Aloo Paratha (Parathas with potato filling)

 

   It is my belief that the humble potato is the most versatile of all vegetables :) Versatile, because you can make absolutely anything with this tasteless veggie. Either fry it, bake it or mash it with salt, or a little sugar, spice it up or just eat it plain boiled... the tattie will seldom disappoint you. And why should it? After all, its what most of the world is eating right now..... as the famous 'French Fries' ;)) Potatoes are a rich source of carbohydrates and often consumed in lieu of rice, which is a staple diet of most Asians. We south Indians, especially tamilans sometimes avoid 'the spuds' like plague as they are known to produce a lot of gas and ahem, no one wants to be around a 'gassy' person :) Even though there are tonnes of recipes that use the potato, to me the aloo symbolizes just one tasty dish... my favorite 'aloo ka paratha'. Piping hot aloo parathas with curd (dahi) and home made avakkai urugai (mango pickle) were indeed a very welcoming site for a frosty winter morning. The combo of curd and acchar (especially mom's tomato pickle) is truly unbeatable! Truth be said, I can never eat these parathas with any curry or veggie fry... the original paratha taste is always lost. I did eat a lot of these with jam...hmmm, now that's another good combo, especially for kids. Smear jam and roll it up or just eat each small paratha piece with a little jam. As a kid, I always felt an awe watching my mom make these parathas. It seemed a big deal back then, but now making them is a breeze. Just knead the wheat dough for the paratha, boil the tatties and add all the masalas, stuff them in the wheat dough and make parathas. This recipe is so simple, you will most probably find yourself making this ever so often, just like me. Make it for a hearty breakfast or a heavy dinner, you will love it. You can even make it any style....south or north Indian, just alter the masalas you add to the boiled potatoes. And it is a time saver, especially when you are out of veggies and the only veggies you have in the fridge are the beloved tatties! And don't forget the curd and pickle :) Indeed this was the best breakfast ever at home and a family favorite...with my dad, my brother, my mom and me all gathered at the family table enjoying warm parathas with curd and mummy's home made tomato pickle :)

My Mummy made this :) Love her for my favorite dish!

Ingredients: South Indian style

Potatoes - 8 (medium sized, red or white russet variety)
Onions - 1 (finely chopped)
Chilli powder - 1 to 1 1/2 tsps (add more as per taste)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Mustard - 1/2 tsp (optional for seasoning)
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tsps for tadka (seasoning) and 5 tbsps for making paratha
Dry atta(wheat flour) - about 1 cup (to dredge stuffed atta while making paratha)

Ingredients: North Indian Style

Potatoes - 8 (medium sized red, or white russet variety)
Onions - 1 (finely chopped)
Chilli powder - 1 to 1 1/2 tsps (this is optional if using green chillies, so add as per taste)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp (optional for seasoning)
Salt - to taste

Jeera - 1 tsp (optional for seasoning)

Green chillies - 1 (finely chopped)
Garam masala - 1/2 - 1 tsps (I use ready made masala)
Amchur (dried mango powder) - 1/4 tsp or  more ( this is optional, but gives a tang to the                                                                                                    masala)
Oil - 2 tsps for tadka (seasoning) and 5 tbsps for making paratha
Dry atta(wheat flour) - about 1 cup (to dredge stuffed atta while making paratha)

Ingredients: Paratha dough

Atta (wheat flour) - 4 tea cups 
Salt - a pinch
Water - about 2 cups or as required

Method:

1) Wash and cut the potatoes in half.  Boil them in a pressure cooker with just enough water so as to immerse them. About 2 whistles in the cooker with around 5 minutes of simmer time are enough to cook them. Allow the potatoes to cool until they are just luke warm to the touch. 

Boiled potatoes with skin

2) Peel the potatoes when still warm and mash them in a container. Use a potato masher, a ladle or just your hands. If you allow them to cool completely, it will become difficult to mash and you will end up with big chunky pieces. Set aside.

Boiled potatoes without skin

Warm mashed potatoes

3) Measure the atta (wheat flour) in a container, add salt and required water. Knead into a pliable soft dough. I usually place the kneaded dough in the fridge for a couple of hours as I am not very adept at making parathas with freshly prepared dough. Don't forget to cover the dough lest you want odors from the items in the fridge to add to your paratha flavor.

