Parat Wale Paranthe-Layers and Paranthe Wali Gali Revisited with Ragi/Finger Millet Flour

Paranthe....Parat Wale...

Chandni Chowk,Old Delhi.
A metro ride away from the parents house. The best place to go when you crave all the bling needed for the Great Indian Wedding. Katra which are misnomers for lanes that are stuffed with tiny little stores full of laces, buttons, shiny embroidered dresses and sarees and all things needed for weddings.
I shopped for my wedding there,then the sister in law, various cousins and then sweet sisters trousseau was purchased here as well.
And of late, thanks to the Delhi metro, we hop off to Chandni Chowk just for kicks or maybe a button or two(the shiniest of buttons are available here -not at a large discount though)

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And then there are little nooks in the wall for stuff to eat. It seems an unholy mess here, sweet child refused to eat the stuff sold at the carts at first ,but after he saw us enjoying the food stuffs...he had his fill.
The best time to visit is winters, and the food is always fast moving,so you know that its always fresh.
So no Delhi Belly.
The best place is...Katra Shah n Shah

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And the best thing to see here is ...

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They make paranthas of everything under the sun ,but the easiest to emulate is the parat wala parantha.
But as we live in Jalandhar,Punjab the fragrances cannot satisfy our appetites. So we try the paranthas at home.
Paranthe Wali Gali style.
Paranthas are layered or stuffed breads cooked either on a hot griddle in the tandoor and slathered with ghee or butter or oil and eaten with fresh curd,chutney,pickles or a veggie curry.
This is a healthier version using Ragi or Finger Millet Flour.
Parat means layers...16 layers in this parantha.
Crisp and yummy...prettier than any puff pastry type bread. And wow...

for the
Parat Wala Parantha-Layers and Paranthe Wali Gali Revisited with Ragi/Finger Millet Flour...
you need
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup ragi/finger millet flour
water to knead
salt,chili flakes,coriander powder,oregano flakes whatever spice blend you have
Ajwain or bishops weed seeds
Desi ghee/clarified butter or butter or vegetable oil to fry
You can make these with only whole wheat flour if you wish,but ragi adds an additional taste to them.
Knead the flours with warm water,not too soft.
All set like an assembly line production.
Non stick pan/Griddle/tawa on the fire,it must be hot when you place the rolled parantha.
 A ball of dough a little bigger than a golf ball, rolled out to about 2 mm thin. Round or the map of Australia,no issues.
 Slather the parantha with ghee or whatever fat you are using and with a sharp knife,cut the parantha into 16 pieces.

Sprinkle on the spices you want to use. I use chile flakes, salt and coriander powder or the oregano sachets that I save from my pizza delivery.
 Stack the pieces spice side up, except one to cove the stack.
 The last piece upside down and pressed down and now dipped into dry flour to help the rolling.
 like so...
 Dipped in flour...
 And rolled out...
 On the hot griddle till the top looks cooked and then you need to flip.
 The other side up, a few specks of brown, add a spoon full of the fat and spread it around.

 Flame reduced to medium,Now dexterity is important,use a flat spoon to overturn and cook the other side. You can add more or less ghee and watch the layers separate.
 Place on a plate and cut into four pieces...
 And serve super fast...with chutney ...whatever...
 Moms in India like to place a little ghee on the parantha or roti and crumple it with their hands ,even though the bread may be burning hot...this does two things-breaks open the layers and allows the ghee to percolate and the most important thing ,shows our love for the one the parantha is made.
Burning hands and all...the parantha is full of flavor and love.
Enough to bring Paranthe Wali Gali home to your kitchen.