Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Twin Roti

My Grandmother in law taught me this recipe. Everyday we used to make it together. This helped me survive through my twins childhood, when I used have too much work and nobody around (Being a single earner, my husband had to go to work). My husband used to like only rotis for dinner, and this recipe was quicker. Twin rotis are very good for beginners as you can roll two rotis at the same time so you won't have to roll it too thin. You are making two rotis together so faster too. Since one side of the roti is cooked in steam, this rotis are sweeter. These rotis go well with mango. Many people make it during mango season but we make it every day. When I used to have pain in my wrist I used to combine THREE together-even faster.

Category : Vegetarian, low fat
Preparation Time : 5 min
Cooking Time: 15-20 min
Skill level :  Intermediate

Ingredients :
1 c whole wheat flour
water as needed
ghee as needed
Dry whole wheat flour for rolling

1. Make soft dough with flour and water. 
2.  Make walnut size balls of dough.
3. Flatten the balls into disks.
4. Coat half the disks into flour.
5. For the other half, apply Ghee on top (1-2 drop)
6. Now Arrange it on top of one with flour, greased side down.
7. flatten it bit more.
8. Roll it softly to make both side similar. Dust roties to roll to prevent from sticking.
9. Heat griddle on medium heat and when hot enough (to check put a pinch of flour on the griddle and check if it turns golden-brown) carefully place the roti on the griddle .
8. After 10 seconds, flip it over.
9. When it has brownish spots flip over again.
10. When it has brownish spots both sides its done.
11. Split it open, you have two roties ready. Stack them
12. repeat.

*Let it Stand for an hour or so or overnight in refrigerator. 
*Instead of ghee you can use butter or vegan butter but ghee smells good.
*Flipping roti too many times makes it hard and chewy. (With practice you will know right timings and right temperatures.*To make soft roties adjust your heat just right. If its too much you will get burns and spots will quickly turn black and if it's too low it will take longer and will be chewy not soft.
* If you think your rolling speed is not fast you can turn heat on only after rolling 2-3 roties.

Roti/Thepal/Paratha

Roti
Twin roti
Sweet roti
Millet roti
Sorghum roti
Makki roti
Spinach roti
Tomato roti

Thepala

Banana Thepla
Tricolor Thepala
Fenugreek Thepala
Masala Thepala
Millet Thepala
Bottle gourd Thepala
Mint Thepala

Parathas

Triangle Paratha
Square Paratha
Biscuit Paratha
Green Masala Paratha
Lachhchha Paratha
Corn Peas Paratha

Tricolor Thepala

These absolutely yum-yum oh-so-colorful thepalas have 3-4 types of vegetables so if you are having hard time making your kids eat vegetables, this recipe is going to work well for you. Its colors are definitely a pleaser for children.

Category : Vegan, healthy fat
Preparation Time : 10 min
Cooking Time: 15-20 min
Skill level :  Intermediate

Ingredients :
Green dough:
1 tbs spinach puree
1 tbs spinach or fenugreek, finely chopped
1 ts garlic paste
1 ts green chili paste
1/4 ts turmeric
salt as needed
1/3 c whole wheat flour

Red dough:
2 tbs boiled grated beet
1 tbs red onion, very finely chopped (or puree)
1 ts red chili powder
1/4 ts turmeric
salt as needed
1/3 c whole wheat flour

yellow dough:
1 ts turmeric
1 ts red chili powder
1/2 ts asafoetida
 salt or as needed
1/3 c whole wheat flour

oil as needed

Make each dough separately as per dough directions.
1. Mix everything but flour and oil.
2. Add flour and make semi soft dough (if needed add more flour or yogurt for acquiring the required consistency)
3. Roll all the doughs into ropes with a diameter of 1/2"
4. Place them in a pile and little bit.
5. Cut with knife to make walnut size balls of dough.
6. Flatten the ball and roll it into thin circle (use dry flour for dusting otherwise it will stick).

7. Heat griddle on medium heat and when hot enough (to check put a pinch of flour on the griddle and check if it turns golden-brown) carefully place the thepala on the griddle .
8. After 10 seconds, flip it over.
9. After 10 seconds, dip spoon in the oil and spread over the thepala(2-3 drops oil)
10. Flip again and after until it has golden brown spots on both sides.
11. Repeat till done

*To make soft thepalas adjust your heat just right. If its too much you will get burns and spots will quickly turn black and if it's too low it will take longer and will be chewy not soft.
* If you think your rolling speed is not fast(For thepala you need more speed than roti or paratha) you can turn heat on only after rolling 2-3.
*You can also make PURIS by deep frying the circles(In this case make smaller circles, half size dough ball)
*If you want to make four color you can make regular dough without anything but salt and make a rope and put it together.


Banana Thepla

This thepala tastes amazing and it stays good longer so it is ideal when travelling. Banana lovers will love this. This is one of my family's favorites. It has the beautiful aroma of fennel and fresh fenugreek, the crunch of sesame seeds, the sweetness of banana (not overloaded), and saltiness. It has a great variety tastes and textures combined presenting for us a delicious final product.

Category : Vegan, healthy fat
Preparation Time : 5 min
Cooking Time: 15-20 min
Skill level :  Intermediate

Ingredients :
1 overripe or ripe banana, mashed
1/4 c Fenugreek, finely chopped
1 ts sesame seeds, crushed coarsely
1 ts fennel seeds, crushed coarsely
1 ts turmeric
1 ts red chili powder
1/2 ts asafoetida
1 ts salt or as needed
1 c whole wheat flour
oil as needed

1. Mix everything but the flour and oil.
2. Add flour and make soft dough (if needed add more flour or yogurt for right consistency)
3. Make walnut-sized spheres of dough.
4. Flatten the sphere and roll it into thin circle (use dry flour for dusting or it will stick).

5. Heat griddle on medium heat and when hot enough (to check put a pinch of flour on the griddle and check if it turns golden-brown) carefully place the thepala on the griddle .
6. After 10 seconds, flip it over.
7. After 10 seconds, dip spoon in the oil and spread over the thepala(2-3 drops oil)
8. Flip again and after until it has golden brown spots on both sides.
9. Repeat till done

*To make soft thepalas adjust your heat just right. If its too much you will get burns and spots will quickly turn black and if it's too low it will take longer and will be chewy not soft.
* If you think your rolling speed is not fast(For thepala you need more speed than roti or paratha) you can turn heat on only after rolling 2-3. *If you let the dough rest, it will turn darker because of banana, it fine kneading will bring back the color. 
*If you let the dough rest, it might turn softer, add some flour and need it again.