Kneaded dough

4) Next, heat the 2 tbsp of oil in a kadai or thick saucepan. Chop the onions finely and set aside. For South Indian style, once oil is hot enough, add mustard if you want to, then add chilli powder, turmeric powder and stir fry without burning the masalas. Add the chopped onions and fry till the onions are dark brown. Add salt to the onions. Then add the mashed potatoes and turn off the gas. Mix the potatoes with the onions nicely so that the salt and chilli powder are evenly coated over them. Add more salt/ chilli powder if needed. chop green coriander and garnish once mixture is cooled (optional).

Stir frying onions with turmeric and chilli powder

South Indian style stuffing

   For North Indian style stuffing, heat 2 tbsps of oil and when it is hot enough, add the jeera and allow it to splutter. Lower heat and then add the chopped green chillies, followed by turmeric powder and garam masala powder. Add 1/2 tsp of chilli powder if more spicy stuffing is needed. Add chopped onion, stir fry till golden brown and add the potatoes and salt. Turn off heat and mix well to make a homogenous mixture. Add amchur powder if needed.

5) Heat a tava or skillet. Take a small lemon sized ball of atta (kneaded wheat flour) and flatten it out into a disc with the center slightly thick and the edges slightly thinner than the center. Take a tablespoon of the stuffing and place it in the center of the flattened atta disc. Hold the disc with stuffing in the palm of one hand and with the other gently, fold the atta over the stuffing, sealing it within the atta. 

Stuffing in the center of the flattened atta disc

Atta disc with the stuffing 

6) Dredge the stuffed atta disc in dry flour and roll it into flat thin/ thick parathas. My mother likes to roll her aloo parathas really thin, almost like rotis, and nowadays, I do the same :) I know a lot of people associate a paratha to be very thick...actually that's how its supposed to be, but then,sometimes we all do our own thing! I find that rolling mine somewhat thin helps the stuffing to spread evenly and the paratha cooks very evenly too.

Aloo paratha rolled and ready for cooking

7) Heat the tava on high and place the rolled paratha over it. When the color of the dough changes slightly, flip over and smear oil evenly over the paratha. Now lower the flame and when you see dark spots or bubbles forming, flip again, smear oil and allow to cook. Ensure that oil is sufficient and paratha does not burn. The hallmark of the aloo paratha is that it should appear oily, as that's where all the taste is ;)) So, don't cut back on the oil.. be liberal, enjoy a hearty meal....count the calories and number of parathas eaten later.

Color of paratha changing when slightly cooked

Oil smeared paratha flipped over

8) When both sides of the paratha are cooked evenly, remove from the stove and place on a plate or casserole (hotcase) to keep warm. This paratha is best eaten piping hot, especially in winters. Serve with curd and pickle, like I said above for best taste :) Or eat it with raita, raw green chilly and onion....hmm, from what I remember there were times I ate this with salted butter, in lieu of curd. Yup, I love this paratha with a dollop of jam too. And it tastes good plain too, all by itself, without the accompaniments.

Aloo paratha waiting to be eaten!

Note: Don't fret if the paratha is not spicy enough when eaten plain. That's where the pickle comes in..to make up for any lack of taste. If you want to avoid pickle, make the stuffing spicy or better still add chat masala to the katori of curd. Any leftover stuffing can be used as masala for dosa, to make aloo bonda, tikki, sandwich base, pav bhaji masala, stuffed bread roll etc.In short, there are no dearth of recipes you can make with the spud! 

Rava Upma (Semolina upma)

