Bathua Paratha
A winter green - bathua, baathu, goosefoot or lamb's quarters - is easily available and just as easy to cook in various ways. This paratha makes use of freshly steamed baathu with ginger and garlic to make a flatbread that is delicious and a meal unto itself. The recipe below can easily accommodate spinach in place of bathua.
Equipment
- Pressure cooker/instant pot/stock pot
- Griddle
- Food processor/immersion blender
- Stand mixer with dough hook
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Cooked bathua/baathu/goosefoot/lamb's quarters 3 cups raw to get 1/2 cup puree
- 1 1 inch piece Adrak/Ginger washed and sliced
- 3-4 cloves Lehsun/Garlic peeled
- 2-3 Hari mirch/Green chillies washed and trimmed
- Namak/Salt to taste
- Kaali Mirch/Black pepper to taste
- 1 cup Atta/Whole Wheat flour
- 1 tbsp Besan/Gram flour
- 1 tsp Ajwain/Carom seeds
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil/Ghee for the dough
- Other spices - turmeric, red chilli, garam masala, cumin Optoinal for seasoning the dough
- Water as needed for the dough
- Canola oil as needed for cooking paratha any neutral tasting oil with a high smoking point
- 1/4 to 1/2 Onion Optional - chopped, for the dough
Instructions
Clean, steam and puree bathua
- Wash bathua in three water baths. Detailed in post on Haak ka Saag. Once clean, steam the leaves in either a pressure cooker or instant pot, or blanch them in a large stock pot.
- To pressure cook, add leaves in the cooker on medium high heat. Allow the greens to sweat some moisture. Add ginger and garlic, and green chillies, if using. You could also season with salt and pepper at this time. Then close the lid and cook on high for about 5 minutes or until the first whistle. Remove from heat and allow steam to escape naturally before opening.
- Once cool, blend into a thick smooth puree with either an immersion blender or in a food processor.
Make the dough
- You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer or food processor. Add 1 cup atta/whole wheat flour (I prefer Indian brands like Ashirwad), bathua puree, ajwain, olive oil/ghee and gram flour to the stand mixer/processor/mixing bowl. If using, now is the time to add chopped onion.
- Knead until you get a pliant, soft dough that it not very sticky but slightly moist. Use water if moisture from the puree isn’t enough to make the dough but do so with caution. Add only a teaspoonful of water at a time. Too much and the dough will become wet and sticky. The only way to remedy that is to add more dry flour. Remove dough from the mixer/food processor and let it rest for a few minutes while you set up your mise en place for cooking parathe.
Cooking Bathua Paratha
- Put a tawa/griddle on the stove at medium high heat. Warm it up until you can feel the warmth rising from it. I set up my mise en place with chakla-belan, palethan and oil, then lower the heat and start rolling out parathe with the skillet ready to receive them.
- Break off small balls of dough and roll in the center of your palm as you would cookie dough. Then dunk in some dry flour/palethan. Place and center on the chakla/rolling board and flatten with a rolling pin/belan. Do this gently to roll into discs that are as thin as possible. Sprinkle dry flour as needed to avoid any sticking. You should end up with flat discs that are anywhere between 5 to 7 inches across. This dough should make 8 to 12 parathe depending on size and thickness. Make only as many as needed at a time and refrigerate the dough for later, using it up within 3-4 days.
- Just like a missi roti, these parathas are cooked with a dab of oil or ghee on either side. If you want, you could laminate the inside as well. I use canola oil for this part of the process for its higher smoking point. Place rolled out paratha on the griddle on medium heat. Cook until some bubbling occurs. Flip, so that the just cooked side is on top. Spread about 1/2 tsp on oil on this side. Wait another minute or so and flip so the second side is on top. Oil it. You’ll see brown spots. Gently press down on the edges of the paratha using a long spatula. Moisture in the dough will turn into steam and there will be come ballooning of the paratha. This is great and precisely what you want! Gently press down to spread the steam inside the pocket of dough so that all parts are cooked. Cook on medium high heat most of the time, lower when things get too smoky or there is burning. Once both sides have cooked evenly, remove from the griddle and store in a cloth napkin or paper towel lined bowl or insulated bowl.
Notes
- As the paratha cooks, oil will smoke. Create good ventilation by turning on the chimney/exhaust and opening windows if you do not have one.