Paneer Paratha (Indian bread with spicy cottage cheese stuffing)

The team building …
I would perhaps never forget the day when, for the first time, this dream became a reality in my kitchen. It was our marriage anniversary, and the big boy and I were driving home from work. As we finished planning the evening, a very dear friend called us to wish. It was a pleasant surprise for me because I did not expect anyone to call us for this occasion. After the initial wishes and thanks, he put forward the usual question, “What are your plans for dinner?” All excited about the plan, I said “We are going to make paneer paratha at home.” I could tell from the momentary silence that he was really surprised, but being a person of good judgment, he appreciated our effort.

I had no idea about the amount of work involved. But since it was a team effort (one of those rare occasions), it wasn’t too sweaty. The evening was rewarded with a creation worthwhile.

Ingredients:
• Whole wheat flour (for chappati) – 1 ½ cups; more for rolling out the parathas
• All-purpose flour – 1 cup
• Paneer – ½ lb
• Cumin powder- ½ tsp.
• Chat Masala or Amchur powder – ¼ tsp.
• Cilantro chopped fine
• Red chilli powder- ½ tsp or as per you taste
• Garam Masala- 1 tsp.
• Asafetida (Hing) – 1/8 tsp.
• Oil – 1 tbsp for kneading and additional amount as required for frying the Parathas
• Hot Water for kneading – 1 cup
• Salt to taste

Method:
• Sift the whole wheat flour and all purpose flour along with salt.
• Add the 1 tbsp of oil into the mixture and rub it well.
• Slowly add the hot water and knead the mixture till soft but not sticky.
• Divide the dough into smaller rounds, keep aside.
• Grate the paneer fine with any kind of food processor or grater.
• Add the cumin powder, red chilli powder, chat masala, garam masala, asafetida, salt and cilantro.
• Mix the above mixture well.

• Take each of the dough balls and create a little dent in it such that it looks like a little bowl.
• Take 1 tsp of the paneer mixture and place it into the dent created.
• Pinch the edges to seal the mixture inside.
• Roll the dough ball lightly between palms.
• Sprinkle flour on the wooden board and roll out the prepared dough balls into the shape of a tortilla. Add enough flour such that the parathas do not stick to the wooden board or the rolling pin.
• Do not press too hard, else the stuffing could come out.
• Heat the frying pan and dry roast the parathas for about 5 to 10 sec on each side.
• Heat a little oil in a pan (about 1 tbsp.) and shallow fry the parathas. Make sure they are blistered and charred a little on each side.
• Serve with plain yogurt and achaar (spicy condiment). Enjoy!!

Notes:
One should try to grate the paneer as fine as possible. This would enable you to put in a little extra stuffing. Also, the dry roasting of the parathas enables to get a crispy texture when shallow fried in oil.