Returning to the roots- A warm paratha for a winter day!

Its snowing here and we are predicting to get about 4 more inches of snow.Its been a balmy winter with only a few snowstorms this winter. On such a cold wintry night, you want to eat something that makes you feel warm like a warm bowl of soup, a cup of Darjeeling's Makaibari tea or some crunchy pakodas (fritters) with a hot sauce.

Winter is also the time when many vegetables are available back home.You don't feel the winter difference here going to the supermarkets.But you definitely get some winter greens in the Indian store like the methi saag (Fenugreek). Did you know that India is the largest producer of Methi in the world? I have grown myself some Methi Saag in our backyard from store bought methi seeds during summer.Usually Methi is eaten as a green cooked mainly with potatoes. Methi seeds are used for tempering many South Asian curries. Whenever Methi is in season here, I like to make Methi Parathas. They have that pungent methi flavor and can be enjoyed with an Indian pickle or yogurt. This year I made Methi Parathas for the first time last week. I went the extra length this time to add some extra spices apart from salt.

Ingredients:

Methi leaves- 2 cups

Whole wheat flour - 3 cups

Chilli powder- 2 tsp

Amchoor powder- 2 tsp

Whole cumin seeds- 3 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 1 tsp and to fry

Water to mix the dough

• Remove the methi leaves from the branches and wash them thoroughly.
• Dry the methi in a kitchen towel and chop it coarsely.
• Mix the flour and the methi together.You can use regular flour but white flour makes it more soft and less rubbery.
• Add the oil, salt and the spices to the mix.
• Add water to mix the flour into a soft dough.
• If the dough gets watery ,add some flour.
• Divide the dough into 8 balls.
• Roll each ball into appx. inches bread.You will need some dry flour for your rolling board and rolling pin.
• In a frying pan , first dry roast the bread .Then add a tsp of oil on both the sides and shallow fry the bread till bot the sides have brown spots on them.

The cumin adds a toasty flavor and the amchoor adds some tanginess to the parathas. Serve it with a pickle , a yogurt raita or even a tomato ketchup. Enjoy!