Gobi(Cauliflower) Paratha

Gobi balls mixed with spices for paratha

Paratha is a flat bread that originated ( I suppose) in India. It is usually made from whole wheat flour, pan fried and it could be either plain or stuffed with vegetables; the most common stuffing is aloo (potatoes). The paratha can either be round, square or triangular and the stuffings varies from paneer, aloo, cabbage and more. But my Mom-in-law made this delicious, flaky, melt in your mouth gobi (cauliflower) paratha the other day and it was so yum. I did not feel guilty eating an extra because I gave myself an excuse that it’s only made from whole wheat flour and cauliflower and not deep fried.

Stuffed paratha’s could be eaten just by themselves or could be accompanied by pickle, dahi(yogurt) or a simple dal(lentil). I prefer it with simple home made dahi which again I learned to perfect it from my Mom-in-law that too from a low-fat milk. Now tell me, won’t I eat an extra paratha after all it is made from the goodies?

Recipe:
2 cups whole wheat flour (Approx for 4 – 6 people)
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
1 whole gobi or cauliflower – chopped fine in a food processor or grated
2 tsp red chilli powder or as per your taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
some cilantro or coriander chopped
1 – 2 tsp Amchur powder
1 tsp Garam Masala (optional)

Add some salt to the finely chopped gobi and keep it aside for about 30 minutes. In the meanwhile, add salt, water and oil to the flour and knead well to form a consistency of a pizza dough or Puri. Take almost handful dough and make round balls. Coming back to the gobi , after 30 minutes, the gobi would have started to release soome water. Squeeze all the water out of the gobi using your hand. Now add the cilantro and spices mentioned above and taste. Adjust if needed. Roll out the dough balls a little bit say about 4inch diameter or whatever is comfortable for you and place the gobi mixture in the middle.

Close the loose ends of the dough such that the mixture is completely sealed. Now roll out the dough. It’s okay if the gobi mixture comes out a little bit here and there. Use some flour to roll out whenever needed or if the dough sticks to the board or your counter top while rolling out.

Heat a pan, put this stuffed dough for a few minutes. Flip the side. After a couple of minutes, add 1 tsp of ghee or oil and flip again. With a spatula press it all around for a minute until it turns golden brown. Again flip and repeat the above step on the other side. So it’s totally 3 flips only and your hot Gobi Paratha’s are ready to be relished with some dahi or anything that satisfies your palate.