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13
Paneer Mint Parathas with Sourdough
June 13, 2008 |
Orange Bergamot Mint
Our friend Bhavani, of the triple-X rated paratha fame, has a huge repertoire. (Parathas are Indian whole wheat flatbreads, often stuffed.)
One evening, after a particularly satiating meal, her hubby S sent us an e-mail about “the best parathas I’ve ever tasted”, with these pics.
We had to try them. Bhavani sent us the recipe, and we’ve made them twice since. Yes, they’re the best parathas we’ve ever made.
Paneer is Indian cottage cheese. You can use store-bought, but it’s easy to make at home, and the flavour and texture of home-made is MUCH superior.
We tried a few different things, which we will explain after sharing her recipe.
PANEER MINT PARATHAS
Makes 12
Knead together
3 cups whole wheat chapati flour (atta)
**chapati flour has a finer grind than regular whole wheat flour. If using regular whole wheat flour, mix in 1 part all purpose flour to 3 parts whole wheat flour.
a little over 1 cup water
salt to taste
until a pliable but non-sticky dough is formed. Let it rest in a covered, oiled bowl for atleast 30 minutes. (If refrigerated, it can stay this way for a day or two).
For the filling, mix together
2 cups grated paneer
1 cup chopped mint leaves (loosely packed)
half tsp turmeric powder
3 to 4 fine chopped green Thai or serrano chilies
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp amchur (dry mango powder) (or lime juice)
salt to taste
Divide the filling into 12 equal portions and press them into firm balls. Dust each with flour if necessary.
Likewise, divide the dough into 12 equal portions. The size of the filling ball should be slightly smaller than the size of the dough ball.
Roll out each ball of dough to a circle about 3 to 3.5 inches in diameter. Make it a bit thicker in the middle. Place it in your hand like a cup, put the filling in, and pinch and seal the edges. LIKE THIS.
Roll out each stuffed ball of dough lightly into a disc about 10 inches in diameter, taking care not to break the dough. If it does tear, stick a small piece of dough on the tear to seal it.
Toast one side on a hot cast iron or metal pan on medium-high heat until it gets a few brown spots, add
1/4 tsp oil/ghee (clarified butter)
turn it to the other side, and toast with another
1/4 tsp oil/ghee.
Press down with the spatula gently for even cooking on the edges.
Make all the parathas this way. Store them stacked one upon the other in foil or in a kitchen towel.
VARIATIONS AND TIPS
The Dough:
The first time we made it with whole wheat chapati flour. The next time, we used a combination of stiff sourdough starter and chapati flour - 3/4 cup stiff sourdough starter (6 ounces) plus 2 cups whole wheat chapati flour, plus water to knead the dough.
We often have leftover sourdough starter, and this is a great way to immediately convert it into something. It adds great flavour too.
The Filling:
We’ve tried substituting paneer with the Mexican Queso Blanco/Queso Fresco/Panela, which is made quite the same way.
Two things to keep in mind - Queso Blanco is VERY salty. So skip the salt in the filling and in the dough if you wish. It also tends to get very gooey and melt faster than regular paneer. So make sure your paratha is sealed very well. If the stuff oozes out, you’ll have burnt cheese strings on your skillet.
We’ve increased the quantity of mint to 2 cups - it tastes even better. You can use a combo of mint and cilantro, or a variety of mints - like spearmint, peppermint, applemint, orange bergamot mint, chocolate mint, ginger mint.
Paneer Mint Parathas with Sourdough go to Srivalli’s Roti Mela, Susan’s YeastSpotting, and Andrea’s Grow Your Own.
What does this picture mean?
Growing What We Eat by Bee @ Forgive Me My Nonsense …
cheese, flatbread, Flour, GARDENING, India, Mint, orange bergamot mint, Paneer-(Indian-Cottage-Cheese), Panela, Panela-cheese, paratha, peppermint, Queso-Blanco, Queso-Fresco, sourdough, Wheat
i looooove paneer anything…parathas look so yummmmy
I love the idea of sourdough starter being used Bee, I do not have much idea of breads and I would love to try something like this. Mint and Paneer indeed is a great combo !
Good one, love Paneer stuffing.Trisha loves it too.
I added red chard and fresh Rosemary in paratha dough, it was so yummy! Try Rosemary, you will love it!:)
TOI not showing my posts either as somebody told me.You missed my Wednesday Balle Balle!
Enjoy your weekend, see you on Monday. There was a fire in Rocky Mount miles away form here and half NC was covered in smoke this morning! Can you believe that? You can smell the burnt wood and see the smoke drifting to west in the wind. CRRAZZY!
Mm..paneer mint paranthas. Now there’s an idea for the weekend! Love the picture of the orange Bergamot!
Another one goes into to-do list
Btw..I din’t know there were so many types of mint available :(. I always picked the one which looked closest to Pudina and I hate the strong aroma :(. I will have to check the other varieties.
the regular one is spearmint. the other varieties are available only in nurseries. theya re very eas to grow. don’t plant them in the ground. in a pot, they will come back year after year.
Looks fantastic! Definitely a must try!
This looks delicious, I have never had it but it definitely looks like something I would like to try.
