Chipotle rotti - an Indo Mexican fusion bread you can't resist

What if I were to tell you that butter is good for you? What if I were to prove that there is indeed good butter in nature? What if I were to say that you can indulge in the buttery richness of this rotti without feeling guilty about how it always ends up sticking to those particular areas around your waist? Well, I am not the first one to profess the goodness of the natural butter found in Avocados (it is rightly called butter fruit in India) nor would I be the last one. Back in India, one of my childhood friends from Karwar (her family was from Karwar - a small town almost on the border of Kerala and Karnataka) who had settled in Mysore first introduced me to this deliciously bland fruit as her grand mom had carried a basket full of them when she came visiting.

The old lady had multiple avacado trees in her backyard and had picked some for her city bred grand children. As kids anywhere would be expected to behave, we got many of those butter fruits, cut them open sitting in the vast backyard and ate them up just scooping out the flesh. It was not a fruit we would find easily in vegetable markets in Mysore, nor did nammamma ever found a recipe that incorporated this fruit into it. So, butter fruit generally remained a somewhat neglected wild fruit of the backyard trees. While some of the fruits were devoured by kids like us, most  just dropped to the ground to become one with mother nature over time. I think the fruit has finally found its way to glory in India and I find many of the upscale super markets carrying this on a regular basis.

When I first tasted guacamole at Chipotle, I knew it was a dish that would stay in my kitchen and our hearts forever :-). Infact DD & I like the buttery avacado so much that once Subway introduced their now popular avacado spread (for an extra 50c on the 6 inch sub) we probably were two of Subway's customers that always asked for avacado in their sandwiches and many times boycotted the locations if they didn't carry the avocado :-). Back to Chipotle, this is one of the few restaurants I tend to relax knowing that my vegetarian cravings are going to be fully satisfied without ever worrying about what I get served. My favorite order has always been the bowl with lots of black beans, vegetables, guacamole, salsa (mild, medium and hot :-)). It is a complete meal even without the rice or the roti.

On the first visit, I thought Chipotle was the ultimate Mexican food until I realized much later it was a very Americanized Mexican food :-) similar to most Indian joints here. So I stopped claiming Chipotle to be my authentic Mexican source especially after accidentally ending up in a 'real authentic' Mexican place in San Diego once. The food tasted quite different from that of Chipotle and going by the natives that were enjoying the food there, I think it was more Mexican than Chipotle would ever be. But I got what I wanted in both the places making me a happy customer.

Whether authentic or semi-authentic, Mexican food is distinguished by the use of beans especially the black beans and the pinto beans. The real re-fried beans can be very heavy and disturbing to the stomach if you are not used to the real deal but you can certainly make a lighter version of them at home. I have been making Avocado rotis for over a decade now ever since a friend in CA shared her tip of making soft rotis by adding ripe avocados to the flour. I keep making variations of the recipe mainly based on how I feel that particular day. In India, there is a practice of adding lentils or dal to the roti dough to make it fortified with proteins, nammamma used to get the whole wheat ground in the mills and she would add about 1/4 of moong dal while she took it to the mill. Her rotis always had this softness and taste I have never been able to replicate yet.

Since I depend on the packaged whole wheat flour, all my additions to boost the nutrient factor are done externally while making the dough. One of the days when I started to make the rotis, I saw 2 ripe avocados on the counter and set them aside to add to the dough. I wanted to try something different and pulled out a can of black beans from the pantry. Some spices, a little sauteing and everything went into the bowl to make a rich, buttery dough that incorporated a good serving of proteins. Thus was born the chipotle rotti that fuses the distinct Mexican beans and avocados with Indian spices and green chilies :-). If you were to be an impassioned observer of the magic that happened in my kitchen on the said night, you may say that this really is a mish-mash of ideas that have been already tried and tasted but I like to think that I had a brilliant brain wave and sorta created a new recipe that burst with the robustness of the beans, silky smoothness of avocado and a slight tang from the lemons :-).

You do not need any oil or ghee for these rotis, they turn out super soft and stay that way for 2-3 days making them a great travel recipe or for sending to your daughter (or son) who has been busily studying for finals away from home :-). I have used very limited and most commonly available spices in the kitchen, you can tailor this to your family's taste buds.

How to select perfectly ripe avocados? 
The skin is not crinkly (which means it has aged beyond what you are looking for), color of the skin is dark green and the fruit is just soft to the touch. Also look for a smooth surfaced fruit that does not have dents or dips on it. If you happen to bring home a slightly firm avocado, keep it outside the refrigerator on a counter top for a couple of days before cutting them up for use.

