The sleigh bells are done ring-ting-tingling and all you are left with now is that jiggle in your waistline from all those holiday goodies. So what are you to do? Exactly what you do every year this time of the year: resolve to lose weight. And to get you started, I have for you the perfectly low-fat, perfectly nutritious meal: Gobi Parathas with Zucchini Raita.
The time after the holidays is always a little depressing. Suddenly there are no more lazy days with family and friends to look forward to, all the colorful lights and Christmas trees twinkling in windows are gone, and the most wonderful time of the year is a whole year away. But the New Year also brings with it a chance for renewal and as trite as those resolutions seem, we all can't help but make a few.
My resolution for the year is to go through life at a more conscious pace. As much as I love the idea of taking things slow and absorbing the beauty around me each day, I get caught up, inevitably, in the stresses of day-to-day living. And before I can realize it, some of the best moments I could have grabbed and held on to have passed me by. As have the people I know would have been good friends had I spent a little more time getting to know them, and events that I could have enjoyed far more had I not been busy looking at my watch.
My other resolution is to meet up with all of you more often. The last year was a tough one for me-- I went through a difficult time with Lucy's illness followed by a job change, and as a result Holy Cow! did not get the attention from me that she deserved. This year I intend to remedy that by posting new recipes more frequently.
Now on to the Gobi Parathas which are a great way to add the rather unglamorous yet incredibly nutritious cauliflower to your diet. Cauliflower has potent, cancer-fighting properties that it shares with its cruciferous cousins, namely broccoli, cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Collard Greens, and Kale. But it can also be a challenging veggie to cook, because it is rather bland and, if overcooked, it can turn into an unappetizing mush.
For these parathas, I marry the cauliflower with a blend of spices and then envelop it in some crispy whole-wheat dough. And then, just to make it all a little more perfect, I dunk it into some vegan Cucumber Raita.
On to the recipe now. Hope everyone has had a fabulous start to 2013 that will continue forever. Happy New Year, all!
Related recipes
- Easy Aloo Paratha
- Aloo Gobi
- Malai Gobi (creamy cauliflower curry)
- Tofu Paratha
- Khasta Paratha or Parotta
- Mooli Paratha
- Mushroom Paratha
- Palak Paratha (spinach paratha)
Gobi Paratha, Cauliflower Stuffed Indian Flatbread
Ingredients
For the dough
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour (use durum atta flour if you have this, otherwise regular whole-wheat is fine)
- ½ tsp salt
- Water as needed
For the filling
- ½ head cauliflower (grated in shreds)
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp cayenne
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp amchur (mango powder), optional
- 2 tbsp cilantro (minced finely)
- 2 tbsp dill (minced finely)
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Make the dough
- Place the flour in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix in the salt. With your hand or the dough hook, knead into a stiff dough. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
Make the filling
- Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat and add the mustard seeds. When they sputter, add the grated ginger, coriander powder, turmeric, and chilli powder.
- Mix quickly and then add the grated cauliflower and salt. Stir to mix thoroughly. We are cooking the cauliflower to get as much of the moisture out of it as possible, so do not cover it. Dehydrating the cauliflower will not only make it taste better in the paratha, it will also make it easier to roll the parathas out.
- Stir the cauliflower frequently. A good way to tell that the cauliflower is done is when it starts to stick to the bottom of the saucepan. This should take about 15-20 minutes. Don't let it burn though.
- Mix in the dill and coriander and add more salt if needed. Remove from the fire and allow to cool.
Assemble and cook the parathas
- Divide the dough into 10 pieces.
- Take each piece and roll it into a smooth ball in the palms of your hands. Using your fingers, or with a rolling pin, roll out each piece into a round, about 4 inches in diameter.
- Now place some filling inside the circle. I like to stuff the parathas as much as I possibly can, to get the most flavor.
- Gather the edges and pinch together at the top to seal into a dumpling. Press down the top.
- Dust the round with some flour and roll out gently into a 6-7 inch circle. I like my parathas really thin, but traditionally they are rolled out fairly thick. If some filling squeezes out, don't panic. Just dust with some dry flour.
- Heat a cast-iron or nonstick skillet. Place the paratha on the hot skillet. When it turns opaque and small bubbles appear, flip around. At this stage you can spray the parathas with some oil to make them really crispy.
- Flip over again and cook both sides until golden-brown spots appear.
- Serve piping hot.
Great recipe, thanks! We used 1 3/4 cups whole wheat and 1/2 cup sourdough discard as you suggest in your aloo paratha recipe and had them with your cucumber raita. Delicious!
Hi--I am wanting to try the sauce (Raita) recipe but I 'm confused by the notation for the amount of firm tofu. It says "/2 tetra pack" and I am not sure what that means....2? or 1/2? Or something else?
Shared on FB, jkhauge@hotmail.com
Shared on Facebook! Love the give-away!
Just shared on FB.