Spinach (palak) paratha...& a demo

I truly appreciate the convenience of frozen chappathis & parathas - especially Pillsbury's. As good as they are, I often find that they leave a greasy film behind, and so, I have resolved to making my own chappathis/rotis whenever possible, and now, even flavoured parathas, thanks to my new Vasantha Prasad cookbook. This doesn't mean that I have stopped stocking my freezer with varieties of these breads - the knowledge of having something on stand-by is extremely reassuring, especially on the frantic days.

I've certainly come a long way from my initial attempts where my chappathis were more cracker-esque - that was probably because I was using regular, whole-wheat flour, which is coarser than atta/chappathi flour. Poor PT, for about a week, he would walk into the kitchen with trepidations about what disc-shaped shards I was about to offer him...yes, it took me a week to figure out my problem...but since then, things have been more edible.



Today's post is on spinach paratha - not the stuffed version, but one that incorporates puréed spinach into the dough. This is also my first semi-step-by-step demo of the crucial steps...I hope it helps any newbies who may be attempting this. The finished product first:





Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh spinach - cooked and thoroughly drained

1/2 cup atta flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp canola oil

1/4 cup hot water

Salt - as needed

Addtional flour for dusting

Addtional oil/melted butter for brushing



Method:

1. Purée cooked spinach in a blender.



2. In a bowl, sift flours and add salt, cumin, and oil. Stir in puréed spinach, adding a little water as needed, forming a firm dough.



3. Rub your palms and work surface with a little oil to prevent the dough from sticking. Place the dough on your work surface and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and pliable. Return dough to bowl, cover, and let rest for about 1/2 hour.



4. Half-hour later, knead the dough again for about 1 minute. Divide dough into 4-5 portions and form round patties.



5. Take one portion, and roll with a floured rolling pin into a circle. Brush the top with oil and make a slit from the center to the edge:





6. Using your hands, roll dough from the cut edge all the way around, forming a tight cone. Stand the cone up vertically:





7. Compress cone into a patty. Dust generously and roll into a circle:





8. Continue with remaining portions, stacking up the dough between sheets of plastic wrap.



9. Make parathas on a cast-iron griddle, brushing with oil as needed. Enjoy while warm with your favourite curries!



I'm sending this to Dil Se's "Healing Foods - Spinach" event, a series started by Siri.