Potato-Stuffed Bread (Aloo ka Parantha)

• portioner: 12 (8-in) rounds

Ingredienser

4 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled, and mashed (4 cups [840 g])

1 tablespoon oil

1 heaping teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 small yellow or red onion, peeled and minced (½ cup [75 g])

2-3 Thai, serrano, or cayenne chiles, stems removed, chopped

1 teaspoon red chile powder or cayenne

1 teaspoon mango powder (amchur)

1 tablespoon garam masala

2 teaspOons coarse sea salt

1/4 cup (7 g) dried fenugreek leaves (lightly crushed to release flavor)

1 batch Basic Roti Dough (see other recipe)

Vejledning

Put the mashed potatoes in a deep bowl.

In a heavy pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.

Add the cumin and turmeric, and cook until the seeds sizzle, about 30 seconds.

Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes, until slightly browned. stirring occasionally.

Add this mixture to the potatoes, along with the green chiles, red chile and mango powders, garam masala, salt, and fenugreek leaves. Mix everything together. I prefer to mix it by hand to make sure the potatoes are completely mashed. (Large pieces of potato will break through your dough when you stuff it later. If you want avoid touching the chiles, either use a large spoon or fork or wear kitchen gloves.)

Once the filling is finished, you can start rolling out the roti dough. Start by making Basic Roti Dough (recipe follows). Pull off a piece about the size of a golf ball (about 2 inches [5 cm] in diameter) and roll it between both palms to mold it into a ball. Press it between both palms to flatten it slightly, and roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it's about 5 inches (12.5 cm) in diameter.

Put a dollop (a heaping tablespoon) of the spicy potato filling right in the middle of the rolled-out dough. Fold in all sides so they meet in the middle - essentially making a square. Dip both sides of the square lightly in dry flour.

Roll it out on a surface lightly dusted with flour until it's thin and circular, about 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter. It may not be perfectly round, and some of the filling might come through slightly, but that's all OK.

Heat a tava or a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Once it's hot, place the parantha in the pan and heat for 30 seconds, until it's just firm enough to flip over but not completely hard or dried out. This step is critical to making really delicious paranthas. It will look like it's just about to cook but still a little raw. Cook for 30 seconds on the opposite side. Meanwhile, lightly oil the side that is facing up, flip it over, lightly oil the other side, and cook both sides until they brown slightly. Serve immediately with vegan butter, sweet soy yogurt, or Indian pickle (achaar).

Notater

Paranthas are the quintessential North Indian breakfast. As a kid, I'd wait for weekends when Mom would have time to make them, or visits to India when we'd eagerly look forward to being fed parantha after parantha every morning. They'd arrive hot and steaming off the tava to our plates. The best way to eat them is with a dollop of vegan butter on the side and a little bowl of soy yogurt, or sweetened with brown sugar or with some lndian pickle (achaar) on the side.