What do you need to make Chipotle rottis? 
Makes about 10 regular sized rotis
1.5 cups of whole wheat flour + plus a little for dusting
1 can of black beans
1 medium sized ripe avocado
2-3 green chilies (adjust to taste) - finely chopped
1 Tbsp lime/lemon juice
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp red chili powder (adjust to taste)
1/2 Tsp coriander powder (skip if you don't have it)
pinch of turmeric powder
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 Tbsp oil
1/8 Tsp mustard
1/8 Tsp cumin

How do you make Chipotle rotti? 

• Heat oil in a big pan, add mustard and cumin. 
• Once the mustard starts to pop, add finely chopped onion and green chilies and saute for a couple of minutes until the onion sweat. 

• Open the can of beans and wash them thoroughly under running water for 2-3 times until the water runs clear. 

• Add the beans to the pan followed by salt and the dry spice powders.
• With the help of a potato masher, mash the beans completely so it becomes a soft blob.

• Taste and adjust this mush for salt or spices, add chopped cilantro and switch off. Let it cool completely. 
• Wash and cut the avocado vertically, remove the seed by gently giving it a push with a spoon. 
• Scoop out the pulp into a wide mixing bowl, mash it gently, add the cooled beans mixture and bring them together with your fingers. 

• Add whole wheat flour in spoon fulls and keep mixing to make a dough, you are looking for a slightly firmer than regular roti dough. 
• Gently knead the dough for 1-2 minutes, make a smooth ball, cover and let rest for 10-15 minutes. 

• Heat a flat griddle on medium heat. 
• Break lemon sized balls from the dough, smooth them out and dip in dry flour. 
• Gently roll them out with a rolling pin into a disc of 5 inch diameter and 1/8th inch thickness. Use dry flour to dust as you roll. 
• Once the griddle is hot (spray a couple of drops of water and if it sizzles immediately you are good to go), transfer the roti onto the griddle. 
• Let the under side cook for 30-45 seconds or until it develops small red spots before turnign the roti over to the other side. 

• Cook until both sides have no raw flour surfaces, take it out onto a plate. 
• Repeat process for all the remaining dough. 
• If you are packing the rotis for travel, let them cool down before packing or else serve them hot with any chutney or plain yogurt. 

Notes: 

• Keep the volume ratio of beans+avocado mixture and whole wheat flour same when you make the dough. If the mixture if high on beans and avocado, rotis tend to be very supple and will need gentle handling while rolling and cooking but they taste great. 
• Mustard is just my South Indian touch:-), you can skip this and add cumin powder instead of whole cumin along with other dry powders. This makes the dough easier to roll out into rotis. 

• Do not rest the dough for very long (optimal time is 15 minutes). If you want to keep it for longer, wrap in a cling wrap and refrigerate it. The dough turns darker in color as it rests due to the oxidation of avocado and the natural hue of black beans. Do not let that worry you. 
• Adding lemon/lime juice to the avocado helps retains its color while also adding that touch of sourness to the rotis. 

Roti/phulka & chapati - back to basics for a reason

I am posting a very basic recipe found in most Indian kitchens - the wheat flour roti/phulka (called Godhi rotti in kannada) and chapati (popularly known as plain parantha in the Northern part of India). This is known in other parts of the world as the Indian unleavened bread because it doesn't use any leavening agents such as baking soda, baking powder or yeast. The dough is the same for both roti and chapati, the rolling out and cooking methods differ slightly to make one richer in taste and calories than the other. Rotis are as much of a staple food in North Indian daily menu as rice is in the South. There are exceptions of course and people from any region may choose to adapt to a different eating habit. So, why am I going back to this very basic recipe? A few reasons, read on..

For one, rotis/phulkas belong to that category of recipes where 'practice makes one perfect'. For such a basic recipe (mix the dough and roll it into circles), this has every possibility of going wrong if you do not pay attention to a few minor details. While experts make the softest, yummiest rotis with just the flour and water mixture, it takes some attention to detail when you make them initially. It is a lot to do with the technique and that is what I am going to focus on today. Secondly, I was not a great roti maker for a long time when I started cooking, To start with, the dough would either be too soft or too hard, my rotis would have every possible shape in the Universe except for a decent circle. And I would not get the characteristic fluffy phulka :-). All the while, nammamma used to dish out rottis every other day as if that was one of the simplest things to do in life. Talk about shame facedness, that is what I had. But then I realized that the consistency of dough is all about how you can handle it while rolling out. This is a soft, pliant dough without being sticky.  With all this background, I thought I will share some 'lessons learnt' from my experience with novice roti makers.

