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| The chronicles of Sanjeev Dwivedi |
How (not) to prepare Mooli (radish) ka paratha
This is our third attempt at making Mooli ka paratha. The first two were mixed success and lessons from them got incorporated into this one. This time was, well, to put it mildly, interesting. I think now I have more reasonable understanding of how to make the mooli ka paratha somewhat properly.
The first time we made the paratha, we grated the mooli too fine and when we added the salt to it, it started oozing water fast and it was very very hard to roll the paratha as the rolling board would get wet and the dough would just stick to the board. The taste of the paratha was good though.
The second time, we just kneaded the dough and the grated mooli together. It was somewhat hard to find the taste of the mooli in the resultant parathas.
This time however, this is what we did.
1. We grated the mooli coarse. This turned out to be a mistake as the mooli would not cook properly even though the dough would get cooked.
2. We filled the mooli in the dough and rolled it. The water would squelch out and make the board wet and the dough would stick to the board.
3. First we put the salt in the dough. The dough tasted OK but the mooli tasted pretty bland. So, we added the salt in the mooli. This however causes the water to come out of the mooli, so rolling became impossible unless we drained the mooli. Even then rolling was tough.
4. We rolled just a roti. Then we put a layer of grated mooli on one half of the roti and then folded the roti onto itself. This would make a semi-circular paratha. The paratha would not stick to the board because it was rolled beforehand. We only filled it after rolling it. It was fine except that again, the mooli was too thick, so not properly cooked.
5. In the end, exasperated, I just microwaved one of the paratha. That cooked the mooli for sure, but some part of the paratha got dehydrated and hence became rubbery.
So, in the end, the next time I make this paratha, this is what I am going to do.
1. Grate mooli fine and add salt to it.
2. Drain the excess water that oozes out of the mooli.
3. Roll the dough and make a big roti.
4. Put the mooli on one side of the roti. Don't attempt overstuffing.
5. Cook the damn thing.
6. Eat it.
| sanjeev@pratapgarh.com |