Mint Parathas – Pan Crisped Whole Wheat Flatbreads
Summertime mint is a staple in the Curry Garden. These gorgeous parathas are my favorite way to enjoy the mint. I decided to share something that I make frequently with you. This was mostly precipitated by my friend Arlen, a fabulous cook in her own right. These parathas or wholewheat flatbreads are made with mint and tomatoes. Or just mint depending on your persuasion. As we move along, I will tell you more about the pros and cons of each option.
A little bit about Parathas
Gluten free is not going to be trendy in North India anytime soon. This part of the country relies heavily on whole-wheat flour that we call atta to complete their starch and nutritional intake. There are several kinds of flatbreads, I recently gave you a recipe for Missy Roti and then there are parathas.
Parathas happen to be one of my favorite Indian bread choices, since I find it fool-proof and versatile. Unlike the chapati that needs to be puffy and therefore needs some additional skill from the kneader and the cook. Paratha is also exceedingly versatile, since it can be made with multiple stuffings or herbs.
Herbs to Use in a Paratha
Methi Parathas or parathas made with fenugreek greens are very common in India. Here in my New York kitchen, I make them with mint, Kale or greens. This is a great way to get in a generous amount of greens into your diet. Any complex or rustic greens are fair game for a paratha. A rustic and leftover paratha are these lentil parathas.
Kneading the Paratha dough
I knead the paratha dough either with my hand or the food processor. Both these methods have their strengths and weaknesses. The food processor is less messy. It chops the mint and tomatoes along with kneading the dough. This said, using your hands offer more control with the dough.
About the tomatoes
I love tomatoes and keep looking for ways to use them. Adding the tomatoes results in a brighter and crumblier paratha. This makes the dough a little harder to work with. Hence it is an optional ingredient.
How to Enjoy your Parathas
These paratha are great with any dish you can think of, perfect with pindi choley just to name one. Enjoy mint parathas for breakfast with yogurt and pickle, the way North Indians do.
A recipe for mint flavored Indian flatbreads called pudina paratha. We refer to this as mint paratas in our house for easy.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of whole wheat flour (atta) For this recipe, please use the Indian variety of whole wheat flour since it makes a difference in the grind, if this is not available then use all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 11/2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon red cayenne pepper
- 11/2 teaspoons ginger paste
- 1 and 1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves packed.
- 2 medium sized ripe tomatoes (optional) (see note)
- 21/2 tablespoons oil such as grapeseed or canola plus extra for pan frying
- 2/3 cup water
- Extra flour for rolling
Instructions
- Place the flour, caraway seeds, salt and red cayenne pepper in the food processor and pulse a few times.
- Add in the ginger paste, mint, tomatoes if using and oil and pulse again for about 30 seconds at this point the mixture should be a crumbly green speckled mass.
- Gradually add in the water processing until the mixture forms a ball, this takes about a minute.
- Remove the mixture from the food processor and place in a mixing bowl and knead a few time to achieve a smooth dough, cover and set this aside to rest for about an hour.
- Next, before rolling and frying get organized by placing the rolling flour in a bowl and in another bowl place some oil. I like to use a pastry brush for spreading the oil, but a teaspoon works too.
- Break the dough into lime sized balls (this recipe makes about 8) and then shape into a round.
- Place a flat heavy skillet on the fire as you begin making these flatbreads.
- Roll out the dough into a circle about 7 inches in diameter using flour as needed. Shake off any excess flour and place on the skillet and cook for about a minute, you will see the flatbread lighten and dry slightly.
- Turn the bread and at this point you will see the dough puffing up slightly. When the dough gets small browns spots in places and the flat bread is puffy, spread it well with oil cook for about 30 seconds, turn and repeat, pressing down the flatbread and uniformly spreading the oil.
- The flatbread crisps and turns darker brown in spots.
- Remove and save in foil and repeat the process with the remaining dough and serve these flatbreads hot.
Notes
If using the tomatoes, you will need to pulse a little longer and use less water as the tomatoes already release water.