The third and most important reason, my daughter reminded me the other day that there was no 'roti recipe' on the blog although she has been pointing it out for a while now. She wants to try it out herself when amma vanishes on one of her business trips which will be pretty soon :-). And I got a lecture for 10 minutes from a very hurt faced teenager as to why I was not considering her request for a simple roti recipe while I keep saying that the blog is an electronic journal for the said hurt teenager :-). I tried to explain that it was such a basic recipe that none of my readers would be interested in and pat came the reply, "so I don't count as a reader"?, I have to give her credit, although she doesn't check out every post, when she bakes or cooks occasionally. she opens up my blog first before doing a generic search for the recipe, so much for loyalty :-). So this post is all about appeasing my blog reader at home and I will consider it purely collateral if some of my other readers benefit from it too.

I am going to use the same dough to make rotis (less oil and hence healthier) and chapatis (more oil and tastier) and let you choose what you want to make. Nammamma used rice flour to roll out chapatis, the home made rice flour has a slightly coarser texture than the store bought and this imparted a very subtle crunchy texture to the layered chapatis. Hot off the tawa, ate with one of her signature gojjus or chutneys, it used to be simply delicious. This used to be the default breakfast on Saturdays when I landed at Mysore with an infant in tow catching an early morning train from Bengaluru to spend the weekend with my parents. 

What do you need to make rotis?
Makes about 8 home sized rotis
2 cups wheat flour
3/4 cup luke warm water
1/8 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp oil
1 Tblsp wheat flour for dusting
If making chapati you will need 2 Tsp of oil mixed with 1 Tsp of ghee (clarified butter) and heated to luke warm temperature

How do you make roti/phulka? 

• Bring all ingredients together except for water into a wide bowl and mix it once. 
• Add the water slowly while mixing the contents. It comes together as a soft dough ball. 
• Knead for 2 minutes, form into a smooth round ball, cover it with cling wrap or with a dish cloth and set aside for 20 minutes. 
• Take the dough out, knead it for a minute, pinch off 8 equal sized balls. 
• Take a ball, dip it in dry flour and flatten it slightly. 
• Roll the ball, moving it in circular motion to get uniform thickness (about 5millimeter), dusting if needed with dry flour. 
• Heat a flat griddle, put the rolled out roti on top and cook for 30-45 seconds or until small bubbles appear on top. 

• Flip it over and cook for another 30-45 seconds. 
• At this stage, you can do one of the 3 things below: 
• Method 1: If you own a gas stove, remove the par cooked roti from the griddle, put it directly on the flame (on medium heat) and hold there for it to puff up with the help of tongs. Flip it over and hold for another 5 seconds. 
• Method 2: If you do not own a gas stove and are working off an electric stove, continue to cook the roti on the griddle. Use a clean dish cloth or thick paper napkin or a wide spatula to press the roti lightly while moving it around for uniform cooking. This puffs up the roti on top of the griddle (see picture below)

• Method 3: If you prefer, you can put the par cooked roti into the microwave and cook for not more than 4-5 seconds for it to puff up. This is a Madhur Jaffrey tip/
• Take the cooked roti into a container, brush the top lightly with oil or ghee.
• Repeat for all the remaining dough balls. Keep rotis in a container with lid and lined with a paper towel.

How do you make chapati/plain parantha? 

• Follow the above steps until you make the dough and pinch off equal sized balls after 20 minutes of resting period. 
• Take a dough ball, roll it into a small (2 inch diameter) roti. 
• Take 1/4 Tsp of the oil+ghee mix (nammamma calls it 'saati', no idea what the word means or where it came from), smear it all over the top surface of the roti. 

• Fold it half and then hold one of the corners and fold it to the middle, hold the folded piece and bring it on top of the remaining portion. If done correctly, you will end up with a cute triangle shape. This step helps create the characteristic layers in the chapati. 

• Now dip the folded triangle in dry flour and roll it out uniformly. The chapatis are rolled out as a triangle. 

• Cook this on a heated griddle brushing a few drops of oil on both sides. 