    Rava upma or uppuma is a southern breakfast delicacy which is tastiest when lapped up piping hot. Have it as is, eat it with your favorite pickle, thick coconut chutney, oodles of curd or my childhood favorite...sugar :) The origin of the upma is from the concatenation of two words, namely 'uppu' (salt) and 'maavu' (flour), which was intended to mean 'salted flour'. Well, I don't know how salty it was originally meant to be, but most people I am sure add palatable amounts of salt to the dish. Aha, this reminds me of an 1970's anecdote my mother once told me. Apparently, a north Indian friend of my parents was very keen on making rava upma for a picnic. The friend was so carried away by the literal name of the dish, that he ended up adding tonnes of salt to it...and it really became 'uppu-mavu', so very salty, no one could even taste it! :)) Upma is mostly called upma in most places in the south, but region specific names would be calling it Uppittu in Karnataka, Uppindi in Andhra and Uppumavu in Kerala. The famous Kharabath of Karnataka is upma with sambhar powder and garam masala added to it....a real compliment to the sweet Kesaribath or Sheera (Rava Kesari /Sooji halwa). Upma is easy to make. You stir fry rava (semolina), season it with mustard seeds and curry leaves, add fried veggies with green chillies, then cook the rava in water with salt. A lot of people hate eating upma as it tastes bland most of the time, reason being that masalas and chilli powder are not added to this dish. Moreover, upma is more on the greasy side as you have to be a bit generous with the oil used for seasoning :) Upma made with very little oil is totally unpalatable. It tastes as though the rava has been cooked  only in water or as my husband would call it.... 'Concrete' ! And it is lumpy. I bear testimony to this, as my first attempts at making upma were disastrous. I could only make a lumpy white substance which I called 'my rava upma'.

Ingredients:

Rava (Sooji) - 2 tea cups
Onion - 1 thinly sliced
Carrots - 1 (chopped into small pieces)
Beans - 4 
Peas - 1/4 to 1/2 cup ( use fresh or frozen peas)
Cauliflower - 2 to 3 florets
Tomato - 1 (finely chopped)
Green chilly - 2 (slit vertically)
Turmeric powder - a pinch (optional)
Asafoetida powder( Hing) - a pinch
Salt - according to taste
Water - 4 tea cups (ratio of rava and water should be 1:2) 

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Channa dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 3
Oil - 3 to 4 tbsps

Method:

1) Heat a kadai or any thick bottomed saucepan on high flame. Once it is hot enough, reduce the heat to low and roast the rava till the raw smell leaves, taking care not to burn it. Remove the roasted rava before it turns a golden brown. Its alright if there are a few specks of slightly browned rava :) Set aside on a plate.

Roasted Rava (Sooji)

2) In the same kadai, heat oil and when it is hot enough, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, slit green chillies, curry leaves and hing. When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the onions. Fry them till they are translucent, then add the tomatoes and fry again.
3) Now add the remaining veggies, namely carrots, chopped beans, peas and the cauliflower and fry till they just change color, but remain slightly crunchy. I prefer my upma veggies to be slightly crunchy, so I don't fry them too long :) I usually reach out for the English veggies  while making upma, but you can use just about any veggie you want like potatoes and capsicum. You might like to refrain from using veggies like brinjal and lady's finger though ;)
4) Once the vegetables are cooked or fried to your heart's desire, add water with salt and turmeric powder, if you wish to dig into a yellow colored upma. Upma, to me has mostly been a pearly white, so I seldom add turmeric powder, unless I feel I want a change in appeal. I  also add 1 or 2 extra cups of water, as I find adding more water cooks the rava better. Moreover, my husband likes his upma to be of a gooey consistency, rather than the grainy texture produced by adding water in the 1:2 ratio. 

Water with salt kept for boiling

5) Allow the water to boil. This should take about 2 minutes. Once the water starts boiling, reduce the flame to medium low and add the roasted rava. Try to add the rava at one go and stir immediately to prevent the formation of lumps. Take care when you add the rava as it will tend to splatter and you don't want to get singed by hot rava :) Keep stirring till the rava gets cooked. You will notice that the rava will absorb all the water and the upma will start to become thick. Once done, switch off the heat and dig into hot rava upma :))

Upma Ready!

Serving Size: Above recipe will serve two people for two helpings.

Note: You can also try mixing the roasted rava with the stir fried veggies and freezing it in a zip lock bag or any thick polythene bag in the freezer. This mixture should stay for a month or two at most. As and when you wish to make upma, just boil water with salt and add the rava (you don't have to thaw the rava as you will be adding it to boiling water) .... you will get instant upma. I have tried doing this and it is a time saver :)  I tried making this after a month of freezing my home made upma mixture. Here are the steps to make this an easy recipe:

1) Heat some oil and do thadka (seasoning) with the mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, hing, green chillies and curry leaves.
2) Add onions and other veggies when the mustard starts to splutter. Add turmeric powder and fry the veggies till they are crunchy. Then, add the unroasted rava and fry again till the raw smell of the rava is gone. Alternately, you can roast the rava before hand and then mix it to the veggies.
3) Cool this mixture well before freezing it in the freezer.

