Aloo Paratha (Indian Griddle Fried Bread with Potato)

Yet another from the Chopping Block class. I was pretty excited to see this on the menu, since I saw this being made on some Food Channel show. Rachel Ray, maybe? Someone very much like her, I'm certain. One of those things where they go to various restaurants and show the behind the scenes. I think this was in Seattle or something.

We accidently used the spices from the Aloo Gobhi in here and it worked out pretty darned well. It could have used more salt in the filling and there could be some more experimentation with the other spices.

We didn't get a chance to make the dough ourselves, so I'll be doing that myself in the next week or so.

One thing to note in regards to the recipe, there is no way you'll get "thick" 10" discs out of this recipe. And you probably wouldn't want to - they'd be insanely large and thick. The instructor, Ariel, rolled them out very, very thin (not read-through, though) and that worked well.

ALOO PARATHA (Indian griddle fried bread with potato)

For the dough:
2 cups Indian whole wheat flour, chapatti flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon ghee
3/4 cup warm water or more if needed

Mix the dry flours with the salt, sugar and ghee. Knead with water to make a soft pliable dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes before using.

For the filling:
3 large russet potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
1 small onion, small dice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin seeds
1 tablespoon ground coriander
Salt to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
3/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Mash the potatoes. Add rest of ingredients and mash again. Taste for seasoning.

To prepare the parathas: Divide the dough into 9 equal parts and roll a thick roti about 10" diameter. Place about 1/4 cup of the filling in the center. Gather the ends to the center to form 4 or 5 points. Overlap the ends so they do not leave an opening. Press gently, dust with dry flour, and proceed to roll 6" wide and 1/4 inch thick.

Frying the parathas: Heat a heavy griddle over medium heat and drizzle with oil. Place paratha on it and allow one side to become golden brown. Drizzle with more oil if needed and flip.