Spinach Parathas

Everyone in my family loves spinach parathas. These are lightly pan-fried whole wheat flatbreads flavored with spinach puree and spices. My mother-in-law’s spinach parathas are the best and she always makes them hot for my son when we go to visit. To our delight, there’s also usually a stack of spinach paratha for us.

I love making these for a lazy weekend breakfast or light lunch served with yogurt, athanu/achaar and a cup of masala chai. They taste best fresh off the griddle but you can also stack them in a foil or cloth-lined shallow bowl to hold in some of the heat if you want to serve them all at once. They also taste pretty good cold – we often pack them on trips.

If I’m planning ahead, I prefer to buy bunched spinach rather than the baby spinach that comes in clamshells. I prefer the flavor of fully grown spinach, especially when cooking. However, it’s a perfectly delicious way to use up baby spinach so use what you have!

The dough is soft and the most ridiculously cheerful green. If you need to entertain a toddler while frying the paratha, consider taking one of the balls, rubbing in plenty of extra flour to make it less sticky and voila, instant playdough!

Spinach Parathas

Recipe by PreeyankaCourse: Breakfast, Lunch

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Bright green, lightly fried flatbreads full of spinach. They’re quite simple and riffable once you get the hang of them and they are perfect for a weekend breakfast or light lunch.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch spinach

• 2 cups atta (chakki ground whole wheat flour)

• 1 Tbs vegetable oil

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp cumin powder

• 1/2 tsp chaat masala (optional)

• 1/2 green chili (optional)

• Flour for dusing

• Additional oil for panfrying

Directions

• Remove the coarse stems from the spinach and wash thoroughly. You do not need to dry the spinach. Coarsely chop the spinach and then puree in a food processor with the green chili if using. Add a tablespoon or two of water to get started if necessary. You should have a little more than 1/2 cup of spinach puree.
• In a medium or large mixing bowl, make a dough with the spinach puree, atta, oil, salt, cumin and chaat masala if using. Add 1-3 Tbs of water as needed to make a soft, not too sticky dough. You can refrigerate the dough for a day or two if you’d like to make the paratha later.
• Using your hands, portion the dough into one-inch balls. Dust the bull with atta or all-purpose flour and roll into a large circle about 5-6 in wide in diameter.
• Over medium-high heat, drizzle a spoon of oil on a skillet (I like to use my cast iron). Pan-fry the paratha until you see brown spots and then turn over to fry the other side. I like to brush a little oil on each side as I fry until the paratha is cooked through, has brown spots on both sides and puffs a little during the cooking.
• Serve with yogurt and pickles of your choice.