Aloo Paratha -- How to make Aloo Paratha -- Aloo Paratha Recipe

Aloo Paratha is one of the most popular breakfast dish of Northern and Western parts of India. Flatten whole wheat bread stuffed with spicy potato mash. It is usually served with curd, sugar, butter and chutney.  I am a South Indians like everything spicy, so served it with green chutney.

Long back, when we (my husband and me) were travelling to Agra from Delhi in a car, our car driver stopped at a typical Dhaba in a village called Kursi. There he serves only Punjabi cuisine. That was where I had authentic taste of aloo paratha. One will fall in love with its taste. The cook of the dhaba is so generous with us, he showed how they make it and also gave me the recipe. They cook it on clay stove called chulha, and back home, gave a try, of course had to cook on stove top only. But the taste was nice and was almost the same. And most important thing is it is liked by every one of my family members. Even now I follow the same recipe.  

Whenever I make aloo paratha I want to post it, but could not do it for some silly reasons. Now time has come to post it, so here it is.  

Preparation Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 15 mins

Recipe Category: Breakfast, Main Course

Recipe Cuisine: Punjabi, North India

Yields: 14 parathas

Ingredients:

For Potato Stuffing:

• Potato - 1/2 kg
• Green Chillies - 3 to 5
• Ginger - 5 to 7" long
• Coriander Leaves - 1/2 cup
• Salt - to taste
• Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin Seeds Powder - 1 tsp
• Aam Chur Powder - 1 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1 tsp 

For Roti:

• Whole Wheat Flour - 2 cups
• Salt - to taste
• Water - 1 cup or as per necessity 

Procedure:

1. In a wide bowl take wheat flour, salt and add water.
2. Make a smooth dough by adding little by little water. Cover it and allow it rest  for half an hour.
3. The dough should be like that of sukha roti or phulka.
   
4. Peel the skin and wash potatoes. Chop green chillies, ginger and coriander leaves. 
5. Pressure cook them for three or four whistles. Allow this to cool.
6. Once potatoes cooled, mash it with masher.
7. Add chopped green chillies, ginger and coriander leaves.
8. Mix well. Add salt, red chilli powder, aam chur powder, cumin seeds powder and garam masala to it. Mix it with hands to get proper potato mash without any lumps. 
   
9. Make equal size roundels of potato mash and dough.
10. Roll one dough roundel into 4" diameter. Put one roundel of potato mash. 
11. Bring the edges together and seal it, Remove the excess dough and flatten it gently with the help of hands and roll it using rolling pin. 
    
12. Heat roti tawa, place one roti on it. Cook till brown spots appear on one side. 
13. Flip it and cook the other side. Slowly press it with the help of spatula.
    
     
14. Add one spoon of oil or ghee and cook on both sides. 
15. Serve hot aloo paratha with green chutney, tomato sauce and curd sprinkled with cumin powder.
    
    

Khara Pongal Recipe -- Ven Pongal -- How to make Khara Pongal Recipe

Khara Pongal or Ven Pongal or Uppu Pongal is the simplest breakfast recipe. We call it as Katte Pongal or Uppu Pongal. When we have function in the house with so many guests and we have to make something rich breakfast, pongal is the best one comes to our mind.  Pongal served with nice spicy coconut chutney and sambar, we are just within an inch of heaven. 
We should not skip breakfast when we go to any South Indain marriage wherein pongal and vada are the must served breakfast dishes. The most important part of it is we should not think about calories. As it takes lot of ghee and oil. The heavenly taste comes only when we add enough ghee and oil to it. 
Pongal is mainly made with rice and moongdal or greengram. It is mild in taste and tummy friendly dish. When we do Shankhaprakshalana asanas, the prescribed diet for that day is pongal with less ghee and oil. 
Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Recipe Category: Breakfast
Recipe Cuisine: Andhra
Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 cup
• Green Gram/ Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
• Curry Leaves - 5 to 7
• Black Pepper Corns - 1 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Ginger - 4" long
• Salt - to taste
• Cashew Nuts - 5 to 7
• Ghee - 3 tbsp
• Oil - 3 tbsp
• Water - 5 cups

Procedure:

1. Peel the skin of ginger and chop it.
2. Wash rice and moong dal and keep it aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan, fry cashew nuts and keep it aside.
4. Heat one tbsp of ghee and oil. 
5. Add cumin seeds, pepper corns, curry leaves and ginger. 
   
6. Fry them for a while. Add water and let it boil.
7. Once water starts boiling add washed rice and moong dal. 
8. Stir well and add salt. 
   
9. Pressure cook this for four to five whistles. 
10. Allow it to cool completely. 
11. Once cooled open the lid and stir well, so that all the rice and moong dal should become mushy. Add remaining oil and ghee. Normally it is said that, we should add so much of oil and ghee that it should leave out or ooze out it.
12. But now a days we very much calorie conscious and doctors also advising not to eat too much of oil and ghee, we cannot add them. 
13. Also add fried cashew nuts to it.
14. Serve hot piping with mild spicy coconut chutney and tiffin sambar.