Parota with Alu Bati Charchari -- Divine
1.We had an amazing Christmas party.
2.The Liberty Science Center is a whole lot of fun when there is no one around.
3.The kids faith in Santa was re-instilled. BS got her toy which changes hair color only it needs icy cold water to do that and I am unable to provide icy cold water in this icy cold weather. LS got her "geef",a Thomas engine and couple of books.
4."Pippi Longstocking" and "Katie Kazoo" are some new series that I got for BS.
3.I must edit my last post to add that Sheela and Munni are now the mainstays of Bong parties. So move over Ms.Lahiri.
4.Indian Chinese for Christmas works perfect.
5.We have been snowed in and housebound for the last 3 days and I wish Santa had gotten me a gift, a transmogrifer.
6.I saw "Up" after every one in the world has seen and said everything about it.
7.Teen kona parota or Bengali Triangular Parotas are not all that difficult and can be made without the aid of a compass and protractor. I say Bengali because I have not seen Triangular Parathas in any of my non-Bong friend's house.
Parota with Notun Gur(Palm Jaggery) sent from home for Winter -- Priceless
I have been so afraid of making the standard Bengali Triangle Parota all my life that I never ever attempted them. I would wait patiently for the Ma or Ma-in-law to turn up and serve them. I had such a mind block that I never even stood beside them while they rolled out the perfect isosceles triangles. And geometry wasn't even my weak point.
Honestly, I wasn't even sure why they were better than the circular ones and I thought it was just a lot of hype. My doubt still continues.
Then everything changed on a sunny November Sunday morning, when I told a friend staying the weekend with us, "Chal Parota banai"(Let's make Parota). Timidly I asked her if she knew to make triangular Parotas. She pooh-poohed the whole thing, saying it was no big deal and showed me how. While she expertly made 10 of them in 5 minutes, I struggled with two but at least I got some bell like shape out of it.
There after I got into the groove and made them again. They now looked better. After some more attempts I can now say, Triangle Parotas are easy to make. Why they are important I cannot tell.
Repeat after me.
You guys have a great next year. Make your resolutions and stick by them. When making teen kona parota is the high point of my life, it is natural that I resolve to do nothing better.
Happy 2011
Read more...
Bengali Triangle Parota
What You Need
AP Flour/Maida ~ 1 cup
Whole Wheat Flour ~ 1 cup
White Oil for shortening ~ 1&1/2 tbsp. many people use ghee as shortening too.
Salt ~ a pinch or say 1/4tsp
Warm Water ~ 1 cup(added gradually). Some people add warm milk to make a softer dough, I haven't, you can try.
Dry Flour ~ in a plate for rolling the Paratha.
How I Did It
In a wide mouthed bowl add the flour, the salt and the oil for shortening.
With your finger tips rub in the oil into the flour.
Now gradually add the warm water working the flour into a dough. If it becomes too watery don't panic and add a smattering of flour but it is smart to be cautious with the water.
Knead the dough till it does not stick to your fingers at all.
Keep on kneading till the dough becomes alabaster smooth, soft and pliable.
Cover with a damp cloth or damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
Once again pummel/knead the dough and make small ping-pong sized balls from it.
Now start rolling as follows
Take a ping-pong size ball, flatten it between your palms, dust with flour.
Roll a small circular disc
Fold along the diameter to form a semi-circle
Take the right end of the semi-circle, lift and fold along the radius to meet the left end
Gently roll and elongate the sides to get a triangular bell shape
Roll some more, maintaining the shape. Thickness should be like the regular paratha.
Heat a skillet/tawa. Place the rolled paratha on the heated tawa and cook on one side until bubbles starts to appear.
Flip the other side and pour oil in drops around the edges of the paratha or spray the surface with cooking oil.
After half a minute or so flip again and again add oil around the edges. Keep doing this, every side half a minute or so until the paratha is cooked on bot sides. There will be little brown spots on the surface and then you know you are done.
