[Recipe] Indian Flatbread: Kerala Paratha

Before me and my husband's trip to Malaysia, I was not that into Indian food, simply because it is not exactly easy to find Indian restaurants in Jakarta. Unlike Kuala Lumpur (and Singapore) where Indian joints are how you would find KFC in Jakarta. They're just everywhere.

My husband tried his first Indian set menu in Singapore, and since then he was hooked and has always craved it ever since and our trip turned into Indian restaurant hopping. We had Indian meal once a day in our 6 days visit. I myself, also became more fond of it as I tried more and more from the immense selection of curry, roti, and condiments. 

The selection is very, very overwhelming. After our 6th Indian Restaurants, we still couldn't get a grasp on what everything is called, so mostly we would just go with the 'set' number. (or point at other people's food). 

Because of that and the complexity of most of its cooking, Indian food is obviously not something I am able whip up in 10 minutes like pasta, or an omelette. So when we didn't feel like going halfway across town for our Indian Restaurant excursion, I have been relying on instant paste to mimic the taste and satisfy our Indian cravings. 

SO, this is the day, where I finally embarked on my most ambitious cooking project so far by making Kerala-style Paratha and Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken).

There are hundreds types of Parathas out there, but I ended up with Kerala Paratha because it seemed to be the simplest and I wanted to try using my Atta (whole wheat) flour. This is also a little different than Roti Maryam, which is more flaky because it requires egg in the making.

Kerala Paratha 

(from Veg Recipes of India) 

Ingredients: 

1 cup whole wheat flour/atta* (you can also replace this and use all purpose instead)

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp oil

¼ tsp baking soda

¾ to 1 cup hot water or milk

1 to 2 tsp sugar (don't worry, this doesn't make the bread sweet!)

¾ tsp salt

1. Sieve both the whole wheat flour and all purpose flour with baking soda.

Left: Atta or Taj Mahal Flour in Indonesia (Bogasari) Right: All Purpose Flour (I used bread flour) 

2. make a well and add sugar, salt and oil. add hot water.

3. Mix with your fingers and then knead the dough till soft, smooth and elastic, add a little bit of flour if your dough is too sticky. It should be just a little damp, but not sticky.

4. cover with a moist cloth and keep aside for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

5. divide your dough into 7-8 balls. dust the working surface with flour. roll each ball as thinly as possible into a large round.

6. smear or apply oil on the entire surface of the rolled dough.

7. hold the rolled disc from the top on both sides and pleat them till bottom.

8. now roll them like a spiral and press the last edge onto the center of the roll.

Spiralled Dough

9. make all the spiralled balls this way and cover with wet cloth and keep aside for 15 minutes.

10. heat griddle or pan. take each rolled ball and on a dusted working surface, roll each ball into a paratha of 4-5 inches.

11. place the paratha on pan and fry on both sides with oil drizzled on top and the edges till the parathas are crisp and golden.

12. serve the kerala parathas with any curry!

tips:

1. For 'pleating' technique, you can check out this video. It is easy and takes just a little bit of practice.

2. when working with the dough, especially while rolling, don't be afraid to add a good amount of oil because it makes the dough rolls thinner.