An Invitation to Indian Cooking - Madhur Jaffrey [108]
Roll out this triangle, with the aid of the dry flour, so that its sides are about 5 inches long (it does not have to be too even).
Brush the tava or griddle with melted butter. Place the triangular paratha on it. As soon as one side is a golden brown, turn it over. Add a little more butter to the tava or griddle and cook the second side until it is also a golden brown. A few dark spots are perfectly all right. It should not get too dark or too crisp. Adjust flame to avoid this.
As each paratha is done, place on a large sheet of aluminum foil and cover tightly. Put all parathas in the aluminum this way. When ready to eat, preheat oven to 300° and heat covered parathas for 10 minutes.
To serve: Parathas go very well with nearly all vegetable dishes, particularly peas, potatoes, and cauliflower.
Bhatura
SERVES 4
The bhatura is a bit like a deep-fried version of the naan. It is very popular in the Punjab as a “snack” bread, eaten with spiced chickpeas.
1 cup all-purpose white flour, plus a little extra flour for dusting
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, beaten
1–1½ tablespoons plain yogurt
A little vegetable oil for brushing on dough
Vegetable oil for deep frying, enough to have 2½ inches in pot
Sift the cup of flour and the baking powder into a bowl. Add the egg and begin to mix. Slowly add the yogurt and gather together the flour. Begin kneading. Add as much yogurt as will give you a soft dough. Knead dough for 10 minutes until it is smooth. Form into a ball, brush with oil, cover with damp cloth, and keep in a warm place for 3 hours.
With moistened hands, knead dough again.
Put oil in karhai wok, or other wide utensil for deep frying. Heat over medium flame. Allow oil time to get smoking hot.
Divide dough into 8 balls and cover with damp cloth. Take one ball at a time and flatten it. Flour the rolling surface. Roll out the ball into a 4½-inch round, and drop it in when the oil is smoking. As it begins to sizzle, press down on it gently with the back of a slotted spoon. It will puff up. Turn it over and let other side brown lightly. The whole process should take about a minute. Do all bhaturas this way.
To serve: Serve hot with Chana Masaledar or any meat or vegetable dish.
Naan
SERVES 6
Naan is a leavened flat bread shaped like a teardrop. It is best when cooked in the clay oven called the tandoor. While meats, chicken, and fish broil on large skewers inside the tandoor, moistened naans are stuck to its walls to bake.
3 cups all-purpose white flour
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons milk
1 egg, beaten
¾ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ packet dry yeast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus a little more for brushing on dough later
4 tablespoons plain yogurt
¼ teaspoon black onion seeds (kalonji), or poppy seeds as substitute
Sift the flour into a bowl. Place the milk in a small pot and warm slightly. Remove from heat. In another bowl combine the egg, salt, sugar, baking powder, yeast, 2 tablespoons oil, yogurt, and 5 tablespoons of the warm milk.
Mix well. Pour mixture over flour and rub it in with the hands.
Add 1 tablespoon of warm milk at a time to the flour, and begin kneading. Add up to 6 tablespoons or enough so that all the flour adheres and kneading is easy. Knead well for about 10 minutes or until dough is elastic. Form into a ball, brush with oil, cover with damp cloth, and leave in a warm place to rise. If the temperature is above 80° it should take only 2 hours. Otherwise it may take about 3 hours.
Preheat broiler to about 550°.
Line 3 cookie sheets with aluminum foil. Brush them lightly with oil.
Knead the dough again for a minute or two and divide into 6 balls. Flatten the balls one at a time, keeping the rest covered, and stretch them and pat them with your hands until you have a teardrop shape about 11 inches