Aloo Parantha (Potato Stuffed Pan Fried Indian Bread)

Aloo Parantha (Potato stuffed Pan Fried Indian Bread)

Stuffed parantha are the specialty of northern part of Indian especially Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal. Pahari of Kumaon are absolutely crazy after potatoes. Every vegetable must have potatoes. Parantha aloo ka with bhanga chutney and piping hot tea are one of the favorite breakfasts. Many people are averse to potatoes thinking it is rich in starch. Yes it is full of starch but what about other nutrients which are in it. Potatoes are rich source of Potassium, calcium and iron. It is rich in vitamin A and B. If taken in moderation they are good for health. Aloo parantha taken with chutney and curd make a complete healthy meal and parantha with mango pickle are good alternative for children lunch box.

Preparation Time: 30 min.

Cooking Time: 40 -50 min. (Each parantha takes 10 min.)

Servings: 6 Paranthas of Medium Size

Ingredients required For making Aloo Parantha:

For dough:

• 250 gm. Wheat Flour

• 1/2Teaspoon salt

• 150 ml. water

For filling:

• 500 gm. Potatoes (6-7 medium size potatoes)

• 4-5 Sprigs of Fresh Coriander

• 2-3 Green chilies

• 1/2Tea spoon Amchur (Optional)

• 1/2 Tea spoon garam masala

• Salt to taste

• Ghee/ oil as cooking medium

Direction For making Dough for Aloo Parantha:

        Making Dough For Aloo Parantha:

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.in/2012/12/making-dough-for-roti-and-paratha-dough.html

        Making Filling:

• Boil the potatoes and keep aside for cooling.

• Peel the boiled potatoes and mash them nicely so that lumps are not left in mashed potatoes.

• Cut green chilies finely.

• Wash and drain the coriander sprigs.

• Cut coriander sprigs finely.

• To the mashed potatoes

• Finely cut coriander sprigs

• Finely cut green chilies

• Amchur

• Garam masala

• Salt

• Mix nicely.

• Filling of Aloo Parantha is ready.

Potato filling for Aloo parantha

         Making Parantha:

• Divide the filling into six portions and make round ball of each portion.

• Divide the dough into six portions and round ball of each portion.

• Sprinkle some dry flour on the rolling board as well as on the dough ball.

Dough ball and filling for one parantha

• Roll one ball by the help of rolling pin to a round of 6 cm. diameter.

• Place the potato filling ball at the center of the rolled dough and bring the edges of dough to the center thus covering the filling nicely with the dough.

Potato filling placed on the rolled dough

Dough ball stuffed with potato filling

• Sprinkle some dry flour on both sides of the filled dough ball and roll it to a round of 10-12 cm. diameters.

Rolled Aloo Parantha

• Place the rolled parantha on the hot tawa and lower the flame.

Parantha placed on hot Tawa

• Cook on low flame till the brown dots start appearing on the lower surface. The color and texture of upper surface will also change.

Parantha after 3 min. of cooking on low flame

One side cooked till brown dots appeared

• Turn over the parantha and cook for 2-3 min. till brown dots start appearing on the other side also.

Stage when ghee/oil is to be sprinkled

• Sprinkle 1/2 tea spoon ghee/oil on the top surface and turn the parantha upside down press gently and cook for 0ne minute.

One side cooked

• Sprinkle 1/2tea spoon ghee / oil on the other surface also, turn upside down and cook along with pressing with a spatula gently.

• Aloo Parantha is ready.

Crisp, Soft Aloo Parantha (Potato Stuffed Pan fried Indian bread)

• Serve with thick Butter, Curd, Coriander mint /Hariyali chutney, Indian Pickles.

Aloo Parantha With Stuffed Red Chili Pickle

Tips:

• Filling should not be made and kept in fridge or outside for long, otherwise the filling will not remain firm.

• Do not add salt much before making the paranthas; otherwise the filling will become runny and difficult to manage.

• Make sure the potatoes are not over cooked while boiling the peeling should remain intact in boiled potatoes. This will make sure the filling is firm not runny.

• The dough should be soft and pliable not hard, otherwise the dough cover will crack and the filling will come out of the dough while rolling the parantha.

