Parotta (layered flatbread)

Parotta  (malabar parotta) is a South Indian layered flatbread. It is slightly different than the paratha found in most Indian restaurants here in the US. Parotta is made from maida ( bleached all purpose flour) as opposed to paratha which is made from whole wheat flour. The way Parotta is folded and rolled out is different than how paratha is made. 

I love the flaky layered buttery goodness that is the parotta. In the US it is difficult to find in restaurants and usually I find it in the frozen section of the Indian store. Until now I have avoided making it since I always thought that this would be difficult to make. But I set out to make it and it was surprising not as difficult as I thought. 

Ingredients:

Maida flour ( bleached all purpose flour)- 1.5 cups

Rava (sooji) - 1 tbsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Sugar- 1 tsp

Ghee- 2 tbsp

Baking powder- pinch

Water 

Oil - 3 to 4 tbsp 

Instructions

1. In a large bowl add maida, salt, rava, sugar, ghee, baking powder. Add water little at a time ( ~1/3 to 1/2 cup), mix and knead the dough to soften it until a smooth ball of dough is formed.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
2. Cut the large ball of dough and make small golf ball sized balls. Place this in a bowl and add a tbsp of oil on top and let it rest for another hour
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Roll out the balls with a rolling pin into a thin almost transparent flat round disk coating with oil as you go so it doesn’t stick to the rolling pin or the board underneath 
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. This next step can be done two ways 
5. Method 1: lift up the flattened dough lifting up by one edge and then roll it into a spiral like you would if making pinwheels 
   
   
   
   
6. Method 2: cut the flattened dough into thin strips , gather up the strips and then roll into a spiral 
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Now flatted the spiral by hand and then roll it slightly to make a flat round disk yet again ( one with layers now ) 
   
   
8. Place a pan on medium heat and now add a little butter or ghee ( clarified butter) and place the parotta on it and cook until a side is golden brown making sure you flip it back and forth ( like a tortilla) so both sides are cooked. This may take 1-2 minutes total 
   
   
9. Set aside to cool on a plate and then place your hands on either side of it and crush it slightly so the layers come apart and the parotta now has many flaky layers 
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. Parotta is now ready to serve with vegetable kurma , ‘ Saravana Bhavan’ hotel style white kurma, or onion raita 
    Adapted from : https://youtu.be/47fRmufjdQ4