Aish Cooks

Mooli Paratha | Indian Flat-bread Stuffed with Radish

While I am not exactly a fan of an almost-empty produce drawer needing to be restocked, it sure does makes dinner planning so much easier. Choice is not always the best thing, you see. So with just a couple of radishes in there, the first thing I could think of was making sambar. But it isn’t always easy to sell sambar to D. So there comes mooli ka paratha to the rescue! The last time I had these was at my mom’s in India and I still have pictures clicked from back then. One look through those clicks and I suddenly had all the energy I needed to get going. I have to say, no matter what your take is on this pungent odd-tasting vegetable, the paratha will surely change the way you feel about mooli forever. And the best part is, it doesn’t even stink anymore when cooked this way (which happen’s to be just another one of D’s excuses for not wanting mooli sambar for lunch at work)!

Most paratha recipes require sauteing the vegetable / stuffing before rolling them out to make sure you get all the moisture out and to make sure the veggie is cooked through. But I can always count on mom to give me recipes that take less-doing without compromising on taste. This recipe only needs you to work your arms and fists a bit – grate the radish first and squeeze out water twice. To make up for all that work you did, you can skip on making a side altogether. Not too bad, right? Let’s get right to it then!

Mooli Paratha | Indian Flat-bread Stuffed with Radish

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cooking Time: 20 minutes | Makes: Approx. 10 medium-sized parathas

Ingredients:

For the parathas:

1. 2 cups whole wheat flour (atta), plus more for dusting
2. 2 tbsp melted butter / ghee / oil for the dough, plus another 2-4 tbsp for brushing when cooking
3. salt to taste

For the stuffing:

1. 2 cups white radish, peeled and grated (approx. 2 large 10-12″ long radishes)
2. 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (red chili powder), or to taste
3. 1/2 tsp ground cumin
4. 1/8 tsp ground turmeric
5. a pinch of garam masala powder (all spice mix), optional
6. 2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
7. salt to taste

Method:

Step 1: Prepare the stuffing:

1. Extract as much water as you can from the grated radish by taking fistfuls in your palm and squeezing out the water into a bowl. Reserve the water.
2. Combine the radish with other stuffing ingredients and mix everything well.
3. Set aside for 5 minutes to let the radish absorb the water and spices. This will make the radish mixture a bit soggy again.
4. Divide into 10 equal sized portions, and take each portion in your palm and squeeze out as much water as possible from the radish mixture into the same bowl with reserved water from the previous time.

Step 2: Prepare the dough:

Dough will use the water extracted from the radish.

1. Mix together the ingredients needed for the dough – flour, salt, oil/melted butter/ghee, along with water reserved taken out from the radish (approx. 1 cup).
2. Note: Add more water, little at a time, while kneading the dough to make a smooth, supple dough that is no longer wet or sticky. It should be slightly stiffer than regular chapatti/roti dough. I used about 1 3/4 cups water+radish extract in total, but the amount of water can vary based on the type of wheat flour used.
3. Optional step: Cover with a moist cloth or paper towel and set aside for 10-30 minutes.

Step 3: Roll out and cook the parathas

1. Divide the dough into 10 roughly equal-sized balls. Make smooth balls by rolling between your palms.
2. Take a dough ball, dust it in dry flour, and flatten it out into a small circle with a rolling-pin (belan).
3. Place one portion of the prepared radish stuffing in the center of the small circle of dough and bring together the outer ends of the dough circle to seal the stuffing into the dough (either like a dumpling with the top flattened in or by making overlapping folds towards the center until fully covered and flattened).
4. Dust generously in dry flour again and using gentle stokes roll out into a paratha, flipping and dusting with dry flour from time to time.
5. Note: If the dough breaks revealing the stuffing at any time, patch it up using dry flour. Be gentle while rolling and try to make a paratha of even thickness. It need not be very thin like rotis, and the stuffing within if often seen through the rolled out paratha.
6. Heat a girdle / tawa on med-high, and test by sprinkling a few drops of water on the hot girdle. If it sizzles and evaporates in a few seconds the girdle is at the right temperature.
7. Place the rolled out paratha on the hot girdle and let it cook for a minute or so, until you notice small bubbles on top and brown spots form on the side in contact with the girdle.
8. Flip over and cook the other side to the same extent now. Brush with oil/ghee/melted butter and flip over.
9. Cook for a few seconds, brush this other side with oil/butter and flip over again.
10. Apply gentle pressure on the surface to slightly rotate the parathas on the girdle, using a flat ladle, to promote even cooking, before flipping them over until both sides are fully done.
11. Parathas are done when you see some puffing, and dark brown spots over a golden color base all over.
12. Repeat until all parathas are rolled out and cooked.
13. Remove onto a tortilla warmer / hot pack to keep the parathas warm and soft until it is ready to serve.

Serve hot with plain yogurt or raita!