If you live in California, I don’t really need to make you aware of how unlikely it is to rain. (That’s why every little form of water conservation is so important – remember that when you’re taking a shower). Therefore, I was both surprised and thankful to wake up to the pitter patter of water on our roof. Unfortunately, I quickly realized this was the sprinklers but I still couldn’t think of anything more comforting than some gobhi parathas, raita (yogut sauce), and pickles to wane off the sleepiness that rain brings for me. Don’t worry, I didn’t leave out the chai.
Growing up, parathas were this rare treat we would get on weekend morning. I imagine its kind of like waking up to waffles or pancakes but in a savory edition? What are parathas? They’re basically a stuffed flatbread of sorts. They can be stuffed from vegetarian options such as potatoes, radish, cauliflower, herbs, cheeses, etc, to ground meat options as well.
This particular flatbread recipe is vegan! So meat eaters and vegans rejoice, there’s a perfect breakfast for both of you.
Ingredients
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
- 1 potato boiled and grated
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp ginger paste
- 2 green chillies chopped (optional)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
- 2 cups ground cauliflower
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp anardana (pomegranate) or amchur (green mango) powder (a little lime can be subbed as well)
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
- handful chopped cilantro
- 2 cups flour
So this recipe is two-fold: the dough and the filling. I usually like to make the dough first so it can rest while I make the filling. And then I roll out individual dough balls as the filling is cooking
For the dough:
In a bowl mix 2 cups of flour, tsp oil, and a pinch of salt.
Mix with your hands as you slowly add water until the dough starts to clump. Start kneading this with your hand until it forms a dough ball. Let this rest while you work on the filling.
For the filling:
Prep veggies. Shred the cauliflower and boiled potato.
Heat pan to medium-high. Add some oil to the pan and let ginger and onion caramelize
Add the potato cauliflower mix along with spices and salt.
Lower the pan to medium-low as the filling cooks. When it starts to get this color and more cooked, fold in the chilies and cilantro. Do not add water as it will make it soggy! If its burning, lower the flame and keep stirring.
Putting it all together!:
Divide the dough into 4 parts like so
Roll each out and spoon the filling into it. 
Use your hands to fold and crimp the dough around and seal with water if necessary.
Roll it out once again. Heat a griddle or flat plan on to medium high. Add some oil and flip the flatbread as necessary. Press down with spatula to get a good browning and supplement with oil if needed.
I will make a more detailed post about raita or the yogurt sauce. (Basically yogurt, cilantro, mint, cucumber, cumin, salt, and chaat masala). But you really can’t go wrong with pairing it with these gobhi aloo parathas. Sad to say, these lasted us 5 seconds before disappearing.
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