Sprouted Wheat Paratha filled with Tofu and Cilantro

(pictured: a paratha on the griddle and puffed, just flipped)

Today I wanted to make Indian food again. My cooking tends to run in phases. Sometimes my favorite cuisine is Italian, sometimes Asian; currently Indian is my cuisine of choice. Indian food has such wonderful big bold flavor. If you love spice, like we do, Indian food has got to be on your list to master. If you are unfamiliar with paratha they originated in the Punjab region of India, but are made everywhere now. There are many forms of paratha but most commonly they are a stuffed flat bread. In the US we often see them stuffed with potato or paneer.

My methodology for making paratha is very different from the authentic versions. However, I find it to be much easier to master. Obviously I wasn’t going to use ghee or paneer. Of course, I was going to add a lot of fat by frying the dough either. Since I was going for healthy I decided to also make the paratha with sprouted flour. You won’t find these paratha in India (that I know of), but they are very tasty. This bread is full of healthy ingredients that help combat a variety of diseases.

If you make tortillas or filled pasta you have the skills to make this version of stuffed bread. The dough is easy to make in a mixer, and the filling is prepared in the food processor. You will need to divide the dough and roll in into rounds and fill the rounds and seal them. After they are filled cooking them isn’t much different than make a pancake. However, the results are very different. These flat breads are tender and packed with garlic, ginger and cilantro flavor.

These filled breads are great dipped into curries or topped with Indian chutney.

Sprouted Wheat Paratha filled with Tofu and Cilantro
Makes 8 paratha

Ingredients:

Bread dough:
2 cups of sprouted whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon of canola oil
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
¾ cup of room temperature water (approximately)

Filling:
2/3 of a 14 ounce package of extra firm tofu, drained thoroughly
2 cloves of garlic
½ inch of ginger, minced
6-8 stems of fresh ginger, minced
½ teaspoon of turmeric
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
¼ teaspoon of white or black pepper

Directions:

Place the flour, canola and kosher salt in the your mixer turn it on low, and add water ¼ cup at a time until a dough forms. Then let the mixer knead the dough for a minute or two. Wrap the dough in plastic film and let rest while you make the filling.

It is important to have the tofu as dry as possible. Add all the ingredients into your food processor and process until smooth.

Divide the dough into 16 equal balls. Roll each ball into a circle. Take each ball and press it into a round disk before you begin to roll it out. Flour your board and roll all the disks into thin flat shapes as thin as possible (will be approximately 6 – 8 inches round)

Place 1/8 of the tofu mixture into the center of 8 of the balls. It is easier if you spread the filling to within an inch of the edges. Using water wet the outer edge of the dough so that you will create a good seal. Place another circle of dough on top of the first dough circle, which has filling spread on it. Use your fingers to seal the edges. Place the filled paratha on a plate with wax paper on the bottom, and between each filled bread. It is important to generously flour the paratha if you are going to keep them in the refrigerator or they stick to the wax paper. Cover the plate with plastic film and refrigerate until you are going to cook the bread.

Cook the paratha on a heavy bottom pan. I used a cast iron grill pan that I brushed lightly with canola oil. Cook until each side browns and the paratha begins to puff (this will happen in about 3 minutes). Then flip and cook the other side for a few minutes, until it begins to brown.

These are best when served hot. They can be made in advance and reheated briefly in a microwave. However, they are much better when fresh.

Nutritional Information (per paratha):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 141.49
Calories From Fat (43%) - 60.21

Total Fat - 8.85g
Saturated Fat - 0.33g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 303.53mg
Potassium - 68.87mg
Total Carbohydrates - 23.52g
Fiber - 6.28g
Sugar - 1.22g
Protein - 7.65g

Comments:

If you like Indian food and already make chapatti, these are the next step. These flat breads are easy to make, but a little time consuming. We like to dip them into vegetables curries.