Broccoli Paratha recipe / Broccoli flatbread

Paratha or Parotas are very familiar to us Indians. They are made either plain or stuffed with a variety of vegetables. I have been making different varieties of parathas and broccoli paratha is one of them.
Initially when I arrived in Germany, I was reluctant to try with many vegetables here. We, in India, had seen many of them, just in the vegetable charts or while studying their nutritional benefits. Though we had seen Broccoli rarely in some of the supermarkets, the price would keep us from buying. It gets perished very soon and that was the added demerit. Once I tried using Broccoli and it turned mushy very soon, as I wasn't aware how to cook it exactly. So I dropped the idea of using it.
Then, it was my Thai friend who encouraged me to consider trying  it once again, because of it's health benefits. I decided and sauteed the broccoli,  the way she said and trust me, I loved it.

It became one of the healthy additions to my side dishes. The above pic is from my lunch - Vegetable dosa, sauteed broccoli,  Omlette and Raw carrot with Dal.

As none of my family member was ready to try sauteed broccoli and me, adamant to make my kids eat Broccoli, I decided to give it a twist by stuffing them into parathas. Then came this recipe into action. It was so well accepted by my kids.  In this recipe, Broccoli can be chopped into little florets, washed and pulsed in a mixer. Or it can be washed and grated. 

Ingredients: 

• Broccoli - 1/2 cup ,Pulsed or grated
  
  
  
  
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Coriander powder- 1/2 tsp
• Cumin powder- 1/4 tsp
• Dry mango powder - a pinch
• Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp
• Salt - 1/4 tsp

For the dough : 

• Wheat flour - 1 cup 
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Oil - 2 tsps
• Carom seeds/ Ajwain - 1/4 tsp  (optional)

Making Broccoli Parathas:

 Preparing the dough: 

In a mixing bowl, add the wheat flour, salt, carom seeds and oil. Mix well. Add required quantity of water and knead the dough so that it is pliable. Take care not to make it very hard or soft and sticky dough. 

For the stuffing : 

• In a small pan, heat the oil and add the pulsed or grated Broccoli and sauté for a minute. 
  
• Then add the turmeric powder , chilli powder,  coriander and cumin powders and Dry mango powder. Mix well and fry for 2 minutes. 
  
• Then switch off the flame and let it cool. Once cooled, add the salt and mix.
  

Making the parathas:

• Divide the prepared dough into 4 portions and roll into balls.
• Dust the kitchen counter with wheat flour and roll them with the help of a rolling pin. It should be rolled so that it's thicker in the center and towards the edges. 
• Place 1 tbsp of the stuffing in the center and close in the edges towards the centre without breaking the dough. 
  
  
  
  
• Again dust the flour and roll into parathas. Sprinkle little flour to avoid it sticking to the rolling pin or the counter.
  
• Heat a tawa or a griddle, smear it with little oil/ butter and roast the parathas on both the sides evenly. Light brown spots appear when they are nicely roasted.
  
  
  
• Apply butter or ghee and the broccoli paratha can be served with either yoghurt/ chutney or any gravy of your choice.
  

Note : If required, Garam masala powder can be added for additional flavour.

This is the easiest way to make the kids eat their veggies. We can just apply some butter on the paratha and sprinle some chutney powder and roll it, so that the kids can hold it in their hands and eat. by rolling it, we can also pack it in an aluminium foils and pack it for outdoors/ picnics. That would be the perfect , homemade lunch for the kids , on the go. In fact, I made a big batch of these parathas, (before leaving for India ) and froze them. I wanted to make sure my son wouldn't miss having them, when I was not around. So, do try making it and I would be happy to hear from you, if you liked it.. Will get back with the next recipe soon.. Bye!