• If you are making the parantha for the first time then sprinkle extra dry flour every time to ensure the parantha does not stick to the rolling board.

• Roll always with soft hand and soft strokes, do not put too much pressure while rolling.

• No tip is greater than practice so do not get disheartened if the result is not too encouraging first time. Practice makes a person perfect.

Suggested variations:

• Finely cut onions can be added to the mashed potatoes.

Making dough for Roti and Paratha (Dough for indian bread)

Soft, pliable dough for roti / paratha

The quality of dough is the deciding factor how good the roti / paratha are made. Hard dough and roti / paratha will not be soft, gooey dough and rolling the dough to roti / paratha will become extremely difficult. I learnt this truth hard way. After marriage when I entered my kitchen I had no Idea how to make dough for roti. I added water to flour and it became thin so I added some more flour and mixed. Now it became hard. I kept on repeating this and for myself and my husband landed up making dough of one Kg flour. Dough sticking to my hands and on the plate, flour spilled on the kitchen platform was sight to be seen. When my maid came she had a hearty laugh at my cost. Since then 30 years have gone by and now wish to write about the process of making dough for the benefit of other so that nobody has to face the same fate as mine!!!

Preparation Time: 5 min.

Making Time: 10 min

Servings: Makes 12-15 Roti / 8-10 Paratha

Ingredients Required For Making Dough for Roti / Paratha:

• 250 gm. Whole Wheat flour

• 200ml. Water

Direction for Making Dough for Roti / Paratha:

• Take wheat flour in a bowl or big plate.

• Add 40-45 ml. of water and mix with your fingers till all water gets mixed.

Adding water in little portion

• Repeat again by adding 40-45 ml. water and mixing with remaining dry flour.

Mixing the flour and water

• Add 20-30 ml. water and mix collecting the dry flour with wet flour.

Kneading and mixing

• Start ploughing through the wet flour mixture with your knuckles and fist. This is called kneading. Mix the wet and dry flour in this process.

Kneading the flour to mix dry and wet flour

• Flatten the dryish dough which will be formed and add 25-30 ml. water and mix by kneading  folding the flattened dough due to kneading and kneading again.

Folding and Kneading to get soft dough

• Repeat this flattening and kneading action 2-3 times.

• Flatten the roughly made dough (It will be slightly hard and not pliable). Add 10 ml. of water and knead.

Dough almost ready

• While kneading the dough will flatten, fold and knead 4-5 times. This will make the dough soft  and  pliable.

Soft, pliable doughfor roti / paratha

• Store in airtight container.

• This dough can be kept in fridge for 3-4 days but outside the fridge at 35-38^oCit starts fermenting in 6-7 hrs.
• The amount of water required may vary by with the type of flour and the coarseness of flour.

Tips:

• Excess of water can make the dough gooey which can be made to proper dough by adding dry flour

• Hard dough can always be made to soft dough by adding water and kneading so add water in little proportions to avoid messy situation.

Suggested Variations:

• 1/2Teaspoon salt can be added to the flour before kneading.

• After the dough is made 1/2teaspoon oil can be sprinkled on the dough and made to big ball and stored.

• 1 Teaspoon oil  / ghee can be added to flour before making the dough.

Daal ki puri( Puris made of Pulses and Flour mixture)

When a lady has to run a house hold she tries to make use of all left over of meals, so I was not an exception. From this habit of mine this mouthwatering recipe of these puris took birth. Since these puris have wheat flour and pulses so they become a complete food by themselves. The taste of these puris is so yummy that till the day my daughter and daughter in-law  wanted to make them in their home they  never suspected I put daal in its dough, and it is not the belated complaints I get but the beaming smiles, which makes me very happy.

Preparation Time: 20min.

Cooking Time: 15 – 20 min.

Servings: The given proportion will make 15 – 20 puris.

Ingredients Required To Make Daal Puris

• 250gm. Whole Wheat Flour
• 25gm. Moong Daal
• 25gm. Urad Daal
• 25 gm. Chana Daal
• 1 Tea spoon finely cut coriander leaves.
• 1 Tea spoon Salt.
• 1 Tea spoon Red chili powder.
• 10ml. cooking oil for making the dough.
• Water to make the dough.
• 200ml. cooking oil for frying.