Alu Bati Charchari
I have a post on bati charchari with a lot of vegetables
This one is done only with potatoes
Peel and chop 3 medium sized potatoes in 2" long pieces.
In a heavy-bottomed deep pan heat 3 tsp of Mustard Oil
Add 4 hot Indian green chili, slit halfway
Add the potatoes
Add salt to taste + 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder and mix well. Saute for a minute
Add 1 to 1&1/2 cups of water.
Cover and cook without any stirring till potatoes are cooked and water dries up. If needed add more water for cooking
Once done, add 1-2 tsp of Mustard oil on top before serving
Best enjoyed with Parota, Luchi or Roti
Jolkhabar e gorom gorom jome jaabe. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe triangle parathas reminds me of my childhood, when mom used to make it. I normally make square ones. Love the Alu bati charchari.
ReplyDeleteHi Sandeepa,
ReplyDeleteYou're right in calling this triangular paratha Bengali coz rest of us identify it as Chapathi, I believe. What we all know as paratha is made of Maida and mostly layered.
This way paratas are very soft...looks too gud
ReplyDeletewow, what beautiful memories. As I grew up in Jamshedpur and mom was grew in Chittaranjan, this is the paratha that we know too, teen kona paratha and wow nolen gur, it has been ages since I tasted it. Beautiful pictures dear.
ReplyDeleteBoth parota and alu bati charchari tempts me a lot..
ReplyDeleteBTW , why is Nolen gur only available in winter ? Coming from Chennai , gud is available all year round ( as is summer !!) . Having a blast in Kol with this gud though - I love it !!
ReplyDeleteTriangle parathas look so nice.
ReplyDeleteIf only I had known there was someone finding it hard to make triangular parathas :) Here I am trying to perfect make circular ones.
ReplyDeleteDD loved Pippi and so does DD2
Me, I would just carve triangles out of the parathas! All the naans we get in the hotels here are triangular. Or maybe tear-drop.
ReplyDeleteNice blog Sandeepa. I am originally from U.P. but grew up all over India because my dad was in the Army. I have eaten triangular parathas everywhere so was a bit surprised to see that you consider them Bengali :))
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the version we make at home has no oil in the dough but we smear a bit of oil between the layers. The resulting soft easily separable layers make it yummier & better than the round ones for me...As a kid, I loved eating the layers separately
Lovely write up Sandeepa ...... I grew up eating triangle parathas so I have never been able to relate to paratha's being round.
ReplyDeleteWish you a very Happy New Year ....
Cheers,
Satrupa
http://satrupa-foodforthought.blogspot.com
That is exactly how my mom makes parota! Happy 2011 to you too :)
ReplyDeleteeta amader barir hot fav. protyketa layer fold karar age besh kore tel makhie muchmuche kor ebhaje amar maa. tabe ami bhalobasi na khub akta...khelei ektu bade ambol ar buk jwala. dhur amar shukno rutii bhalo.
ReplyDeleteTriangle shape is the easiest for me, well at least they come out soft and stay soft.
ReplyDeleteSo are you shoveling snow? Kids should have fun i guess....
Hey I make triangular parathas all the time, i don't know how to make round ones :)
ReplyDeleteI am not much of a cook but I read all ur posts bcoz u write so well and to drool at all the pix that u post.
Have a wonderful Bloggingful New year
Luv, luc,cheers
oh it just looks amazing and tastes so too
ReplyDeleteplatter looks so good,..
ReplyDeletewish ya happy new year,..
Wonderful write up as always, Sandeepa. Sorry I have missed many of your witty posts.
ReplyDeleteBut wishing you and your family a very Happy New Year.
Funny as usual. And you to seem to have succeeded in making the tringular parata.Wish you and Family all the very best in 2011.Thanks for keeping me smiling!!!
ReplyDeleteLooks Yummy..just like to add in south india, particularly in Karnataka , we call this chapathi.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have rotis in south.
Some make exactly same chapathi just round in shape. But i grew up eating triangle chapathis..
