Methi Mooli Paratha

Methi + Mooli Paratha is a delicious flatbread, made with wholewheat flour, fresh fenugreek leaves, grated mooli, and a few easy spices. Pair it with a raita, or plain yogurt or a small pat of butter for a wholesome meal. They also pair amazing with Indian curries and always end the meal with masala chai.

Substitutes for Mooli

Mooli is also called white radish or Asian Daikon. Like any regular radish, it has a crisp texture with a sharp, pungent peppery flavor, high water content and offers numerous nutrients and health benefits. However its pungency causes burping that can be discomforting to some people. An excellent substitute for mooli is zucchini which makes a great replacement and easy on the digestion without any discomfort. In addition zucchini is easily available in most grocery stores. Mooli is easily available in Indian and Asian grocery stores, specially Korean markets.

What is a Paratha

Parathas are unleavened flatbread very popular in North India and Pakistan specially as a breakfast. Made with wholegrain wheat flour called (chakki ka atta), whole wheat grains are milled using traditional grinding stones called chakkis. This method grinds grains between two large stone slabs into flour, the result is a slightly coarse textured flour compared to regular wholewheat flour (atta). The bran, gern and endosperm in chakki milled flour(atta) is fully retained making it a lot more nutritious than regular flour where some of the bran is removed. These flatbreads are preferably cooked on a cast-iron pan called Tawa for a nutty crispy texture and flavor.

To make parathas a soft dough is made with simply water, flour sometimes salt is added, which is then divided into smaller dough balls about the size of an apricot. They are rolled out into thin flat flatbreads, brushed with a little ghee or oil and cooked on the tava. Full process follows.

Parathas are super versatile, can be unstuffed or stuffed. Stuffed parathas can be made with finely chopped or grated vegetables, paneer cheese, minced meat or enjoy plain. With a little practice these parathas are super simple to make and very delicious.

How To Make Methi Mooli Parathas

Step 1 – Make the Perfect Paratha Dough

A well hydrated soft dough is essential to make stuffed parathas. A well-hydrated soft dough is elastic, pliable and helps to roll out easily without tearing or breaking after the filling is added.

Start with adding whole wheat flour to a large mixing bowl. Add sea salt if you prefer. Mix it with your fingers or whisk. Now start adding room temperature water little by little, mixing the flour with your fingers. Once the dough starts to form and holds a shape start kneading the dough with your hand, feel the dough for hydration, the dough should feel a little sticky at start and as you knead the dough will come together, add a little oil and knead the dough again. The dough should be soft, well hydrated, not sticky and has a bounce if you poke a finger in the dough(see image above left). Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 20 minutes.

Step 2 – Prep The Veggies

While the dough rests, prep the veggies and filling. Grate the mooli or zucchini and transfer it to a clean cheese cloth or nut milk bag. Bring the ends of the cheese cloth or nut milk bag together and squeeze out as much liquid/juice as possible, I like to spread it out on clean kitchen paper towel to dry out a little more. Discard the mooli juice as it’s pungent, zucchini juice is mild and can be consumed. Wash and paper dry the fenugreek leaves. Pick out the leaves and tender stems of the fenugreek leaves and finely chop them.

Step 3 – Make the Stuffing

To the grated mooli or zuchini, add minced ginger, finely chopped green chilies(optional), chopped fenugreek and cilantro. Then, add the ground spices like salt, red chili powder, coriander powder, ajawain (caraway seeds), cumin seeds and amchur (dry mango) powder. Mix everything well. You can also add finely chopped onions to this stuffing for extra flavor(it’s optional).

Step 4 – Assemble and Roll The Paratha

• Pinch a (U.S) lemon-sized dough ball. I like to make slightly bigger parathas, enough dough to accommodate all the filling without it bursting out.  
• Roll the pinched dough ball into a perfect round using your palms. Press it gently between your palms to flatten the ball. Roll and dust the flattened dough in whole wheat flour for dusting generously. This will help the dough to gently roll and not stick to the surface.
• Place the prepared dough ball on the rolling board. With the help of a rolling pin, roll the dough, to an approximate 7-8 cm in diameter disk(see image). Place about 3-4 tablespoon of stuffing in the center(see image above left).
• Pleat the edges of the dough together, lifting the edges and pushing the filling down, in a cup shape.(see image above left). Seal the dough(top right image). No need to pinch the excess dough, as it helps the parathas roll easily, and the filling doesn’t burst out.
• Flatten, and dust the prepared stuffed dough ball gently. This step is very important, as it will distribute the stuffing in the paratha evenly. 
• Placing the sealed side down, gently roll the parathas without pressing hard, it should gently glide into a flatbread. Roll them out about 6-7 inches evenly into a round shape(not necessarily round but even). TIP: try to roll in a circular motion to create a round flatbread. (This will take some practice, but its all good.)
• Dust off any excess loose flour.

Step 4 – Cook the Paratha

I prefer to cook the parathas on a cast iron skillet also called Tawa alternatively a frying pan works perfectly. Cast iron pan/skillet gives parathas a beautiful crisp texture with golden specks on the outside which is so delicious. 

Place the rolled paratha on hot tawa sealed side down. Once you notice the dough puffing(little bubbles) on the top, flip the paratha. Now lightly brush or spray a little ghee or oil on the top. Cook for about 45 seconds, flip the parathas again, gently pressing it down using a flat spatula. Turn again, making sure there are no uncooked spots. Now your paratha is cooked evenly. Serve it with raita, see suggestion below.  

Serving Suggestion

• Tadka Raita
• Herbed Raita
• Moong Dal
• Plain unsweetened yogurt
• A small pat of salted butter

Troubleshooting

• Read the blog for detailed ingredient and step by step process. 
• Knead the dough softer than roti dough. This helps roll out easily with stuffing inside.
• Rest the dough for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes ideally, this ensures the gluten relaxes. a tight dough is hard to roll out and high chance of filling bursting out.
• Taste the stuffing for spice and seasoning, now is the time you can fix it. 
• Grate mooli or zucchini coarsely and squeeze out as much liquid as possible, the excess moisture will mess with the rolling.
• This recipe will yield about 5-7 parathas depending on the size.