Quick Vegetable Parathas

Make these quick parathas for breakfast/ bruch/ lunch/ dinner. It's a great healthy option when you do not have much time or energy to prepare a regular Indian meal. All you need to have is some roti dough in your refrigerator!

Other ingredients:
1. Spinach/ carrots/ cabbage/ baby dill/ cilantro - You can use one or more of these. Wash and chop/ grate them.

2. Dry chutney of sesame/ flaxseed/ peanuts - Again use one or more. If chutney is not available, just use salt, chopped green chili/ red chili powder.

3. Cumin powder, black pepper, some lemon juice, grated cheese, crumbled paneer (Optional, but you can use one or more to enhance the taste).

4. Oil/ ghee/ butter


Method:
1. Use ingredients from 1,2,3 and mix in a bowl. Do not over-mix, or it will leave too much water.

2. Take a ball of the roti dough and roll it of the size of a puri. Apply some ghee. Put the mixture in it and bring all the sides together. Rill it with slight pressure. Be careful to not let the stuffing come out.

You can also roll a regular roti, apply the mixture on it and cover it with another roti.

Just make sure that it doesn't stick to the surface. Add more flour while rolling it.

3. On a heated tawa, roast the paratha with ghee/ oil/ butter.

4. Serve hot with yogurt, pickle, ketchup.



If you are comfortable with making rotis, these parathas are really a great option for you to make an easy meal for the while family. It's very easy to modify the ingredients to suit different age groups. For kids, I add more cheese/ paneer and less spices, for adults I add more chutneys, chili. It's a great way to consume more veggies and especially veggies like cabbage and dill that kids usually do not enjoy.

Tomato Puri

When life gives you tomatoes, make tomato puris. That's what I did when we got so many tomatoes from our backyard last year. They turned out so nice that I am eagerly waiting for the tomatoes to grow this year.

I decided to make the purée of these tomatoes and freeze it. I followed the process similar to what's described here. I divided it into several small containers, labeled them with the date and stored in the freezer. It's very useful while making soup or gravies.    

While making the purée, I thought of using some of it to make the purees. So I took a cup of it. Added flours to it (wheat, jowar, besan and bhajani). Added salt, a tsp of garlic paste, red chili powder, chopped cilantro, sesame seeds, coarsely ground coriander seeds and cumin. Added some oil to make the dough as how we make for regular puris. In a wok, heated the oil and fried the puris. The tangy flavor of tomatoes along with the coarse coriander seeds make them delicious! 

Serve them hot with ketchup, chutney, pickle, yogurt or consume them while sipping hot ginger tea on a rainy evening!