Mooli Paranthas - Stuffed Indian Bread with Radish Stuffing

I have been thinking of publishing this recipe since a long time . Hubby dear has been quite insistent that I post it .....and so one fine day when I was making these ....hubby dear came with the almighty camera and clicked some snaps . Needless to say they are one of our favorite foods....they make for a filling breakfast / brunch/ dinner . Simple , easy to make , filling and completely satiating these paranthas represent the best things about Punjabi cuisine ....

Now that my friend LG decided to host the RCI -Punjab on her new blog Cooking Station I knew I had to take out these photos from the cold storage and publish this post. After having promised her umpteen times to send the entry I am finally sitting just a minutes away from the deadline ....I hope that she would accept this entry with my sincere apologies for being such a lazy bone .


Ingredients -



For the filling :

Radish/ Mooli - 2 ( medium size, grated coarsely)
Green chili - 2-3 ( as per taste)
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Carom seeds / Ajwain - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 2 tb sp
Salt - as per taste

For the dough :

Wheat flour - 2 cups
Water - as required

Oil for frying

Method :

Make the dough with water , knead it with hands or in a food processor to a medium firm dough ( it should not be soft otherwise it would be difficult to roll it into a parantha after stuffing)

Wash and peel the radishes to remove the outer skin. Then coarsely grate the radish , leave it as it is for 5-10 minutes . Then firmly squeeze the grated radish and drain all the water , keep repeating this till the time almost no water is squeezed out.

Then add the coriander leaves, chili powder, carom seeds and green chili. Mix well the whole mixture . Add salt at the end ( the salt and chili should be a little on the higher side , because it will be compensating for the salt less dough )

The final filling

Make a small ( slightly bigger than a golf ball ) ball from the dough and roll it into a circle after dusting with plain flour. Then take this rolled out dough in one hand and put about a tbsp. of filling at the centre . Then bring all the sides to the centre and pinch them tightly . Then roll it into a ball , dust with plain flour and roll out into a circle with very light hands .

Simultaneously heat a girdle /tava and once hot put the rolled out parantha on it . Once slight brown specks appear at the bottom of the parantha turn it over and apply oil all over the surface . Then turn over to the other side and apply oil . Cook evenly on both sides till you get brown specks on the surface of the parantha.

Serve immediately with a dollop of butter / fresh cream or Pickles and Curd.


I am also sending this as an entry for the Roti-mela being hosted by Srivalli of cooking4allseasons.

Red Lobia Beans Curry

I love red lobia beans ....... its very nutritious and very very tasty . There are many ways of enjoying these beans ....Curry being one of them .

Recently when I went grocery shopping I found these favorites of mine occupying a small shelf. Needless to say I was extremely happy to see them there and I couldn't wait to come home and soak them up for a great meal the next day .

These beans need a little planning as they need to be soaked at least for 3-4 hours and preferably overnight before being cooked, but I truly think that it is worth the effort .

We make a number of dishes with them , dal , curry , dry subzi , soup, salads etc etc.... today I want to share with you one of my favorites ways of cooking these beans .

Red lobia beans curry

Ingrediants - ( Serves 3 )

Red lobia beans - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 large

Tomatoes - 2 medium

Green chillies - 2

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Garlic - 3 large cloves ( 8-9 small ones )

Cumin seeds - 1/2 t. sp

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Coriander powder - 1 t. sp.

Red chili powder - 1/2 t. sp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 t. sp.

Garam masala - 1/4 t. sp.

Oil - 1 tb. sp.

Salt -as per taste

Water - 2-3 cups

Soak the reb lobia beans overnight in a lot of water , they will increase in size . Next day remove the water and wash the beans well . Keep them aside.

Roughly chop the onions , ginger and garlic and then blend them with little water make a coarse paste . Also blend the tomatoes separately into a paste . Keep them separately.

In a pressure cooker heat the oil, once the oil is hot add the asafoetida followed by the cumin seeds . Once the cumin starts crackling add the green chillies ( slit horizontally into two) . Then add the onion , ginger and garlic paste . Saute it well so that the onion becomes translucent , then add the coriander powder, red chili powder and turmeric powder . Saute for a couple of minuted then add the tomato paste .

Keep the flame medium and let it reduce , saute the masala till the oil starts to separate , now add the garam masala powder and saute the masala for a couple of minutes till you start getting a nice fragrance from it . Then add the lobia beans , mix well , add salt and then add about 2 -2.5 cups of water . Close the pressure cooker . Turn on the heat till the cooker gives out one whistle , them lower the heat to minimum and let it cook for 2-3 whistles after which switch off the heat and let cooker cool down.

Once the pressure is gone then open the cooker and mix the Subzi so that some beans get mashed up . Simmer it to the required consistency. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with chapatis or paranthas.

Grilled Garlic Chicken

Garlic ...wow ..... !! That was the first thought which came to me when I came to know that Garlic is the chosen one for Think Spice . Images of big garlic pods and smell of garlic...man was I happy and excited.

But this initial euphoria was followed by a thoughtful phase ...what do I make which is different and new ?? That was the million dollar question . Then while I was trying to make a low oil grilled chicken as a part of a week long detox that it hit me .....why not have chicken which is infused with garlic . Since I was the only one who was going to have it ..I could afford to take the risk ...even if it didn't turn out to be good ... it would be one of those experiments about which no one needs to know. ;-)

But this one did turn out to be good ...in fact it turned out so good that I made it the next day ..as a special request ;-)

As all other much loved recipes it is a simple and healthy one....and here it goes

For 2 adults -

Chicken breasts - 2
Garlic - 6-7 cloves ( big ones)
Lime juice - 2 tb sp
Olive oil - 1 tb sp
Pepper powder - 1/2 t sp
Chili flakes - 1 tb sp
Salt - as per taste
Polythene zip lock pouch - 1

Clean the chicken breasts , removing all the extra fat that might be there . You may pound the breasts a little to ensure that they are equally thick all over . This would ensure equal cooking throughout and also helps in getting the seasoning into the chicken.

Pat the chicken breasts dry and make small incisions ( 3-4 / breast) . Take the garlic cloves and pound them so that they break open . Mix the olive oil, garlic pods, lime juice , chili flakes , pepper powder, salt to make the marinade . Put the chicken breasts in it and mix them well .Then insert the garlic pods into the small incisions on the chicken. Pour the whole thing into the polythene zip lock pouch and seal it . Refrigerate for 30 mins. to 2 hours .

When you want to have your meal , take out the chicken and put it on the grill ( I use my good old frying pan ) Let the chicken sizzle on the pan ... turn it after 3-4 minutes and cook on the other side. Ensure that the garlic stays inside the incisions ..this will ensure that the garlicky taste and aroma gets well inside the chicken

Cook both sides till they are brownish ...serve this chicken with oven roasted vegetables, salad ..rice ..almost anything you fancy .

You can drizzle it with some lime juice if you want to .

I am sure anyone who likes garlic would love this chicken.

This is my entry for Sunita's Think Spice - Think Garlic event .