Monday, May 17, 2010
Onion Paratha (Frozen and/or Ready to Eat)
The other day I was surfing the frozen food section at some supermarket and came across a huge stash of frozen onion paratha, garlic paratha, plain paratha etc etc, at first its fancy packing and mouth watering snaps made me pick one onion paratha packet but it was then that I turn the packet to read its ingredients, very next instance I found myself thinking, "this is the most unhealthiest paratha that I would every lay my hands on, I'm sure I can do much better than what these wholesale manufactures can provide us in the name of ready meals" and duely placed the packet back to its assigned frozen spot (Now come on, I won't be naming brands here :) .
After reaching home I duely grabbed few things to put my thoughts into action and the approaching weekend was the best reason to whip up some recipe and stack my fridge with ready to eat tasty things. So mixed, kneaded and rolled the parathas and stacked them one on top of the other seperated by thin sheets of polythene, closed the tin box and placed it in freezer, so all I had to do on weekend was to thaw the paratha for 20-30 mins or so and shallow fry them on a non-stick pan using as little oil as possible.
Ingredients:
2 large onions grated
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt
2 tbs oil
1/2 cup to 1 cup warm water.
Mix onion, flour, salt, oil and knead a soft dough using required quantity of warm water (pour little water at a time and knead dough using hands instead of spatula or spoon, this way you shall know when the water is just enough). Cover the dough with moist kitchen towel and keep aside for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough in 12 equal portions and roll it into a smooth ball. Roll out parathas and store it in a tin box placing plastic sheets in between the parathas, this way they won't stick to each other. Cover the tin and place it in freezer. Now whenever you need Onion Paratha, just remove them from the freezer and let them thaw and shallow fry them using little oil on both side of paratha.
The best thing about this paratha is it can be enjoyed with anything from raita to sabzi and from your favourite curry to aachar. I could just roll one and gobble it down plain itself. So have it frozen or have it fresh... its your pick.... anyways it was far far better than the store bought plastic flavoured sheets, which I luckily avoided. :)
For the next weekend, planning to make some frozen Garlic Paratha, will keep you posted.
Good on you making your own paratha! You would definitely be able to control what was in it! :D
ReplyDeleteI Wil be trying the exact thing above, except for the onion part. Btw, can u tell me wht kind of plastic to look for to freeze? I need this for my weeknight dinners, along with some of your "everyday subzi" :)
ReplyDeleteNow I know wht m doing Sunday evenings... :)
I must tell you, you recepies' has been dominating my kitchen... I can tell you that...
Its an honour sir, happy to help. You can just cut up any plastic bag into square pieces to freeze the paratha in it, it doesn't matter much. Good day.
DeleteIt looks good. Btw how long does it last in the freezer?
ReplyDeleteIt's good for a month if frozen immediately and at a constant temperature. Btw mine never went past 15 days as they are our favorite weekend food. :)
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