Yummilicious Paratha Frankies

Hi everybody! I am back after my long break again. These long breaks are becoming an annoying habit you might say , but it is one that I definitely intend to break very soon. Anyway, how have you guys been? I have missed you all too. What I have for you today is something I thought of today morning at 5.00 o'clock when I was disturbed out of my sleep and just could not go back to sleep again. And our mind you know has this annoying habit of immediately kicking into action with all kinds of thoughts rushing in which makes it even more difficult to sleep.

So my mind turned to the most nagging of thoughts and that was what to pack in the lunch boxes. Fortunately there was paratha dough already ready in the fridge, but as that was what we had had for dinner there was no way I could repeat the same in the lunch boxes . Well not as an ordinary paratha anyway. But then I remembered the block of paneer in the fridge and the mixed frozen veggies in the freezer and I had my lunch boxes all planned in minutes.

So I made paratha frankies . They are tasty, wholesome ,convenient to carry and a great change from regular chapatis and vegetables or sandwiches. So much so that my husband called up from office to say that he had enjoyed his lunch. Great!!!

So to make the parathas you need:

2 cups wheat flour, 3 cups of finely chopped spinach, 1 cup finely chopped carrots, 2 tspn ginger garlic paste, 2tspn chilly powder, 1 tspn turmeric powder, 1tspn each of cumin and coriander powder, 1 tspn of ground saunf, 1.5 tspn sugar, salt to taste, 2 tblspns oil .

Knead all the above into a medium soft dough and and cook the parathas a little thinner and larger than a roti.

For the filling you will need:

1 onion, 1 and a half tomato, 1 tspn ginger garlic paste, 2 cups mixed vegetables chopped finely (I had the frozen mix which contains peas ,corn,beans and carrots), 200 gms paneer, 2 tblspns tomato ketchup, 2 tspn pav bhaji masala, 2 tspn cumin seeds, 2 tspn chilly powder, 1/2 tspn turmeric powder, salt to taste, and oil for cooking.

Method:

• Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.
• After a few seconds add the chopped onion and ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute
• Next add the chopped tomato and let this cook for at least 2 to 3 mins
• Now come the chilly powder, turmeric , and pav bhaji masala along with the vegetables. Let the vegetables cook on a low flame. When they are cooked add the salt and ketchup.
• At the last stage add the paneer which does not need any cooking . Mix it all gently together until the paneer is coated with the spices.
• Give it a taste and adjust seasoning accordingly .

To serve take a paratha and spoon about 2 tblspns of filling on it and roll tightly. To put in a lunch box wrap the roll in foil so that the filling does not fall out while eating.

Enjoy!!!

Palak Paneer Parathas

I am a very erratic blogger these days. And it's all thanks to this certain project that I have undertaken. I might have mentioned it before but let me tell you a little about it. The Marathi Mandal in my city had been offered the chance to create and display a cultural showcase exhibiting all different aspects of Maharashtrian culture. This will be displayed at the local library for the entire month of April. I am leading one group and the topics we have been allocated are Marathi Food, Marathi Painters, and Sculptures in Maharashtra. The food part is the easiest one obviously but the painters and sculptures needed a bit of research. Needless to say that there are a thousand other things pertaining to the project that are taking up all my time. But believe me I am enjoying every bit of it. But that's put a strain on my blog. I am typing so much for the project that I just can't find the energy to type some more for my dear blog. But it's Easter weekend now and I am feeling a bit relaxed as there is no hard and fast routine of school and office to stick to. So here I am once again with a new recipe .

I have not followed this recipe from any book, neither had I eaten this anywhere or even heard of it before. I always make simple palak parathas and I had once eaten paneer parathas at a friend's. Now palak- paneer is a classic combo as we all know and love. So I just combined two delicious parathas and created a third equally delicious one out of it. Three cheers for me!!! OK OK I am coming to the recipe.

You need for the outer paratha dough:
2 bunches spinach or 1 bag of baby spinach leaves,
2 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (Atta) approx
1 large onion,
2 -3 cloves garlic,
1 tspn whole cumin,
2 tspns each of cumin and coriander powder,
2 tspn chilly powder (less if you wish),
1 tblspn roasted and powdered sesame seeds (completely optional ),
1 tspn sugar,
2 tspn salt,
3 tblspns oil.

Ingredients for the paneer stuffing:
400 gms paneer,
2 tblspns very finely chopped coriander,
1/2 tspn salt,
1/2 tspn chilly powder.

Method for the outer covering of the parathas:
1.Heat the oil in a wok and add the cumin seeds . Fry for few seconds .
2.Then add the onion and garlic. Fry these until light golden in colour.
3. Next put in the spinach leaves. They do not have to be chopped. Cook these well along with the coriander -cumin powders, chilly powder, sugar , salt and sesame seed powder. To retain the colour of the spinach do not cover the pan while cooking.
4. Once the spinach has completely cooked allow it to cool a bit and then puree it in a blender. If you have a stick blender you don't need for it to cool.
5. To this puree now add the flour . I have stated 2 and 1/2 cups but that is an approx measurement. Add enough flour to form a moderately soft dough.

Method for the paneer stuffing:
1. Grate or crumble the paneer and all the rest of the ingredients to it.
2. Now add a few drops of milk to the crumbled panner and knead it into a soft ball. This is your stuffing ready.

Final Procedure:
1. Make equal number of balls of paratha dough and paneer stuffing but the paneer balls should be double in size to the dough balls.
2. Roll out each paratha a little and then stuff it with the paneer ball . Close all the edges of the dough and roll it out again gently into a thick stuffed paratha.
3. Place it on a hot tawa and cook on both sides until tiny brown spots appear on the surface.
4. Cook all the parathas in the same way and just before serving cook them once again this time with a small amount of oil.
5. Serve with your favourite accompaniments .