Parotta or Barotta is one of the most popular South Indian layered breads, found in almost all restaurants from the hi-fi ones to the road-side shops. Parotta is not to be confused with Paratha which is also an Indian bread from North India. Paratha usually would have stuffing of vegetable or lentils and can be had as it is. This blog features a few of our favorite paratha recipes like Cheese Coriander Paratha, Triangle Paratha or Gobi Paratha. Parotta on the other hand is a layered flat bread and is served along with yet another popular side-dish called Saalna (recipe for some other day). Usually made with All-purpose flour or Maida, it’s high in calorie content with all the oil used in making and cooking Parotta. Inspite of its calorie content, you can see a lot of people heartily eating Parottas after Parotta (pronounced more like Broota or Prooota in Chennai slang :P) For years, it was the only dish the sister and I ordered when we went out a restaurant. Served with vegetable kurma and onion raita, it would be one satisfying meal. Like many other kitchen experiments of mine, I tried preparing this Parotta at home after watching a cookery show by Chef Dhamu and it was huge success. Ever since, I make these Parottas with whole wheat flour in a much healthier way with much less oil. There are only a few tricks to getting perfect Parottas and I am mentioning them in the notes section as usual. Depending on the size of the Parotta, if it’s too small – it’s called Coin Parotta. Since it’s famous in Kerala as well as Tamilnadu, its also called as Kerala Parotta. One of the other popular recipes made using these Parottas is the Kothu Parotta – do check it out 🙂
In a bowl, add the whole-wheat flour along with salt – mix well. Sprinkle water little by little and make it into firm pliable dough. Knead the dough for atleast 5-7mins and add a teaspoon of oil on top – knead again. Let the dough rest for atleast 20mins. Make five (largish) equal sized balls out of the dough. Dust some wheat flour and roll each ball of dough into a thin roundel or roti. On one of the rolled out roti, using a pastry brush, spread some oil all over.
Place another rolled out roti on top of the one spread with oil. Gently press it in. Now apply oil on top of this roti as well. Repeat the process until all five rolled out rotis are on top of one another and are applied with oil. Start rolling these rotis in horizontally to form a log. Make sure the log of dough is firm, so roll it as tight as possible.
Using a knife, cut this log of dough into 8 equal sized pieces. Take one such cut piece and place it exposing the layers. Dust some wheat flour and roll it (pressing the layers) into a roti again of 2mm thickness. Repeat the same with rest of the cut pieces.
Meanwhile heat a flat pan or tawa on medium flame and gently place a rolled out Parotta. Once it’s slightly cooked at the bottom, flip it and apply few drops of oil. Flip again after 15-20 secs and apply oil on the other side as well. Once both the sides are golden brown, remove it onto a plate. Repeat the same with rest of the rolled out Parottas.
One last step before serving is bringing out the layers of the Parottas. Stack the cooked Parottas and using both your hands, press them from the sides multiple times. This makes the layers of the Parottas quite visible.
Serve hot with Vegetable Kurma or any other spicy side gravy and onion raita.
Prepare the dough in the same way as preparing for chapati or roti. Rest it for atleast 20 mins before proceeding with the Parotta rolling. Instead of whole wheat flour, maida or all-purpose flour can be used but that requires a lot oil right from the dough to the rolling. While rolling out the thin roundels or rotis, let the rotis be as thin as possible. Prepare all the rotis before heading to the next step. The oil can be applied either using a pastry brush or a spoon. Make sure the oil is evenly spread. Alternatively, a mix of whole wheat flour and oil can be made and applied as well. Spread oil on each layer or for each roti until the very last one. And while rolling the log, let it be as firm as possible. While rolling each Parotta, place the cut piece in such a way that the layers are visible on top. Don’t worry if it looks like normal roti while rolling, the layers would form while cooking. Ensure that the flame is set on medium. Slow cook the Parottas to ensure even cooking on all sides and the insides. The last step of pressing the Parottas from sides is important to make the layers of the Parottas visible.
