Malabar-style parathas

Ok by that I mean the layered parathas… something like the frozen Deeps brand parathas. For the uninitiated, parathas are amongst the most popular Indian flat-bread variety and are omnipresent on the menus of Indian restaurants. For a while now, I seemed to be making only chapathis or theplas. So I thought it would make a nice change to make parathas instead. And soon I was tempted into trying the round layered variety, typical of the restaurants and so I set about making it…
Ingredients

Wheat flour (atta)	2 cups
Salt	to taste
Sugar	1 tsp
Milk	200ml
Water	Warm – 1/2 – 3/4 cup
Oil	as required

How
1. Mix the salt and sugar into the flour and knead into a smooth, slightly-sticky dough by adding all of the milk and the required amount of water. Knead for at least 4-5 minutes till there are absolutely no lumps whatsoever and it reaches uniform consistency (it should be like chapathi consistency).
2. Cover with a damp wet cloth and set aside for 10 minutes. This is for the dough to soak in all it’s moisture and get ready.
3. Take dough roughly the size of a large lemon or a mid-size tomato (more than you would for chapathi) and using a rolling-pin, spread it into a mid-sized chapathi of sorts. Meanwhile place an iron skillet on medium-high to cook your parathas.
4. Pour 1/2 tsp of oil in the center of the chapathi and spread it all over the surface with the tips of your fingers.
5. Fold the chapathi making it a “fan'” of sorts as shown in the Picture A. What you should be doing here is folding the oiled part into itself while keeping the dry bottom of the chapathi on the outside.
6. Now pinch one end of this long folded chapathi and make into a spiral as shown in Picture B.
7. Flatten it on either side and make it ready to be rolled again. Look at Picture C.

8. Roll out again like a chapathi. This remains surprisingly dry for the oil has all blended into the layers that you have just created. Look at the faint spiral visible in Picture D.
9. Put this dough on the hot skillet and add a 1/2 tsp of oil around its sides and spread it all over the paratha as it cooks. Holding your ladles or a cup on the paratha cooks it evenly and browns it evenly as well.
Tip:Alternately, you can choose to freeze your own parathas at this stage when they are rolled out and ready to cook. This is a big time-saver for those time-crunch days .
10. Cook on both sides till browned evenly and voilà, there’s your layer paratha… the layers come up as you cook the paratha and even more as you eat it. You can choose to add a drop of butter on top and spread it for a richer taste. But for the health-conscious, stop right here!
Serve with curd/subji or dal for a sumptuous meal. Pictured here with tadka dal and onions. Enjoy!
Bon Appétit!