A paratha is a North-Indian flat-bread made of whole wheat flour, stuffed with vegetables, paneer and leafy vegetables. It can served for any meal of the day with chutney, pickle or raita. Making perfect parathas needs some skill and comes only with practice. Here is an easy and healthy paratha recipe with spinach which is mess free and requires no stuffing.
You can prepare palak parathas in 2 ways. You can puree the spinach and mix it into the flour with other spices. Or you saute chopped spinach, spices and add to flour. I prefer the latter way and love the little green specks on the paratha. Check the notes for the first method. Spinach paratha are ideal to pack for lunchbox and travel. Serve the parathas hot with curd or raita and pickle.
PALAK PARATHA RECIPE
{ Indian whole-wheat flat-bread with spinach and spices }Makes 8-10 parathas
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups spinach, finely chopped
½ inch ginger, grated
2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp ajwain / carom seeds
Pinch of asafoetida / hing
½ tsp cumin / jeera powder
¾ tsp garam masala
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
Oil / ghee
Method:
1. Heat ½ tsp oil and add ajwain, hing, ginger and green chillies. Fry for few seconds and then add spinach. Fry for 2-3 minutes or until it wilts.
2. Add turmeric powder, cumin powder, garam masala, coriander leaves, lemon juice, salt and fry for 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. In a large bowl, add whole what flour, spinach mixture, salt, 2 tsp oil, required water and knead to make a smooth and pliable dough.
4. Cover and set aside for 15-20 minutes. Divide the dough into lemon size balls. Roll each ball on a lightly floured surface into a circle.
5. Heat a tawa and place the paratha. Cook the paratha on medium heat and smear little oil or ghee until golden brown spots appear on both sides.
Serving Suggestion ~ Raita/curd, pickle or chutney.
Notes and Tips
- You can also blanch the spinach and grind with ginger, green chillies, coriander and lemon juice. Add the pureed spinach, spices and salt to the flour and knead to a smooth dough.
- If you don't like the taste of ajwain, you can substitute with cumin seeds / jeera.
- You can also add red chilly powder instead of green chillies.