Notes: 

• Warm water makes softer rotis but take care not to overheat the water as it will cook the dough while mixing. 
• Do not make rotis or chapatis very thin (paper thin), they need to have a small thickness for it to puff up on heating. 
• Do not set the chapati dough out for more than 30 minutes as the wheat flour loses its nutrients. 
• Do not use too much of flour for dusting as it makes rotis hard. And for the same reason, do not flip the rotis too many times on the griddle. 
• Adding a Tsp of flax seeds powder makes rotis nutritious and soft. 
• While these are best eaten hot off the tawa, you can also reheat them in the microwave for less than 5 seconds to make them warm and soft again. 
• I recommend the method 3 above only if you want that puffed up look and if you are going to use a little bit of grease (oil or ghee) on top as this seems to dry out the rotis very fast. 

I wish all my readers a Happy Holi (belated) - may there be harmony across colors, nationalities, religion and may people always love and respect each other as we embrace the new beginnings this Spring. We are planning on celebrating Holi on a predicted balmy Sunday afternoon later this week. 

Makki Roti & some typical Punjabi fare in a typical South Indian kitchen

..America re-elects President Obama for a second term..

My introductions and exposure to Punjabi food is through the various dhabhas I have been to in my life. A particular one on the highway between Delhi & Agra visited about 6 years back still is at the top slot. I don't remember the exact location, our car broke down and the driver told us to go ahead and have lunch in the dhabha while he got the tire fixed and got the car ready to go. Things happen for a reason and I believe it was my destiny to eat a completely awesome Punjabi khana that day. The naans, paneer, chaas, salad and everything was absolutely lip smacking. Having been outside India for over a decade, I feel that the Indian restaurants here are far from authentic, they are adaptive yes but not authentic. When some of my American friends ask me to recommend an Indian restaurant or a dish in Indian restaurant, I tell them to try it out themselves and decide and also tell give a fair warning that the sambar served in a South Indian restaurant here is not necessarily how I would make it at home :-)

I am in love with the naans, rotis and paranthas that are so everyday in Punjabi cuisine and make them often at home. A true blue Punjabi may flinch at some of my adaptations and short cuts and almost nonexistent use of butter or cream in my cooking but that is just the cook's creative license I use to suit my family's palate and needs.

Also for all of us romantic Indians growing up with a Bollywood backdrop, there are umpteen number of movies to make us feel at home with the Punjabi, Gujarati & Rajasthani delicacies without breaking a sweat. I learnt that Sarsoan ka saag is made with the mustard greens as I watched Simran make a very reluctant journey back to her ancestral home through the cheery yellow mustard fields in DDLJ, realized the Gujarati soft corner for Dhoklas with green chutney as Rancho the idiot/scientist teaches little but important life lessons to lady love Pia by pouring the green chutney over her fiancee's expensive shoes, got to know that the Rajasthani people ate soft, warm rotis for breakfast by watching the bubbly Pallavi tell a graceful Dai Jaa as a hopelessly smitten Viren looks on with his mouth open (not at the rotis but at the equally delicious Pallavi :-)). Go back a little bit to Hrishikesh Mukharjee's times and you have the tall, lanky handsome Beeru asking for 'basan ke roti itne mote mote (ultra thick basan rotis) with baingan ka Bhurta from his mausi in the classic romance Abhimaan. If any or all of the above seem like complete non sense gibber, just watch these movies and you will appreciate the power of Bollywood :-). 

I made a couple of Punjabi favorites over the weekend and we enjoyed it very much. As I said already, if you are from the land of Punjab and have eaten these dishes made by a mom, aunt, grand mom and such others, just give me the benefit of doubt. Though they may not sound authentic, they taste heavenly. So go ahead and give my version a try that it truly deserves.

Corn as the grain is referred to in North America or Maize as it is called in many European countries and former colonies influenced by British English is known in Punjab as Makai or Makki and the flour is made from corn kernels. While corn itself is gluten free, the store bought corn flour or corn meal may have added wheat flour to help the use in baking recipes. I use corn flour purchased at Indian stores which states on the label that it does not have wheat flour. Wheat flour as many of you know has gluten which lends that unmistakable binding texture to the dough. Since corn flour by itself does not have gluten and hence does not form into perfectly round rotis like those with wheat flour, some people use wheat flour in part to make makki rotis. I personally prefer the unadultrated makki ki roti and hence follow a couple of additional steps to get good, unbroken rotis, look out for these tips in the Notes section below.

What do you need to make Makki rotis? 

