Mixed Vegetable Paratha With Onion Mint Raitha

Hot mixed vegetable parathas served with cool refreshing onion mint raitha is the best dinner combo after a tired day. You can always play around with the vegetables used for the stuffing. Today I have used carrots and peas along with potatoes.

Ingredients For The Dough:
Whole Wheat Flour - 2 cups

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Milk - 1 to 11/2 cups 

Oil - 1 tsp

Ingredients For The Filling:

Potatoes - 3, medium sized, boiled and mashed

Carrots - 1, medium sized, finely grated

Green Peas - 1/4 cup(fresh or frozen)

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:

1. Add salt to the wheat flour along with milk and knead into a soft dough. Finally add a tsp of oil and knead the dough once again. Cover the dough using a bowl or a wet towel. Let it rest for a minimum of an hour.

2. Heat oil in a non stick pan and add cumin seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add the grated carrot and the peas to it and fry.

3. Fry for 3-5 minutes, mixing in between.

4. Add the salt, pepper powder and chilli powder and mix well. Fry for a minute and add the mashed potatoes, mix well, fry for a minute or two and turn off the heat.

5. Let this mixture cool down before you make small lemon sized balls out of it.

6. Dust the rolling platform with dry flour and take a lemon sized portion of the dough, roll it into a small round chapathi(approximately 3 to 4 inches in diameter) using a rolling pin

7. Place a ball of the mixed vegetable mixture in the center of the rolled chapathi and seal the edges of the chapathi, by pulling the edges onto the stuffing ball. Shape the stuffed dough into a flattened round.

8. Dust the rolling platform with dry flour and roll out a paratha with a rolling pin. 

9. Heat a non stick pan and transfer the rolled paratha onto it.

10. Wait till small bubbles appear on the paratha, before you turn it around.

11. Turn the paratha around and apply little oil on it. Repeat the step after you turn the paratha again.

12. Once the paratha is nicely cooked through, take it off from the pan. 

13. Serve hot mixed vegetable parathas with onion mint raitha.

Ingredients For Onion Mint Raitha:

Yogurt/Curd - 1 cup

Onion - 1, large sized, finely chopped

Mint/Pudina Leaves - 10, finely chopped

Green Chillies - 2, finely chopped

Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp

Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate it for 15 minutes.

2. Serve the onion mint raitha with parathas or pulav.

Sending this to Chaitrali's 'Combo Meal'

A Simple Pulav With Tomato Raitha

One pot meals are my favorite when I am running short on time. Today we are planning to visit the temple, hence  decided to make a simple pulav with carrot and lima beans and a tomato raitha to go with it. If you are wondering where you can find lima beans, check out the freezer sections in Walmart or Meijer and for people who cannot do that, substitute the lima beans with chopped beans. I got the recipe for raitha from my Indu pinni(pinni means aunt in my mother tongue, Telugu). I have learnt a lot of simple and tasty dishes from her.

                  
Ingredients for Pulav:
Rice - 2 cups
Carrot - 1, cut into small pieces
Fresh or frozen lima beans - 1/2 cup
Potato - 1 medium or 2 small, cut into small pieces
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Green Chillies - 3 to 4, slit length wise(depending on the spice levels)
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 1
Bay leaf - 1
Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
Fennel(saunf) - 1/4 tsp
Star Anise - 1
Water - 4 cups
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:
1. Wash the rice, drain the water and add 4 cups of water to it.
2. Heat the oil in a vessel and add the whole spices(cloves, bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon and fennel) to it.   Once the spices start emanating fragrant aroma, add the ginger garlic paste to it. Fry on medium heat for 2 minutes or until the ginger garlic paste gets cooked.
3. Now add the diced vegetables, slit chillies and the lima beans. Cook for 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the soaked rice along with the water to the vessel.
5. Add required amount of salt to the rice, cover the vessel and cook the rice on a low to medium heat.
6. Turn off the heat, once the rice is done.
7. Alternatively, you can even cook it directly in a rice cooker. Just add the fried vegetable content to the soaked rice and place it in the rice cooker.
8. Serve the pulav with tomato raitha.

Ingredients for Tomato Raitha:
Thick Curd - 11/2 cups
Tomatoes - 2 medium sized, finely chopped
Onions - 1, finely chopped
Chillies - 1, chopped
Salt - As per taste
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1tbsp
Mustard  seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin(Jeera) seeds - 1/4 tsp
Bengal Gram(Urad dal) seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - 4 to 5
Fresh Coriander leaves - few sprigs, chopped finely


Method of Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a vessel and add mustard, cumin, bengal gram seeds. Once the seeds splutter add the curry leaves.
2. Add the chopped onions and chillies to the vessel and cook on a medium heat.
3. Once the onions become transparent add the chopped tomatoes to them.
4. Cook until the tomatoes turn mushy and the water released from them evaporates. Turn off the heat.
5. In another bowl add the curd, the cooked tomato mixture, required amount of salt and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well.
5. This raitha can also be served with rotis or parathas.