka paratha

My first post! Winter time is here and its time to get away from all the frozen 'safal matar' packets in the freezer and delve into fresh peas..available in abundance in all the vegetable markets. We get so overwhelmed by the sight of them, that we get as much as two kgs in one go and I try to introduce a handful of those heavenly green pearls in every sabji I make. The favorite one, where the peas quit to be 'extras' and get the lead role - matar ka paratha! I love them and so does my hubby - and hence this is on my menu every alternate weekend in winters. Here is the recipe, gotten from my mom - with slight modifications.



Ingredients for the stuffing -
Green peas (fresh preferred) - as much as you like
Two to three green chillies, a piece of ginger, a bunch of fresh coriander (quantities depending on the quantity of peas and your taste)
Salt, jeera, ajwain, garam masala(optional)
Oil, heeng
Ingredients for the paratha -
Wheat flour
Water

Method -
1. Add all the above ingredients except the garam masala, oil and heeng in a mixer jar. Blend it to a paste. If difficult, add a few spoons of water.
2. Heat oil in a non stick pan, add heeng and the paste.
3. Cook it on a low flame, open so that the moisture evaporates and the paste tends to become dry. When the stuffing starts to look dry enough and changes color from a bright green to a darker shade, add some garam masala and switch off the heat. Let this cool.
4. Meanwhile, knead a smooth dough adding water to the wheat flour.
5. Fill in the stuffing in the dough ball and roll it into a paratha. (Shown in the video is a method I learnt from a cook, of pulling out the extra dough from the paratha ball, so that the paratha turns out to be stuffing rich and has a crispy, thin cover).
6. Heat a tawa, and prepare the parathas using as much oil as you prefer.
Note - I make the stuffing one night in advance and once made, use it at least twice during the week.

3 comments:

  1. Great recipie Mansi...I make similar parathas too, but always use the frozen matar (no other option). Love these parathas...They look yummy !!

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  2. Add 2 pinches of chaat masala and squeeze in a lime/lemon for added tang. As far as ginger goes, grate some and squeeze out the juice.
    Add this juice to the mix instead of raw ginger as this will add consistency.

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  3. Yeah Divya, I use frozen ones too during summers.

    Bro, thanks for the clue. They are on my menu again on the coming weekend - and I will try the chaat masala and ginger thing.

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