Monday, April 15, 2013

Beetroot and Alu Paratha | Beetroot and Potato Indian Bread

 
 
Beetroots are one of the most nutritious vegetables. They have been named ‘super food’ by numerous experts. Oh yes, I have been educated loads about this veggie and have without a fuss, eaten it during my growing up days. But when it comes to the present day in my own kitchen, I have somehow been unable to include it into our regular diet. I love the taste of beetroot, I have no issues there. In fact, there is no particular reason for me to ignore the veggie except the fact that I found its runny colour a little messy to deal with. Bah, lame excuse... I know! :(
 
So apparently, Beets weren't going to let me do away with them. Recently we figured, I was low on haemoglobin and needed to pump it up with just some wholesome healthy nutritious food and upon medical advice, Beetroots were perfect for doing just that! I was forced to feed myself beets everyday.
 
 
 
 
Hence, I am back to being friends with Beets and am looking out for options to feed myself this wonder veggie in various forms. While I am yet to experiment the other options, how can I not make myself some parathas out of beetroot?! My love for parathas is obvious and after having made Spinach Potato Parathas, I used the same recipe to make Beetroot Parathas. The inclusion of potatoes contributed to the softness of the parathas and the colour of the dough was so appealing I felt like I was playing with modelling clay :P
 
Beetroot lovers, oh well... you are sure to love this no doubt!! And for those who are not too fond of beets, this is one of the best ways to include them in your diet as the flavour of beets isn't strong at all and if not for the lovely red colour, you wouldn't even know these were made of beets!! Go for them and treat yourself to some good health :)


Makes: 8 parathas
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
 
Ingredients
 
Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Beetroot Puree - 1 cup
Potato - 1 boiled, mashed
Water - as needed
Salt - as needed
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 2-3 tsp
Ghee - as needed
 
 
Method:
 
To make Beetroot Puree:
  • Boil beetroot in a pressure cooker for about 3-4 whistles. Take off the stove. Once cooled, peel the skin off and roughly chop the beetroot. Blend it in a blender using very little water until a smooth paste is formed.
  • You can make beetroot puree and store it in the fridge for 2-3 days.
 
To make the Parathas:
 
  • In a pan, dry roast cumin seeds and sesame seeds until they turn light brown. Take off the stove and keep aside.
 

  • In a large mixing bowl, add in flour, mashed potatoes, salt and the roasted cumin and sesame seeds.
  • Toss in the beetroot puree and mix all the ingredients together. Add little water if needed to knead into a firm dough.
  • Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. You can store this dough in an air tight container in the fridge for later use.


  • Make lemon sized balls of the dough. Dust the work floor with some flour and using a rolling pin, roll out one ball into a flat round, like a chapathi. Do this for all the dough balls.
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  • Heat a griddle and roast the paratha on it. Flip the side and roast evenly on both sides. Use a dash of ghee to keep them soft.
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  • Serve with a mildly spiced raita of your choice! :) I served it with some flavoured boondi raita. yummy in the tummy! :)
 

Sending it to Only Parathas and Flat Breads event hosted by Big Sweet Tooth

14 comments:

  1. I am seeing that you made good use of those beetroots..love the paranthas..comfort food for me!!

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  2. wow so so colorful paratha... Delish...

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  3. wonderful color,quite tempting.

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  4. Beautiful reddish parathas Nan :) looks so pretty, can't take my eyes of them

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  5. Paratha looks so inviting with the beautiful add of beets.

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  6. lovely color and healthy recipe...looks so tempting

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  7. wow ..it looks fab ...so tempting

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  8. wow! look at these lovely , colorful parathas ..so adorable!

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  9. Hi Nandita, the paranthas look so tempting and colourful! You've enhanced the nutritive value of beet paranthas by adding sesame and cumin to potato stuffing. I am also a big fan of beets and am always hunting for beet recipes.

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  10. I recently made carrot and aalu paratha...we loved it...i bet the beetroot version was yummy too!

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  11. i also used to consume more spinach and other iron-rich foods for my low hemoglobin. it's a good thing i love beets and don't mind the messy runny color :P

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  12. wow... what a healthy paratha! thank u for linking it to the event... :)

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