Spring Onion Paratha- Indian flat bread with Spring Onion

Some cooking say cooking comes naturally to them. I say I never paid attention to cooking before I got married (and I still sometimes don’t ;) )

They say cooking is stress buster to them, I nod my head in agreement an realize if it is daily “job” its stress increasing for me. BUT the most fun I get is from creating my own version of dishes – new dishes. Now that is stress busters for me.

They say tradition recipes are the best and I say the best dishes are those made and served  with love.

Speaking of new dishes my mind always wanders into creating some new recipes, the only thing that complies me to do it is I easily get bored cooking same thing every day. So when I bought Spring onions this time in the back ground of my mind new ideas started growing and and the first idea that came to my mind is why not make Paratha (India style flat bread) out of it ?

Here is how to make Spring Onion Paratha.

Cooking time approximately: 10 mins

Preparation time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

1 bunch of spring onions , washed and cut approximately  2 -3 cups

1 medium tomoto

2 green chillies ( optional)

2-3 garlic cloves

Salt to taste

For dough

2 tsp oil (any cooking oli will do)

2 cup whole wheat flour

Oil for cooking

Fine sugar 1 tsp (if you like some sweet salt in your paratha, I don’t recommend it but I know some people like it with a hint of sweet taste in their parathas)

Step by step Method:

Wash , roughly cut spring onions  and blend it to puree with chillies, tomato, garlic cloves  and salt added to it.  Do not add any water to it.

The juices of spring onion and tomato will be enough to blend it to fine puree. If you like sweet taste to it add sugar while making puree. It will reduce in volume and you will have thick puree once done. 

In a mixing bowl  or whatever you normally use for mixing dough, take 2 cups of whole wheat flour and add the spring onion puree to it, you will not need to add extra water to it.

 

First mix it will with the flour well and see if it is too firm. We need a soft dough with not too soft ,not  so firm consistency, like we usually do for chapatis or other paratha. If needed add little water to reach to desired softness of dough.

The puree to flour proportion goes 1:2. So if you  make 1 cup puree, take 2 cups of flour to start with. If by any chance if it is too soft or lumpy , add extra flour to make the perfect dough. When almost done mix  2 tablespoon oil to dough and knead well. Keep it on side for about 10 mins. 

Make round balls out of dough and roll out in round to thickness about 1/8 inches or even less.  Little thickness of rolled our paratha will give it a chance to get puffy when cooking, too thick paratha will end up being not cooked well in the middle. Keep this in mind if this is your first attempt with parathas  : )

 

On a non stick flat pan heat the pan on medium flame , let the pan get bit hot before you put on the rolled out paratha on it. 

Cook on one side until it is slightly cooked and then flip the side.

Brush oil on the half cooked side and then flip to other side 

Brush oil on other side too and then turn the side again. The first side will be almost cooked and yo u might see paratha cooking to form sme bubbles in it. 

Gently press on paratha and give it a chance to puff fully, if it will not it is fine too!

Cook on medium to low heat until you see golden brown spots on bath side. 

 

I served it with Tomato curry. I some times add sev to this curry and call it Sev Tameta nu shaak ( recipe here). It goes will without Sev too with this paratha… Spring onion/ green onion/ scallion paratha with Tangy tomato curry makes a warm wonderful evening meal…specially on the raining day it is priceless to have such comforting warm food ready to gulp on :D

Other recipes your might like:

Tomato Paratha - Tried , tested and loved by many

 

Aloo Paratha( Potato stuffed spiced paratha)

Triangle Cumin Paratha

 

Garlic Paratha

 

How to choose Spring Onions

 Some call it Green onion, some call it spring onion, some call it scallions and I heard a lady at super market call it long onions! Although prepared with list of groceries and veggies to buy she sounded bit confused about how to pick "long onions". That made me think it would be a good start to first post about how to pick and store Spring onions.
Here in states I don't usually see big bulbs of onions in spring onion. It is rather skinny and with less leaves than what I  used to get in India, specially in the season of winter.

Contrary to other hybrid veggies (usually bigger and fuller in volume than organic ones) I think the type of spring onions we get here is exception.

Above is what we get in India(in left)  compared to what we get in USA (on right)


Here are few pointers for picking and storing spring onion. It is easier than one would think. I was immature at picking right veggies too but slowly with some experience I started discovering what is right for my dish and for storing for long time and here it is:


To pick best of Spring onions:

• Go for the one with green leaves and firm onion bulbs. Do not choose those with limp onion yellowish leaves. 
• The white onion part can vary in size. I personally think the bigger it is the more tasty it will cook. However thing onions as to what we get in USA market here is also right kind to cook and make salads with. 
• I cook it fresh and usually cut and wash it just before cooking. For busy cooks, it can be washed , dried and then cut in to small round pieces to store in a zip-lock bag until you plan to use it. 
  