Makes about 10 medium sized rotis

2 cups makki flour or corn flour

1 cup grated white radish

1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)

1/4 cup water (approximate, based on the water from the radish)

How do you make Makki rotis?

• Wash, peel and grate white radish to get a cup of gratings, I prefer to use the small holes of my grater, you can choose what works for you. 
• In a wide bowl, pour corn flour, salt and grated radish. Add hot water on top so it wets the flour, cover the bowl and keep aside for 5 minutes. 

• Take the cover off, gently bring together the flour, radish, salt and water and knead into a dough. The dough should come together in a single mass without crumbling bits of corn flour. 
• Take an aluminium foil, place it on a flat surface and spread a couple drops of water with your fingers. 
• Take a big lemon sized ball of the corn dough and place it in the center of the foil and pat it with your forefingers into a thick roti.
• Heat a flat griddle on medium heat, invert the aluminium foil on top of the hot griddle (with roti side down) and let it cook for a minute. 

• Gently peel the aluminium foil and continue to cook the roti for another minute or two before flipping it over and cooking on the other side. 

• The roti takes longer to cook than the traditional wheat roti and should be cooked until you see big golden spots on both surfaces without letting them turn black. 

• Finish up all the dough similarly, enjoy the hot makki roti with a dollop of ghee or butter. I served it with a typical Punjabi side dish but not the usual combination, will be back with that recipe later this week.

Notes: 

• Use fine corn flour in this recipe, corn meal does not bind into a ball at all. 
• Addition of white radish is optional but that gives it a really Punjabi flavor and also helps bind the dough together. 
• I have heard that expert cooks pat the makki roti beween their palms but since I am no expert, I conveniently cheated and used the same method I use for my South Indian akki rotti - pat it on a foil and turn it over the hot griddle. This works like a charm and you can tell unsuspecting friends that you have been making makki rotis in your kitchen forever :-)
• It is important to wet the surface of the foil before you start to pat the dough so the foil peels off easily on the griddle. 

Methi roti - fresh greens in soft rotis

As we get ready to welcome the Autumn and the subsequent Wintry weather, I am wrapping up on my kitchen garden for this year. It is always such a nice feeling to be able to look through my bed room window and plan the next day's meal based on what is available in the tiny patch in the backyard. I love the flavor and freshness the home grown veggies bring to the dishes. As we bid goodbye to a really beautiful Summer we had over the last few months, I harvested the last batch of methi (fenugreek) leaves this week. I love these slightly bitter tasting, extremely flavorful greens in any form. Since there wasn't much today, I decided to make some methi rotis with them for lunch.

DD keeps reminding me that I haven't posted many basic recipes here on the blog so she can make them on her own and surprise me :-), while the offer is really tempting I see myself backing out of really basic, every day kind of food unless I see myself adding some value to it. But here is a pretty basic recipe that can be made by anyone. Sometimes if I crave for methi rotis and do not have fresh leaves I use kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) instead but be forewarned that is not the same as the methi rotis made with fresh leaves.

The methi rotis are packed with all the flavor of fresh methi leaves, a little goes a long way here. You don't need a lot of methi leaves to enjoy the taste (although more is merrier and you can add as much as you want) so you can jazz up your every day roti with a handful of methi leaves. Roasting the methi leaves brings out their flavor and softens the leaves which makes it easier to roll the rotis.

Whole wheat flour + couple spoons of oil + roasted methi leaves rolled into soft, hot rotis, we had them with some dal and tomato pachadi.

What do you need to make methi rotis? 
Makes about 10 regular sized rotis
2 cups wheat flour + 1 Tsp for dusting
3/4 cup water
1 cup chopped fenugreek leaves
3/4 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1/2 Tsp red chili powder
2 Tsp oil (divided use)

How do you make methi rotis? 

• Heat 1/2 Tsp oil in a small pan, add chopped methi leaves and saute for a minute or until it wilts.
• Add salt, red chili powder to the leaves and cook for another minute until the leaves soften. 
• Take the wheat flour in a wide bowl, add 1/2 Tsp oil, roasted methi leaves and mix it well. 

• Add water slowly to get a soft, pliant dough, cover and set aside for 30 minutes. 
• Remove the cover, knead the dough for a couple of minutes and pinch out lemon sized balls.
• Roll the balls into thin discs using wheat flour to dust as required. 

• Heat a flat griddle and roast the roti with a few drops of oil until it develops small brown spot on both surfaces. 