Hello Sandeepa , u ve very interesting way of writing . Ur parathas are staple breakfast of a middleclass home in U.P. we dont add maida to it but sm salt and ajvain . generally eaten with chai .Have a gr8 and happening 2011
ReplyDeleteSandeepa,
ReplyDeleteShakal'er jol khabar e khete bhishon bhalo lagey amader tobe aajkaal kom hi kora hoye..begun bhaja diye O porota khete bhalo lagey..and shekar kono bayesh hoye na..protek din hi kicho noton shekbaar sujog niye ashe, besh amader ke dekhe seyi ta nijer kore nite hoye :-)..
Wish you and yours specially BS and LS ke onek-onek hugs and best wishes for a happy and fantastic new year..khob anando koro noton bach'er..hugs and smiles
Dear S
ReplyDeleteI am stuck on 'protractor' -- seriously have not heard that word since I was in soph. geometry! Am bookmarking the post to try Bengali Parota soon :)
Happy New Year!!
Yes- I agree with the anonymous UP-ite- we also make tikona parathas, with no oil in the dough, but oil smeared on the layers, adding flakiness and layering to the paratha.
ReplyDeleteThey sound yummier, the way you describe them:)
Happy New Year!
What a dreamy meal- mmm. Happy New Year to you and your family!
ReplyDeleteHappy 2011! Glad the family enjoyed the holidays. The parotas look great :)
ReplyDeletelovely paranthas....luvd ur space too....
ReplyDeletehttp://hasnasdelights.blogspot.com/
Best wishes for a happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteYum, these parotha look delicious! My MIL prepares them often, and I definitely have to learn how to prepare them, too :-)
Sandeepa,
ReplyDeleteI realized je tumi jante na ami blog change korechi, kintu ami tomake janiechilam, may be miss kore gecho comment ta. any way, gud diye parotta amar most favorite food. Wish you and your family a wonderful year ahead
I thought triangle parathas were only made by Tamilians who never mastered the phulka! Imagine that! Or maybe MIL learnt these from her Bong neighbours in Delhi in the 1950s? Of course she makes lovely phulkas, so she wouldnt have had to hide behind a paratha - which makes me ask, why did you fear them? that was the only shape I made for some time before I came near the "round" ;)
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally, I also posted an adored comibnation oily bread and potato "sideish" - wish you a very Happy New Year!
(PS I havent even heard the Munni Sheila songs inspite of living IN India!)
I love the triangle porothas :) Happy new year to you and your family Sandeepa!
ReplyDeleteBack home, we always make triangle parota... I am lazy, so I make a pulka and cook it like a paratha with some oil. We don't use maida, it is only atta
ReplyDeleteThis looks and sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteReplicating the traditional recipes with the jaggery avaialable in the Indian grocery stores, somehow flal short ...
Wish you a happy new year! :-)
My mom made these too...and we're from Haryana-Rajasthan border. Like others pointed out, our version has no oil in the dough, but a generous sprinkling between layers. Very yum...
ReplyDeleteYou have a nice blog.
Excellent write up. It brings back nostalgic memories, I am from Orissa and the triangle paratha is a Sunday brunch staple along with dalma.
ReplyDeleteAnu Pradhan
Hey Bong Mom, the triangle parathas are very much traditional and popular Oriya cuisine as well. Its a lovely blog and nice effort! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteTriangle parathas are not Bengali, come to BIhar and UP and some delhi people i have been eating them since my childhood. Donot give such generic names, misleading !!
ReplyDeleteTriangle Parathas can be termed as Pan Indian....No harm in knowing that apart from bengalis, they are also prepared albiet lil differently in Bihar, Orissa, TamlNadu, UP, Haryana and so on...
ReplyDeleteWhat matters most is they are tasty and yummy and thanks BongMom for that!!!
Sandeepa Di,
ReplyDeleteI am commenting for the first time, though I am not new to your blog. having being married for the last 4 months your blog is a bible for my post work cooking schedule. One small query...don't we add jeere (cumin) phoron to this alu charchari?