Channa Dal Paratha

I usually make paranthas on weekends for breakfast. This weekend we had chana dal paratha. Typically, stuffed parathas are served with chilled yogurt and often shallow fried with lot of ghee or oil. But that ain't gonna happen in my kitchen. There is no ghee/butter involved here. I used few drops of oil for each paratha and it’s not stuffed.

The trick to get crispy parathas is to heat a flat pan on high flame but the minute your paratha sits on the pan, reduce the flame to medium. The dough can be made ahead in the night and stored in an air tight container. Let it sit in the fridge overnight. Refrigerating the dough also makes it easy to work on and gives a good rise.

Ingredients

Plain wheat flour 2 cups
Bengal gram/ Chana dal ½ cup
Finely chopped onion 1
Minced ginger and garlic
Chopped coriander
Chopped red chilli peppers 3-4(you can use green as well)
Garam masala powder ½ teaspoon
Salt
Lukewarm water

Directions

Soak chana dal for 2 to 4 hours and pressure cook it with 1/2 cup of water. Cook till all the lentils become tender. I cooked for four whistles. Open the cooker and allow the dal to cool. Drain the water if any.

Using a wooden spoon or in a blender, mash the dal.
Mix the dal puree with coriander leaves, onion, ginger garlic, garam masala and salt to taste.

In a big bowl, add the flour and the dal mixture. Mix everything together until dough begins to form. I usually use my hands to knead the dough. You can even use a food processor for kneading.

Pack this dough in an air tight container and let it cool in the fridge for few hours. You can straight away use the dough to make parathas but I like to give it a rest.

When you are ready to make the parathas, take pieces of the dough and make small balls. Dust some flour and then lightly flatten the dough with hand.

With a rolling pin, roll out carefully to make a round paratha about ½’’ thick

Heat a flat pan and place the paratha on it. Smear some oil on top. Once you see the parantha begin to puff up turn it over and cook the other side for the same time till it's golden brown in colour.

Serve hot with cool yogurt.