Directions To Make The Dough

• Mix Urad daal, Chana daal, Moong daal and wash them.
• Put them in a pressure cooker, along with 100ml. water and put the lid of pressure cooker.
• Keep the pressure cooker on high flame till pressure is built in cooker.
• Lower the flame and cook for 10 min.
• Allow the cooker to cool.
• Take out he cooked daal mixture and mash the daal to a thick paste.(you can do it in a mixer also).
• Take wheat flour in a bowl add oil, salt, red chili powder and mix.
• Add the paste of cooked daal in small proportions and knead.
• The dough should firm and soft.

Directions To Make Daal Puris

• Make 15 – 20 balls from the dough.
• Oil the rolling board and rolling pin with few drops of oil.
• Take 200ml. cooking oil in a wok and heat on high flame till smoking hot.
• Lower the flame.
• Place the ball in the center of rolling board and roll to 5 – 6 cm. diameter round. ( these rolled puris should be slightly thicker than regular puris).
• Put the rolled puri in the hot oil from the side of wok and fry from both sides by turning once or twice.
• The fried puri should be golden brown in color.
• Repeat the same with all the dough balls.

Hot, soft, tasty, and nourishing puris are ready. These puris can be served with sweet / spicy pickle, any vegetable or curd or tangy chutney!

Tips:-

• Any leftover daal from the meals can be used to make the dough of daal puri.
• Those who are not adept at rolling can roll the puris first and keep them separated on a greased plate or on a clean newspaper and then heat oil and fry those rolled puris at one go but one by one.
• While putting the rolled puri in the oil always put from the edge of wok otherwise hot oil may spill causing burns.

Missi Puri ( Puri made of different flour mixtures)

These puris are quite popular in Maharashtra (India). They can be served as evening snacks or as main dish accompanied with vegetables or chicken / mutton. It was in the home of my good friend Mrs. Deshmukh where I ate them for the first time. After learning how to make them, I made them at home, and my family started loving Mrs. Deshmukh more for teaching me Missi puri. Since the puris have different cereals in them they make complete food with any type of accompaniment. My husband loves them with thick curd seasoned with little salt and finely cut green chili.

Preparation Time: 10min.

Cooking Time: 15 min.

Servings: The below given material will make 15 puris.

Ingredients Required

• 50gm. Whole Wheat Flour
• 25gm. Semolina (Suji).
• 25gm. Rice Flour.
• 25gm. Black Gram flour.(Besan).
• 25gm. Millet Flour (Bajara Atta.)
• 25gm. Jowar Flour
• 1/2 Tea spoon Salt.
• 1/2 Tea spoon Red chili powder.
• 10 ml. Cooking Oil for making dough.
• 100ml. Water for making dough.
• 200ml. Cooking oil for frying.

Directions To Make The Dough

• In a bowl take wheat flour, suji, rice flour, besan, bajara atta, jowar atta, salt, red chili powder and mix thoroughly.
• Add 10ml. of cooking oil in little proportions with continuous mixing.
• Mix the mixture by rubbing between your palms.
• The mixture should resemble bread crumbs.
• Add water in small proportions and knead. 
• The dough should be firm but soft.
• Keep the dough aside for 5 – 10 min.

Directions To Make Missi Purees

• Take 200ml. cooking oil in a wok and heat it on high flame.
• Lower the flame to minimum when the oil is smoking hot.
• Oil the rolling board and rolling pin with few drops of oil.
• Make 15 rounds balls from the dough.
• Keep one ball of dough in the center of rolling board and roll it to 6 -8 cm. diameter round.
• Put it gently in the hot oil from the edge of wok and fry on both sides to golden brown color.
• Repeat the same with all the balls of dough.

Hot crisp Missi purees are ready. These purees can be kept in air tight containers for a day or two. My personal favorite is the combination of Missi puri with hot and spicy mutton.

Tips:-

• Always add water in little proportions because excess of water will make any type of puri’s dough suitable to make chapatti not puri.
• Puri dough should always be firm but soft.
• You can use your own imagination and add some Methi, Palak, finely cut coriander leaves for variation in Missi puri.
• While frying puri make sure the rolled puri is placed from the edge of wok else hot oil will spill causing burns.

