Spiced Bajra- Atta Parathas (Pearl Millet- Wheat Roti).

“Spiced Bajra- Atta Parathas (Pearl Millet- Wheat Roti)” … a simple- nutricious spiced millet roti that can be served for meals with any side dish like curry/ chutney/ curds or pickle of your choice … tastes awesome and is very convenient to be carried in lunchbox too … Yummilicious …

** I have written plenty about parathas/ roti/ chapathi and saying anything more will only be repeating myself. It’s the International year of millets and worldwide being promoted for its nutritional benefits. I am adding on them in the best and convenient way possible for me, yes by adding on to dosas, roti etc. Do try out various dishes shared in the blog and enjoy them with your family and friends, they are tasty and tried out in my kitchen.

** Here is my simple recipe for … “Spiced Bajra- Atta Parathas (Pearl Millet- Wheat Roti)” … My Style, do try it, it’s awesome ...

** Ingredients :

Bajra Flour/ Pearl Millet Flour : 1.5 cups

Wheat Flour/ Atta/ Gonva Peeta : ½- ¾ cup

Coriander Leaves/ Kottambari Pallo/ Dhania : ½ cup

Green Chillies/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 5-6

Adrak/ Alle’/ Ginger : 1 inch piece

Ajwain/ Vonvo/ Ovam : large pinch

Hing/ Asafoetida Powder : ½ tsp

Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 6-8 fresh ones.

Haldi/ Turmeric Powder :1/4 tsp

Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste

Oil/ Tela/ Tel : 2 tblsp

** To be Ground : Add green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, all three chopped to pieces into a mixer grinder along with hing, haldi, salt, ajwain and grind to a coarse paste WITHOUT adding water. Lastly add cleaned and rinsed coriander leaves and further grind till you get a coarse paste, you can also crush them on stone pestle too.

** Remove and ground paste into a wide roti kneading bowl. Add 2- 3 tblsp of water into the grinder and mix well the remains in the grinder with it and pour this too into the bowl along with oil and mix all the ingredients well together. Add in bajra flour, wheat flour and mix all well until all are evenly mixed to get a crumbled texture.

** Proceed kneading all ingredients together adding water little by little to form smooth dough. The dough should be firm, yet soft enough to be able to roll into a ball without breaking. Lastly apply a little bit of oil all over the dough, cover with a wet cloth or tight lid and keep it aside for 20-30 minutes to rest, which helps dough to soften.

** Note : Always allow resting period for kneaded flour for at least 20 minutes before rolling to roti/ parathas etc. This helps in releasing gluten content in wheat and though bajra does not contain gluten, it does help in making it more digestible on consumption. It also turns the dough softer and also keeps roti softer after cooking.

** After resting, knead once again and divide them into equal portions, say each about the size of a small orange and keep them ready aside. Dust them with wheat flour and roll out evenly into a thick round shaped paratha of about 8 inches in diameter with the help of a rolling pin/ lattoni. Do keep parathas slightly thicker than normal roti.

** For Frying the Parathas : Heat iron tava, when hot, lower the heat to medium, wait for a second and then spread some oil/ ghee all round on the tava and gently place the rolled paratha taking care to see that there are no creases. Let cook a bit then apply oil/ ghee on the top surface and spread it with the back of the spoon evenly on the placed paratha.

** When Paratha gets cooked on bottom side, ie you will be able to see some bubbles on top, then flip over the roti with help of flat spatula and cook top side too till you get brown spotted paratha. Remove and keep it aside. Repeat the procedure with the remaining prepared dough balls, by rolling into paratha and frying them on tava in similar manner.

** “Spiced Bajra- Atta Parathas (Pearl Millet- Wheat Roti)” is done and ready to be served. Always serve roti/ chapathi/ parathas hot from tava whenever possible with any side dish of your family’s choice as it always tastes best when served fresh and hot. These parathas are spicy enough and do not actually need any accompaniment/ side dish as such, as it goes well with plain curds or raita too.

** These parathas can be easily carried in lunch box or when travelling as they are not messy. I served it during lunchtime with Pumpkin Erissery/ Pumpkin Coconut Curry (Kerala Style), coriander coconut chutney and tomato soup and it was a wonderful combination. The side is a semi dry consistency famous curry from kerala and tastes wonderful with these roti’s. I have shared two posts prior and later to this post wherein they are included, you can try out that combination too. Enjoy these with family and friends.