• Serve it with any side dish of choice, I like to eat the hot off the griddle methi rotis just like that - bite by bite. 

Notes: 

• Quantity of water given above is pretty close to what you would need to get a soft dough, different brands of wheat flour absorb water differently so watch out for it and adjust water. 
• Keep the dough covered with a wet paper napkin or muslin cloth for about 30 minutes and also knead the dough for 3-4 minutes or until it is soft and elastic to touch. These make soft rotis. 
• Don't roll these rotis very thin as they need to puff up and form layers when cooked. 
• Be adventurous and add other spice powders such as amchoor powder or garam masala per your taste. You can use ground green chilies instead of the red chili powder for a different taste.

Sweet potato rotis - soft Indian bread with sweet potatoes

Necessity is the mother of invention, right? Everyone becomes creative in the face of need. This roti is one such recipe from BH's consulting days. I am sure many of you have been or are currently in the same boat with a spouse travelling on work. Eating out may sound fancy but definitely has its health deterrents, especially if you have to do it long term. In the initial days, when I wasn't used to quick cooking and needed time to plan and execute, my cooking was limited to 2-3 times a week. A large scale cooking on Sunday afternoon (some 2-3 curries and rotis/parathas) with idli or dose hittu (batter) ready for the week, supplemented by a mid week cooking on Wednesday or Thursday :-). It was a great confidence booster to come back home after work with a hungry toddler in tow and find something readily available in the refrigerator. I am older, wiser and can cook faster now so I don't do bulk cooking anymore and we sit down for a family dinner most evenings.

But back in the days when BH was travelling, he would be gone most of the week days. While he used to have lunch with colleagues, he preferred to have something light at his hotel room at night. I used to be constantly on the look out for recipes that were healthy, wholesome and had longer shelf life. We both prefer rotis to rice and curries just because of the reduced mess in eating. BH is a totally non fussy eater so pleasing him through food is a no brainer. While stuffed parathas not only taste great but also stay soft, it requires additional work preparing the stuffing. Instead you can get the same delicious (Well, almost :-)) rotis by adding the ingredients into the dough.

I usually get my brand of whole wheat flour for making rotis. Nammamma in the days when she sent cleaned wheat grains to the flour mill would also add moong dal to make rotis nutritious, that is my mom's concept of multi grain flour long before the super market isles exploded with them.

Today's roti is a tried and tested recipe with two key ingredients. Both add to the taste and nutrition value of these rotis. I won't bore you with a wiki like sermon on the nutritional benefits, a quick look up on the all powerful, all invasive internet will give you what you are looking for (and much more of what you are not looking for also). I have added flax seeds powder  - you can get this as flax seeds meal in super markets or just powder flax seeds in a dry blender and add it while mixing the dough.

What do you need to make sweet potato rotis? 
1 big sweet potato (I used the white colored, you can use the pink or red ones)
2 cups whole wheat flour + 1Tblsp for dusting
2 Tblsp milled flax seeds or powdered flax seeds
1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1 green chili - chopped fine (optional)
2-3 twigs fresh cilantro - chopped fine

How do you make sweet potato rotis? 

• Trim the ends of sweet potato, cut into 4-5 pieces and boil it in microwave or pressure cooker until soft.
• Once the boiled sweet potatoes cool down, peel the skin and mash it into a paste.
• Add chopped cilantro and green chilies (if using) along with salt and mix well. 

• Add the wheat flour and flax seeds powder and mix it into a soft dough. You will not need water as the boiled potatoes generate enough water content.
• Knead for 1-2 minutes and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. 

• Pinch off golf ball sized dough, shape it into a ball and roll it into a circular roti dusting as needed with dry wheat flour.
• Heat a flat griddle and roast the roti on both sides until it is cooked and light brown spots appear. 

• Enjoy warm, soft rotis with any pickle or chutney and a side of buttermilk or yogurt.

Notes: 

• I did not use oil while roasting, you can if you prefer.
• I sometimes add a Tsp of white sesame seeds into the dough which is optional. 
• The dough tends to become softer as you let it rest, take that into account as you do not want a very sticky dough on hand. 
• Based on the quality of sweet potato, sometimes the prepared dough tends to get sticky, add dry wheat flour if needed and knead for a couple of minutes before you roll into rotis. 