Tirangi Poori ( Deep fried Tri color Indian Bread)

Tirangi Puri

The color used in making the puris are not artificial but of vegetables!!! They look so attractive that by the time you have made them they will vanish into the stomach of your family!! They are also excellent to make for picnic basket / taking for traveling /lunch box of the children. So surprise your husband and children by keeping tricolor puri in their lunch box. Beware you will find jealous faces of ladies staring at you when you get the appreciation from their husband for the variation of food you pack for your family !!!


Preparation Time: 20 - 25 min.

Cooking Time: 15 – 20 min.

Servings: 20 – 25 Puri

                                                                    

Ingredients  Required  To Make Tirangi Puris:

• 250 gm. Whole Wheat Flour
• 100 gm. Spinach
• 25 gm ( one medium size ) red tomato
• 1/2  Tea spoon salt
• 5 – 10 ml. cooking oil to make dough
• 200 ml. cooking oil to fry
• Water to make dough.

Directions To Make Dough :

• Remove the stalks from spinach and wash the leaves.
• Boil 100 ml. water and put the spinach leaves in it for 2min. remove and immediately put in cold water.
• Grind the leaves with as little water as possible to a fine paste. Keep the paste aside.
• Wash and cut tomato to 1cm. pieces.
• Put the tomato pieces in grinder and make fine thick paste. Keep the paste aside.
• Take whole wheat flour in a bowl and add salt to it.
• Mix the salt and flour mixture nicely.
• Add 5ml. of oil and mix with your fingers.
• If required add rest of the oil and mix.
• The mixture should resemble bread crumbs. (The requirement of oil changes with different brands of wheat flour.)
• Divide the flour, oil salt mixture into 3 equal parts.
• To one part add the spinach paste in little proportions and knead to soft but firm dough, if required add water while making the dough.

Dough with Palak(Spinach) pulp

• To second part add the paste of tomato  in little proportions and knead to firm but soft dough.

Dough with Tomato Pulp

• If required add water while making the dough.
• To the third part add water in little proportions and knead to make soft but firm dough.

Plain dough

• Take all three (Green, Red, White) dough keep them one over the other and roll to a single long roll with soft hands.

Rolls of Plain dough, Dough with Tomato pulp, and dough with pulp of palak stacked to be rolled together

• The roll of dough will look tri colored.

Roll of tricolor dough

Directions To Make Tricolor Puris :

• Take 200ml. cooking oil in a wok and heat it on high flame.
• When smoking hot lower the flame.
• Cut the tricolor dough roll into 20 – 25 pieces and make balls of them.

Tri color dough roll ready for cutting to pieces for making balls

Roll cut to pieces for being made to balls

Ball from tricolor dough

• Oil the rolling board and rolling pin with few drops of oil.
• Place the ball of dough in the center and roll to a round of 6 – 8 cm.

Ball of tricolor dough(plain, with tomato pulp, and with palak)

Ball of Tricolor dough (plain, with tomato pulp, and palak) rolled for frying

• Put it in the hot oil and fry on both sides by turning once or twice.

Tirangi Puri being fried

Tirangi Puri being fried

Tirangi Puri with Palak, Tomato and plain dough

• Repeat with all ball of tri color dough. 

Tirangi Puri

  Tirangi Puris  are ready. These puris are very tasty and nourishing as they are having different vegetables in it. Tirangi puris go well with any vegetable / nonveg . Or simply serve them with chutney / pickle if you do not have time or energy to make vegetables to accompany them , nobody will complain. 

Tips:

• Roll the dough while making the tricolor roll with gentle hands so as they retain their identity in the single tricolor roll.
• For those who are not adept in rolling the puris , first roll them one by one and keep separated on a greased plate  / clean newspaper, then heat the oil and fry them .

Suggested  Variations:

• Beet root can be taken instead of tomatoes.
• Mixture of pulp of boiled beet root and raw tomato also can be used instead of pure tomato or pure beet root pulp.
• If you take beet root then wash it and boil it before making to pulp.
• Methi leaves can be taken int he place of palak but do not make paste of methi leaves, if you will make paste of methi leaves then it will leave bitterish taste in puri.