Thursday 11 September 2014

My very own frozen Parathas

When I started this project, I felt like I was the only Punjaban who would do something like this. My mother was against it and frankly thought I was crazy. "How hard can it be!?" she protested with a tinge of disappointment in her voice. Aren't I suppose to be like her, if not completely maybe just a fraction of her? It made me think.
I agreed with her and assured her she did everything right raising me, equipping me with the necessary skills but this I had to do because it was the only way I could enjoy her famous recipes.

My frozen parathas!



My whole family is very big on parathas. Be it simple butter parathas or the more complex ones with stuffing's - allo paratha, panner paratha, turnip paratha, chili and onion paratha, legumes paratha and whatever you want, in it.

In my house, Punjabi-food-is-luxury and scarce because I don't make it as often as I should and relying on commercially packed Punjabi food can be expensive.
So, I decided to make my own version of fast and quick parathas.

To learn how to knead dough for roti/parathas and how to roll the dough, please head over to my Recipes Page and select Punjabi-food-is-luxury. There is a video too for you to see the process of kneading dough.
Once you have your dough and stuffing ready, follow these picture tutorial.

Steps:
You would need a rolling pin to prepare roti/paratha.


Sauteed onion and garlic stuffing

Fold to cover stuffing's


It's always good to have some flour to ensure paratha does not stick when rolling

Parathas ready to be cooked or stored in the freezer

Separate parathas using parchment paper or cling wrap (a bit tricky) and put them into a Ziploc bag. I placed this bag on a cake board so the parathas will not loose its shape while freezing in my crowded freezer
Or cook on a tawa (skillet) by brushing some clarified butter


Simple breakfast. paratha with cream cheese and acchar (pickle)

She's enjoying hers with yogurt 

Spinach Paratha

Chop some spinach and add it to the dough while you are kneading it or you can use it as a stuffing. I made my spinach paratha with some cottage cheese.

Comparison with store-bought frozen paratha:

Store-bought frozen paratha
Store-bought parathas were already oiled and very thick compared to my homemade version but I still had to brush some ghee while cooking it.
Homemade frozen paratha
As you can see from the picture above, my homemade frozen paratha isn't as oily as the store-bought and drum rolls please... it fluffed up while cooking!

Things to note.
Frozen parathas are best eaten immediately once cooked. You may not like the taste of it if kept too long and reheating would turn these parathas hard.
To thaw, just leave it on your counter top for 15 minutes to an hour. No defrosting is recommended.

For more recipes, please head over to my Recipes page

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