I make parathas often – they are a delicious, substantial meal and you can fill them with lots of different things. I usually make the traditional paneer parathas or aloo (potato) filled parathas. But lately I’ve been experimenting with different types of fillings. These broccoli parathas are a recent favorite.

Broccoli Paratha Recipe – a Step by Step

Makes 8 parathas

Ingredients for the dough
2 cups whole wheat flour (atta)
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water. You wont need all of it.
¼ teaspoon oil

Ingredients for the filling
1 lb broccoli crowns (without stalks)
¾ cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
½ teaspoon scant garam masala
1/8 teaspoon ajwain (carom) seeds. Substitute with jeera (cumin) seeds
1 green chili, finely minced. Use more or less according to taste.
Salt

More flour for rolling
Oil for frying the parathas

Method

1. Place the flour and salt on a clean surface
2. Make a well in the middle of the flour
3. Sprinkle water in the well a little at a time, mixing the dough with your fingers after each sprinkle. Soon the dough will start to come together and look somewhat like scrambled eggs.
4. At this point start kneading using the base of your palm.

5. If the dough is too tight, sprinkle more water while kneading. Gather all the loose flour around while kneading.

6. When the dough forms a slightly soft, elastic, non-sticky ball, stop kneading
7.  Drizzle ¼ teaspoon of oil over the surface of the dough and spread it evenly
8. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel, and let it rest for about 30 minutes. Remember – flours differ in their elasticity, and some doughs may need to be rested more than others

9. While the dough is resting, working on the filling. Grate the broccoli using the finest side of a box grater. You need about 2 cups of grated broccoli. Do not grate the stems. If your broccoli is wet, make sure to dry it very well before grating.

10. Place the broccoli in a bowl, and add the cilantro, garam masala and ajwain. Mix gently. Add salt to the broccoli filling only in the last minute, otherwise the filling will become soggy.

Note: There are several recipes that recommend you salt the grated broccoli first and then squeeze out the excess water, before proceeding with adding the spices. I’ve tried this method, and there wasn’t much moisture to squeeze out of the broccoli, so I skip this step in this recipe.

However, if you are not experienced with making parathas, it may get a little tricky to roll out these parathas. This is where salting and squeezing the broccoli will help. The salt pulls out the moisture in the broccoli. When you’ve squeeze out all the water, the filling becomes easier to work with.

But I didn’t salt the broccoli. Instead, I added salt in the last minute, so that the broccoli didn’t have much of a chance to let out water. I also worked quickly while filling and rolling.

11. When the dough has rested, knead it gently once more

12. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Roll each one into balls. Keep them covered with a damp towel
13. Pour out about ½ cup flour for dipping and rolling. Take one dough ball, and flatten it with your fingers. Then dip it into the flour
14. Gently roll out the dough into a 3 ½ inch round

15. Add salt to the broccoli filling, and mix well. Taste the filling and adjust salt if needed. Place 2 tablespoons of the broccoli filling in the center of the dough. If you haven’t made parathas before, use less filling, it will make it easier to seal and roll

16. Using both your hands, gently bring up the edges of the dough
17. Then gather the edges over the filling. Compact the filling down with your fingers if you need to
18. Now pinch the edges together to seal

19. Gently flatten the parathas using your fingers

20. Dip it in some flour
21. Using a gentle touch, roll out the parathas, sprinkling more flour if it sticks
22. Roll out the paratha into about a 5 inch round

23. Heat a heavy bottom pan on medium heat. Place the rolled out parathas on the pan. Cook till light brown spots appear on one side. Flip the parathas and let brown spots appear on the other side. Then increase heat to medium-high, drizzle about ¼ teaspoon oil over the parathas and cook till golden, about 30 seconds.

Serve hot with yogurt or raita and pickles.

Need more paratha making tips? See this post.

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