Paneer paranthas are the best
Sourdough starter, now that’s my type of thing in parantha (does a lil’ dance!).
I can imagine the smell of paneer parotha …Love the stack :)Awesome…. First time, i am seeing the orange berg mint, does it smell citrus?
About the map, did the food price worsening the consumption?
Yum yum
What a great way to use sourdough toss-off! I’m going to try to make paneer — I think I’ve made it before, but not on purpose, I was trying to make ricotta
Thanks for sending this to YeastSpotting!
wow, yummy parathas. must try. great pics.
the parathas look yummO B&J.. as always..
I guess it shud be ‘Our friend’ in the opening sentence ;).. Just thought of letting u know.. though it doesn’t matter!..
Cheers,
Siri
thanks. -j
Hmm the paneer mint paratha looks awesome bee…:)
Have something for u in my blog… check it out…
U have some amazing photographs… want to learn so much from u about food photography…:)
i have just brought mint from my freinds place…. love tehse.. but hmm i have to make paneer though!!!
Love these paranthas. Thanks for sharing
These look great guys! I didn’t know there was something like Orange Mint:) thanks for the gyaan!:D
My taste in food is pretty wierd and burnt cheese strings on my skillet sound really yum, so any tips on how to make the stuffing ooze out are welcome!Throwing the cheese on the tava has never worked for me:(
My friend who lives in the same sub division as me made the mistake of planting some mint in her veggie patch a few years ago. That plant is now a mint bush!
She is fed up with it but yeh for me! I can just walk over and take as much as I need. Time to put that bush to some good use! Parathas sound scrumptious.
That’s an eye-opener of data on the worsening food prices.
India, pays too much for what we import (or atleast we import the expensive stuff!). And the basic grain, tea etc we export are at lower prices. I *think* that’s what it means, atleast as far as India is concerned.
The US seems to be better off! hmm.
ahh.. even i am thinking of growing some mint and curry leaves cuz they are often unavailable or wilted in the wet market near my place.. have to look online for some tips on how to go about it..
and oh, the parathas look yummy of course. but i think i might reduce the amount of mint leaves when i try it
Oooh, that looks good! I never thought to try queso fresco as a substitute for paneer, so thanks for that tip. The mint looks beautiful! I planted some bergamot mint this year, and I hope mine looks as good as yours when it gets going. Thanks for sharing a beautiful dish with Grow Your Own and for supporting the event!
your mint leaves are so beautiful!…never knew there were so many varieties!…lovely parathas..thanks for sending them along!..I heart anything paneer!
Wow the filling with mint and paneer looks so delicious.
You have such a variation ofherb collection.
Could feel the aroma Bee. Very nice. Viji
I love parathas, paneer and mint. So you have me drooling - so typical of you not to offer me one.
If you find out what the food increase pic means let me know. I can relate to Africa and part of Europe being red/pink but why the hell is France gaining in trade and USA too?
USA is a net exporter of food and one of the largest exporters of wheat. wheat flour prices in some areas have gone up 400%. Add to that corn,soy etc… Don’t know why France is better vis-a-vis rest of western Europe. Considering France is your neighbour, probably you can dig up something and let us know
-j
The only parathas I have tasted are those that I made using the recipe from one of the Hare Krishna cookbooks-quite similar to this and sooo delicious. Must make again, now that youve remi9nd ed me. Nice pics of the mint. I have a very lovely mint growing now from a cutting a friend in Sonoma gave me in April.
I love all the varieties of mint! One shop I go to has so many different kinds..I wanted one of each. Isn’t the chocolate amazing? I also like to plant lemon thyme between the stones in a path. When you walk by and brush against it, the scent is heavenly
i make paneer capsicum parathas… ur filling looks so so good.. i love paneer parathas.. will try this soon
I made these today- and they were unbelievable-this was my first time making stuffed parathas, so that says a lot about your excellent instructions..
The husband said they were the best parathas he’d ever tasted, including all the Delhi Dhabas that he hasfrequented- a compliment can go no further with him than that..lol
Thank you!
Hi Jai and Bee,
The paratha looks awesome. Sourdough will give softer texture to the dough.
Thanks for the recipe.
Try adding anardhana to that paratha…it will be so yum!
So the graph says UAE is in bad shape, I can feel it at the supermarket!!I don’t understand why Oman is worsening its trade balance when it atually grows a lot of it’s crops. Maybe it imports much more….
Mint in parathas is a great idea.
My version of paneer parathas has coriander leaves and minced onions but no turmeric or amchur. My daughter is a committed fan of paneer!
Hey Bee,
That stak of parathas luk so yummy nice capture and love teh combo too..
Boy that looks wonderful and i can imagine how flavourful this must’ve been.
[...] Paneer Mint Parathas with Sourdough ~ jugalbandi [...]
Mmmmm, these look amazing!!
hi, how u been? parathas look so YUM, paneer parathas are just the best
btw, congrats on the click for Bri event, Best Wishes to Bri!
will definitely make these paranthas coz I have a potful of mint now
.
Made these yesterday roughly based on your recipe, with just regular atta dough and used cilantro+chives in place of mint, and they were wonderful. The house was smelling like an Indian takeout!
I have never made these before, they look soo good. Like Indian quesadillas. I think my daughter would especially love them.