Meri Rasoi: Palak Roti / Spinach Paratha

Palak Roti / Palak paratha is a delicious paratha which can be had not only during breakfast but any time during the day. I have mentioned in previous posts, that my sweet little kiddo is a picky eater. I have to find different ways to sneak in a few veggies in his diet. Parathas like this are an excellent way to do that.

This recipe is inspired from the parathas made by my friend Kirti. Last year, during our trip to San Fransico , we had stayed in our friend Ketan and Kirti's house. We had an awesome time. There I had seen Kirti use Spinach to make the parathas and my kiddo really liked it. So after coming back home, I made these parathas at home making some changes and it was a hit:) Its perfect for lunch boxes too.

INGREDIENTS:

Spinach / Palak : 4 cups (Cleaned and washed)
Onion : 1/2 cup chopped
Ginger : 2 tsp
Red chilli powder : 1/2 tsp (Adjust acording to your taste
Cumin seeds or jeera : 2 tsp
Thick yogurt : 1/2 cup (i used greek yogurt , you can use the home made kinds too)
Salt as per taste.
Whole wheat flour : 2 cups approx. (This quantity might vary depending on the atta (flour) and so also depending on the consistency of the yogurt used)
Oil : 2 tsp + 1 tbsp (to be used during the final kneading process)+more for cooking the parathas.

PROCEDURE:

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds. When it starts to crackle, add the ginger and onion and saute for some time.

When the onions have cooked, add the spinach and slightly cook them. Add the red chilli powder and mix well.Once done, turn off the heat and let it cool.

Finely grind the spinach mixture to get a smooth gravy.
Now take the spinach puree in a mixing bowl. Add the thick yogurt to it. Add salt. Mix all these ingredients properly.

Start adding flour little by little until to get a smooth dough. Finally add 1 tbsp oil to the dough and give it a final knead.

Heat a nonstick tawa. Make balls from the dough. Using some dry flour for dusting, roll each ball into circular rotis.

Once the tawa is hot, add the rolled roti to it. Now you can cook the rotis in two ways.

Method 1: You can cook the rotis just like you would cook any paratha. Put the rolled roti to the hot tawa. Once you see bubbles appearing on the roti, flip it. You will see brown dots appear. Now spread 1/4 tsp oil . Flip it again to spread 1/4 tsp oil to the other side. Using a spatula, press the roti/paratas well so that they get cooked well through out.

Method 2: You can cook the rolled rotis like you would make phulkas. Put the rolled rotis to the hot tawa. Once you see bubbles appear on the surface of the roti, flip it ( you will see nice brown spots). Once the other side also gets brown spots, remove the tawa and put the roti on the gas flame until it puff up properly (If you have an electric stove like I do, use a mesh like the one in the pic).