Hearty lunch - Gobi Para(n)tha or parotta

In our house, rice & roti are equally respected. Being the south Indians that we are, rice is staple and we covet all our rice varieties and the side dishes that go with it, at the same time all kinds of rotis, parathas, pooris, naans are regular fare in my kitchen. Parottas as we called it were elaborate preparations and nammamma made some really yummy potato parottas. But her repertoire of parottas stopped with potatoes since she didn't use Gobi.

I think Parottas/Parathas make one of the heartiest meals and use different vegetables (some stuffed, some blended into the dough) and lentils/dals depending on what is available in my pantry. Parathas also make for a good cleaning recipe, it has the power to turn stray vegetables lying in your refrigerator into a tasty, filling meal :-).

My daughter had a long day today with after school clubs and sports practice lined up and since it was busy at work for me too, I planned to make Gobi/cauliflower parathas for her lunch. Lunch is referred to the before sunset meal she has after school which is any time between 3 - 5pm depending on her activities. She has 'the lunch' whenever she gets home from school. As we were going to be driving, I wanted to make something she could easily chomp off without it getting messy in the car. So the Gobi in the refrigerator came to the rescue. I wrapped the hot parathas in aluminium foil, mixed the curd & pickle in a small container and she finished it as we drove to the practice field.

Though roti making seems time consuming, a little bit of planning goes a long way and parathas are very good make ahead recipes too. They tend to remain soft and delicious even if you were to eat it after they cool down. There is a lot in this recipe that can be made ahead and you can prepare fresh, hot parathas as needed if you have prepped it, so go ahead and give this delicious recipe a try for a quick meal or a leisurely one.

What do you need to make Gobi parathas? 
Paratha stuffing: 
1 medium sized cauliflower - florets separated and grated
1 medium sized potato - boiled, peeled and mashed (optional)
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp red chili powder
1 Tsp garam masala powder
1/2 Tsp amchoor/dry mango powder(optional)
1 Tsp dry kasoori methi

Roti Dough: 
2 cups wheat flour
1 cup water (adjust to get the consistency described below)
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp cooking oil

For the parathas: 
Wheat flour to dust
2 Tblsp cooking oil

How do you make Gobi parathas?
Stuffing preparation:

• Heat a pan, put the grated gobi, salt and cook it covered on medium heat for about 5 minutes
• Add the spices, mashed potatoes and let it all cook until the water evaporates and the gobi is cooked. 
• Taste and adjust the spices, switch off and let it come to room temperature.
• Make lemon sized balls from the mixture, cover and keep it aside until needed.  

Paratha dough preparation: 

• Take the wheat flour and salt in a wide bowl, mix it dry to incorporate the salt. 
• Add water little by little to make a soft, pliable dough
• Knead the dough for a couple of minutes, smear oil, cover and set it aside for 15-20 minutes. 
• Make lemon sized balls from the dough, remember you will need as many dough balls as you have the stuffing balls. 

One on top is already stuffed, the bottom 2 rows are ready for stuffing

Paratha preparation: 

• Smear a drop of oil on the palm of your left hand, take a dough ball and spread it out to fill your palm.
• Put the stuffing in the middle and pull the dough gently on top to cover the stuffing completely. 
• Roll this gently between your palms and set it in a plate, seam side down. 
• Repeat the process until you have used up the dough & stuffing. 
• If you have extra stuffing, plop it into the mouth and enjoy the veggie goodness. If you have extra dough, you can roll them into plain rotis/chapathis. 
• If I am making all the prep at the same time as preparing the paratha, at this stage I usually cover the prepared paratha balls and put them in the refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes, so they firm up and not open when you roll them. 
• If you are prepping ahead like I did today, you can do all the steps upto this stage and put them in the refrigerator until needed - Make sure you have wrapped the balls completely in plastic wraps so they don't dry. 
• Roll the prepared paratha balls, dusting with wheat flour as needed to a 1/2 inch thick, uniform circle.
• Transfer the rolled paratha to a hot tawa or griddle and roast both sides till golden brown by dropping a few drops of oil on top. 
• Serve hot Gobi parathas with Yogurt/curd and pickle or your choice of side dish.  

Variations: 

• I like to preserve the natural taste of Gobi in the parathas, so I usually go easy on the spices. You can add/change the spices to suit your taste. 

