It's our BM Commander-in-Chief, Valli's birthday today and to celebrate the day the BM group decided to cook any dish from her blogs and post it. Valli is our organizer, our motivator and our inspiration. Without her Blogging marathon event, I don't even know if I would be blogging so regularly or not. So big thanks to her for creating this group and leading it so efficiently for more than 5 years now.
When it came to picking a dish from her blog, it took me about a while to narrow down on what I wanted to make. If you didn't know already, Valli is the queen of dosas (check out her 101 Dosa varieties), eggless chocolate bakes, Indian breads and thalis.
I had so many of her posts bookmarked but the weather played spoil sport and I couldn't buy some of the ingredients I needed for the recipes. Finally it got sunny yesterday, so I made these delicious Aloo-Methi Parathas (she calls them Methi-Aloo parathas -- but same difference - you get it right!!)
These parathas are soft, delicious and very filling. They are great to serve for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Do give these a try when you are looking for a tasty variation to Aloo paratha.
Recipe from Valli's blog:
Aloo-Methi Paratha Ingredients:
- 1 Large Potato, boiled and mashed
- 1cup Methi leaves, roughly chopped
- ½~1tsp Red Chili powder (or more for taste)
- ¼tsp Turmeric
- ½tsp Ground Cumin
- ½tsp Aamchoor (dry mango powder)
- ½tsp Garam Masala
- 2tsp Oil
- To taste Salt
- 2cups Atta (Wholewheat flour)
- 1tsp Ajwain
- 2tbsp Yogurt
- To taste Salt
- 2tsp Oil
- Prepare the dough: In a mixing bowl, combine atta, ajwain, salt, yogurt and oil. Mix until a crumbly mixture forms. Slowly add enough water while mixing to form a smooth, pliable dough. Knead for couple of minutes. Cover and set aside for 15~20 minutes.
- Prepare the filling: Heat 2tsp oil in a pan, add the methi leaves, red chili powder, cumin powder, garam masala, aamchoor and salt. Cook till methi is wilted down and is dry.
- Add the mashed potato and mix well. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool for 5~10 minutes.
- Divide the filling into 8~10 equal size balls.
- To make parathas: Divide the dough into 8~10 equal sized pieces. Take a dough ball and flatten it in the palm making sure that the edges are thinner than the center. Place 1 filling ball in the center and pull the dough over the filling to completely enclose it.
- Flatten it gently and roll it out into a 6~7" round paratha on a well floured surface.
- Cook on a hot tawa on medium high heat until brown spots form on both sides. If desired brush with butter/ ghee or oil while cooking. Repeat with the remaining dough and stuffing. Keep the parathas covered in a wide bowl or wrap them in kitchen towel until ready to serve. Serve hot or warm with some yogurt and pickle.
Valli, here's wishing you a very happy birthday again. We enjoyed your aloo-methi parathas a lot, hope you keep blogging and inspiring for many many many years.
