Broccoli Paratha

I used to dislike Broccoli for a long time. I don't know if its the bland taste of broccoli or something else that made me hate it. I have liked it if they are not in the floret form. If they are added in the grated form or pureed to add into Broccoli soup, I like it. Oh by the way, that's my little hand model who volunteered to pose for the food pics. He is officially my hand model from now on. But its absolutely a volunteering positions because he chooses if he wants to pose or just walk out...he he. The cute smile that he kept on for the pics really meant he didn't want his modelling to be restricted to just his hands :P.

When you become a parent, you tend to include all the healthy foods into your diet no matter if you like it or not. When the kids are picky, you tend to explore and experiment to make food interesting to them too. And that how this Broccoli paratha first appeared on our table.

This Broccoli paratha is now a very frequent breakfast option for us. All three of us like it. Hope you and your family would love to make and have it often for your breakfast/lunch /dinner.

Ingredients

For the filling

1. 1 large potato
2. 2 cup of grated broccoli
3. 3/4 tbsp of chopped ginger
4. 1/2 cup of chopped onion
5. 1 tbsp of chopped green chilly
6. 1 1/2 tsp of garam masala
7. 3/4 tsp of cumin seeds
8. Salt to taste
9. 2 tbsp of oil

For the paratha

1. 1 1/2 cup of wheat flour
2. Salt to taste 
3. 1/2 cup of water or as required
4. Oil as required
5. A plate of dry wheat flour

Method

Making of the filling

• Boil the potato and mash it.
• In a skillet, heat 2 tbsp of oil. Once hot, add the cumin seeds and wait for it to splutter. Drop in the onion, ginger, green chilly and salt. Saute it. 
• Add the garam masala and stir it.
• Add the grated broccoli. Cover and cook it for a minute or two. Now add the mashed potatoes and mix it thoroughly. Cook it for about 10 mins.
• Let it cool before you use it as the filling.

Making / Stuffing of paratha

• In a bowl, mix the wheat flour and salt and give a mix. Now start adding water little by little while you mix/knead it well to form a smooth and soft dough.
• Divide the dough into balls of equal sizes(about 1 1/2 inch size).
• Make balls out of broccoli and potato filling of lesser size than that of the dough balls. 
• Roll out the dough balls into 3"-4" diameter disks.
• Place a ball of potato filling on the rolled out dough and fold the dough around the filling and pinch the ends to completely cover it. Give it a smooth texture by rolling it between your palms.
• Flatten the stuffed dough ball between your palms slightly and roll it in the plate of dry wheat flour and roll it out into tortilla shaped disk. The thickness of the parathas could defer as per your choice. Usually stuffed parathas are thicker, but I make the thinner version because my family likes it that way.
• Heat a flat skillet on medium high. Place the rolled out paratha on the heated skillet and cook it. Flip the paratha as required. Once the paratha is semi cooked, spread some oil on both sides. Cook it till the parathas are done completely. Remove the parathas on to a insulated container. 
• Serve it hot with some butter on top and  some ketchup/tomato sauce or raita or pickle as the side.

Tips

1. Mashing up the potatoes really well, without any chunks of potatoes, would help the parathas to stay in shape, without the filling bursting out when you roll out the parathas.
2. While grating broccoli, grate the florets and only the soft inner portion of the stem. 
3. You could prepare the filling the previous day and refrigerate it to make it quickly the next morning.