Tips: 

• The gobi mixture needs to cook well for best taste in addition to becoming dry, do the cooking on medium heat. 
• I make the paratha dough slightly more pliable than regular rotis for easy handling. Use warm water to get a softer paratha. 
• As I mentioned before, this is a great make ahead recipe and you can keep these ready in the fridge for upto 24-30 hours. 
• Addition of potato to the stuffing helps bind the mixture and makes it easy to handle, you can skip this if you want to. 
• Making a stuffed paratha is a skill but you don't have to shy away from trying it, keep the dough pliant, the dough ball a slight bit bigger than the stuffing and use oil as needed to close the stuffing. 

Snow storm and a warm lunch - Poori & Saagu

So, when we moved to the Pacific Northwest from the midwest, we thought we were done with the snow, every one we talked to whined about how rainy the area is and gloomy it becomes in winter. I am 'romantic to the core' and was completely in awe of the beautiful surroundings, mountainous terrain and the sky reaching ever greens and fell in love with my new home. I love the slow rains (unlike the thunderstorms), moderate temperatures (warm summers and cool winters) and was happy when the old timers said 'It doesn't actually snow but gets gloomy', I was done with snow and so settled in happily at my new home :-). Well.. looks like somebody had different plans, Seattle area is seeing the snow storm it hasn't in 27 years, so we are home bound, working from home and school is closed. But I am not complaining, I just realized again that I love snow especially when I don't have to maneuver the roads.

When the three of us are home on a week day which is a rare occassion, it is lunch time and cold outside, what do we collectively wish for? Something hot, deep fried (sinful), which is exactly what we had for lunch when it was snowing outside - poori (deep fried Indian bread) with potato saagu and maagai (an Andhra delight made with raw mango).

We eat Poori with potato saagu or vegetables saagu or potato palya (dryer version of the saagu) or chole (a North Indian delicacy made with garbanzo beans) and always with maagai (I know this is the second time I said that name on this post, I promise I will post the recipe soon). The potato saagu I have here is not very spicy but flavorful and usually what you get in Mysore restaurants if you happened to order pooris.

Amma got married when she was just out of high school (yes, it was a child marriage :-)), she left the sheltered life at mother's place for the first time and moved to the unfamiliar place with her new husband. My FIL got her samosas to snack when he came home from work and amma wondered it was poori-bhaji but didn't dare ask her new husband why it was packaged like that :-), she broke open the samosa and ate the outer shell with the stuffing like she would eat poori-bhaji at home. She has learnt to eat samosa now and loves her poori-bhaji any day. So this one is for my lovely amma.

What do you need to make Pooris?
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup water
1 Tsp salt
Oil to deep fry
1 Tsp ajwain seeds/om kalu/vamu (optional)

wheat flour, salt & ajwain seeds

Poori dough resting

Dough made into small balls, ready to be rolled

Rolled out discs, ready to be fried

How do you make Pooris?

1. Make a stiff dough with the flour, salt, ajwain(if using) by adding water little by little.
2. Keep it covered to keep the moisture intact for 15 minutes
3. Heat oil to deep fry
4. Pinch off a small lime sized dough, smoothen it and roll it into circular discs of about 1/2 mm thickness. 
5. Deep fry the discs one by one in the hot oil, slowly turning it over till both sides becomes light golden

Puffed up poori

Poori turned over to cook on the other side

Tips:

1. Do not keep the dough for more than 20 minutes as pooris absorb more oil.
2. The dough should be stiffer than regular chapati dough. 
3. Ajwain seeds not only give a nice flavor to the pooris but also help in easy digestion of the deep fried stuff.

What do you need to make Potato saagu?

4-5 medium potatoes - boil, peel and mash them with some chunks 

1 medium onion - choped into thin, long slices

1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)

1 inch of fresh ginger root - cut into thin julienne

a small bunch of cilantro/coriander leaves

2-3 green chilies - slit vertically into half

1 cup of water

1 Tblsp of cooking oil

1 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp cumin

How do you make potato saagu?

1. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin, let mustard crackle
2. Add cut chilies and chopped ginger and let it roast in oil for a minute
3. Add chopped onions and let it become light pink
4. Add the boiled, mashed potatoes in with salt and add in the water to bring it to a gravy consistency
5. When the saagu starts to form small bubbles, add the chopped cilantro and let it all boil together for a couple of minutes
6. Switch off the stove

Potato Saagu

Ready to bite into..

 Variations:

1. Add frozen green peas to the saagu if you like.

Teaser about Maagai: 
This is a summer special pickle from Andhra, BH just loves it. It is preserved and used the whole year. It is a concentrated, spicy pickle and we make pachadi (chutney) using the concentrate with seasoning and mix it with home made yogurt/curd while serving.