I cook with spinach quite a lot – in curries, as a base for green pasta sauce, in spinach dal and spinach rice. Here is yet another use of this lovely green vegetable. Spinach parathas or palak parathas.
Do you realize that if you stack round parathas in a square lunchbox, then even with the largest paratha size your lunchbox can accommodate you leave more than 20% of its surface space unused?[1]
Does this er…criminal wastage bother you?
You can’t beat geometry. But you can pack parathas in your square lunchbox without an inch of space going waste. Let me show you how.
When chefs with expertise in other cuisines turn to Indian, it is lovely to see their interpretations of dishes well-known to us. Parathas are regular fare at my place but I learnt of this interesting variation courtesy MasterChef Australia.
Learning how to make stuffedparathas wasn’t exactly a cakewalk for me. Most often I would go overboard with the filling and the paratha would crack open while rolling, leaving a messy spill. To counter that, I would fill so little that only superactive taste buds could tell there was actually something between the layers of atta.
One day, quite by accident, I discovered this pleasing middle ground – aloo parathas without stuffing. Sharing my method here. I’m sure this will help the novice paratha rollers among you.
This happens often with me – I make rajma masala ((red kidney beans curry), there is plenty left over after a filling meal and then I don’t feel like doing a repeat for the next meal. What is the best way to finish off the remaining rajma masala? My vote goes to making these super-tasty rajma parathas, packed with the flavors of the rich tomato-garam masala gravy.
Want to have greens, but methi (fenugreek) is too bitter for you? Try methi parathas – atta (whole wheat flour) balances the bitterness of fenugreek beautifully. The end result is delicious.
Tomatoes are an essential ingredient for most curries – but you CAN do well without them! A collection of Indian vegetarian curry recipes without tomatoes.
Plantain is tailor-made for new cooks - easy to slice, quick on the stove, demanding no hifalutin artistry. Here's how to make a crispy spicy plantain fry.