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Commie Chef How to make paratha

Try out this delicious Indian bread

LAST week I offered you a recipe for chickpea and potato curry. This is a meal that we eat often at home, but instead of rice — or sometimes as well as rice — I like to eat it with an Indian bread.

My favourite is paratha, so I thought I’d make that this week’s recipe.

Be careful when you add the water. Do it a little at a time. The dough should be fairly stiff, but easily kneaded.

The exact quantity of water will depend on the absorbent quality of the flour, which varies enormously. Instead of adding a little white flour, you can use 100 per cent wholemeal flour if you prefer, or buy a brown bread flour which is 80 per cent or more.

Ingredients

110g/4 ozs wholemeal flour
30g/1 oz white bread flour
dsp vegetable oil
30g/1 oz butter, margarine or ghee (Indian clarified butter), melted
salt to taste
water

What to do

Combine all the ingredients in a deep bowl, adding the water a little at a time. Knead vigorously for 3-5 minutes.

Alternatively, you can do this in a food processor for 2 minutes. Remove, divide the dough into six equal pieces and roll each on a lightly-floured board into a circle of about 12cms/5" in diameter. Brush with fat, and fold into semi-circular shapes. Brush again, and fold into quarter-circles.

Roll again into a near-triangular shape. Heat a frying pan or griddle medium-hot, with just a light covering of melted fat, and fry each of the paratha on both sides.

Turn frequently until each side is covered with brown spots. Serve with any kind of curry and whatever accompaniments — chutney, raita, pickles etc — you fancy.

 

 

 

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