• As spring onions are the immature onions , they are full of moist. After cutting even when kept in refrigerator it is advisable to use it in 1-2 days. 

If you have any ideas of storing, picking this tender veggie, keep sharing.

Here is mine - Ready to store or ready to cook ? 

One of my entries For Theme of the Week

Hi Buddies, as the theme for this week is - Orange white & green, here is something from my side to participate with . Just to give you Idea. I know all of you are much good with making Dosa, here is slight twist to it, to make it perfect for Our theme -Republic day... Tricolored Dosa. Its a simple dosa decorated on one side with shredded carrot and spring onions. Some more are about to come from my side, along with all your delicious entries of yours . :D Well, another thing I want to remind you all is theme of this week is not limited to cooking only, you can participate here with anything with any or all of these 3 colors. Anything I mean, like say fruits/flowers/clothes... anything which gos perfect with this theme(no description is required for such matter, as we do with recipe of the dish ). I think we all have many option with that , since all of you have already proved that you are a Great cook , here is something more you can display too from your side ,well that is truly optional and only if you wish then.

I am happy that some of you have already contributed your recipe and I except others to send it as soon as possible, as I will do the round up on Saturday here in India. Thursday &Friday is your day to send the entries and participate here with. I am gladly sharing the spirit of Our Republic day with all of you :) . Have fun creating colorful dishes and something else colorful too...

Salsa Verde with Mexican cutlets

Sharing here with You a Mexican dish - Mexican cutlets with Salsa Verde .




Ingredients :

For the cutlets
2 cup boiled and mashed potatoes
1 tsp corn flour
½ tsp pepper powder for the potatoes
1 cup kidney beans ,soaked, boiled and mashed.
¼ tsp pepper powder for the kidney beans
Chili sauce
Oil for frying
Few spring onion leaves, chopped, to garnish

For the Salsa Verde
2 medium sized green tomatoes(or tomatillos)
2 jalapeños,
2 tsp chopped coriander leaves/cilantro leaves,
1 small capsicum
1 tsp lime juice,
Pinch of vinegar,
1 tsp sugar(optional),
Salt to taste.

Recipe:

For the Salsa Verde:
Cut tomatillos/ tomatoes in to half and bake it for 5-7 mins until its skin gets lightly blacken.
Blend all the ingredients together in a mixer.
Then put on the stove to warm. Stir often till the mixture turns thick like a sauce. Remove from the stove and cool to room temperature.


For the Cutlets:

Mix together mashed potatoes, corn flour, salt and pepper. Divide into 10 equal portions.Using hands flatten each portion into 2 inch diameter circles . (Like thick puris.).
Mix together the mashed kidney beans, salt, pepper and chili sauce .Divide into 5 equal portions. Flatten them into 1 ¾ inch diameter circles.
Sandwich a kidney bean puri between 2 potato puries. Seal the edges and shallow fry in oil. Make the other cutlets the similar way.
Arrange all the cutlets in a plate sprinkle chopped spring onion and apply Salsa Verde. Serve when cutlets are hot.



(One variation to this is to sprinkle cheese over cutlets and before serving cover the cutlets with a lid and warm them for 10 minutes till he cheese melts. )
Little down with my cold , I could not get the time to post one dish with tomato yesterday . I think I need little break now ,otherwise next time I will be surfing your blogs from Hospital:)) . Well, tomorrow I will post vegetable for the next week and I might change some planning to post here , like from daily to alternate day or something else. Gotta do so many things here at the same time, Since I love to be with you all around here, I don't plan to skip this event yet. So stay tuned to this blog and Have a Happy Weekend, Happy Sankranti and Happy Pongal to all of you there ! :) .

SpringOnion with Tomato

Last week I got fresh spring onions from market . so i thought to try Spring (Green) Onion with tomato. I found it very easy to cook and yet very very tasty, the aroma of this main course can make u feel Hungry even, I like it very much as it is very quick recipe, which at the most take 15 mins to cook it whole. :)





Ingredients :
12-14 Green or Spring Onions cut into small round pieces,
2 medium tomatoes cut into small pieces,
1 tsp mustard seeds,
1 tsp jeera,
1/8 tsp turmeric powder,
1/2 tsp chilli powder or more,
salt to taste,
2 Tbs oil .


Method:
Heat oil in frying pan ,When oil is heated add the mustard seeds and jeera.When mustard seeds crackle add the spring onion.cook this on medium slow heat, when u cook this will release some water, add turmeric powder and Cook off excess water. Now add tomatos, cut in to small pieces, cook it for another 2-3 minutes. this will cook & mix tomato with spring onion very well. Now add chilli powder and salt.
Serve with Hot chapati.