Roasted rava with the stir fried veggies and seasoning

4) Boil water in the 1:2 ratio or 1:3 ratio as mentioned above, add salt according to taste (this includes salt for the veggies and rava as well). Remember you cannot adjust salt once the rava is added or when the upma is done. Upma by itself is a very bland dish and that's why most people avoid eating it. So just make sure that your water does not taste very salty and has just the right tinge of salt in it :)
5) Add the rava with fried veggies and stir till it is done. Serve the upma with coconut chutney or your favorite pickle or sugar. 

Daliya Upma (Broken Wheat Upma)

 Daliya is the Indian name for broken wheat or bulgur. This type of wheat is usually sold parboiled and dried and can be a good substitute for couscous or rice. Daliya is sometimes confused with cracked wheat, which is not parboiled. It has lots of health benefits due to its fiber content. I vividly remember my mother trying to stuff us little kids with daliya porridge almost every day before we left for school. Don't think I really enjoyed my porridge back then, but now I love it with cold milk and sugar. Like rice, you can make lots of dishes with daliya, bulgur, broken wheat or whatever you call it :) Agreed, it does take longer to cook and does not have much of a taste of its own.... but add the right amount of salt, spices or sugar and you can make it mouth watering. Here is the recipe for daliya upma, which has become something of a staple every week at my home.

Daliya upma with coriander, coconut chutney

Ingredients:
Daliya (Bulgur wheat) - 2 1/2 tea cups                                 
Moong dal (Yellow split dal) - 1/2 tea cup
Carrot- 1
Peas- a handful or less
Capsicum -1/2
Beans - 5 to 6
Cauliflower - 6 small florets
Green chillies - 2 slit vertically
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt - according to taste
Water - 7 tea cups ( Daliya : Water should be 1: 3 ratio)
Hing(asafoetida) - a pinch
Curry leaves - 3 leaves
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp (for seasoning)
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp (for seasoning)
Jeera - 1 to 2 tsps
Ghee/oil - for seasoning

Method:

1) Clean the daliya first to remove any impurities. You can buy daliya at the Indian store. You can choose between the coarse and fine varieties. My family prefers the coarser and more chewy variety for upma as it is tastier. The finer variety is more like semolina or upma rava, only it is light brown in color. To this you can add the measured out moong dal and wash them both together, draining any excess water. Place this in a cooker or heavy bottomed saucepan, with a lid. I use a pressure pan as it is faster.

2) Clean and chop all the vegetables into small cubes. You can use any of the vegetables you use to make rava upma. My default veggies are carrots, beans, peas and occasionally cauliflower. Tomatoes and capsicum add a very yummy flavor too.

3) Now add 7-8 cups of water along with salt and veggies to the daliya in the cooker/saucepan. Add a pinch of turmeric and jeera with the green chillies. You can add the jeera while cooking the daliya or while seasoning it. Add salt to taste. 

4) Close the cooker and cook on high for 7 mins. After about 2 whistles, simmer it and cook for another 5-10 mins. You will know the daliya is cooked when it starts to give out an aroma of cooked daliya. Allow the cooker to cool.If you feel the upma is not cooked well enough, add little more water and cook for another 5 mins. Coarse daliya takes little longer to cook than the finer variety. I have purposely reduced the water to about 8 cups because many times, excess water spewed out of the cooker making a mess. Remember that the above mentioned measurement includes the water to cook the veggies too. Follow the 1 : 3 ratio to get a liquidy consistency, else on cooling your upma will be very hard.

5) In a small saucepan or kadai, heat ghee/oil.Add mustard seeds, urad dal, pinch of hing (asafoetida powder) and jeera.When the mustard starts to splutter, add curry leaves and remove from the gas. Now add this seasoning to the upma in the cooker and stir once to allow it to blend in. 

6) Serve with coconut chutney.

Serving size: This recipe will make about 4 single servings.