Pea shoot parathas

I honestly didn’t know I was going to make pea shoot parathas until I grabbed a handful of pea shoots (left over from making a salad) and used them to make a paratha (which was actually only going to be a phulka until the pea shoots stuffed themselves into the equation, as it were).

So this is not a recipe so much as a way of recording the fact that I used pea shoots – raw, unadorned, not even so much as chopped – to make parathas. The only flavouring came from the omam seeds (bishopsweed/ajwain/carom) which I had added to the paratha dough. Basically I was trying to interfere as minimally as possible with the gentle flavour of the pea shoots. I ate the parathas with stir-fried cabbage as a side, and was quite pleased with the end result.

One note of warning, though – don’t roll out the parathas much in advance of cooking them, because the pea shoots will release enough moisture to make the uncooked parathas stick miserably to whatever you placed them on. Basically, just get a rhythm going where one paratha cooking on the hob while you’re rolling out the next.

If you don’t like the thought of the unseasoned pea-shoot filling, feel free to use whatever seasoning/masala takes your fancy – just make sure that it’s as dry as possible.

I’d recommend chopping the pea shoots, because it will make it easier to roll out the parathas with the filling. I didn’t get around to chopping mine because I hadn’t given any thought beforehand to using them in the first place!

Recipe for: Pea shoot parathas

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp carom seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup pea shoots, chopped
water as required
Pam spray/butter/ghee/oil to cook the parathas
Extra flour for dusting

Method:
1. Combine the flour, carom seeds and salt, and make a pliant, soft dough using as much water as required. Let the dough rest covered for 30 minutes.
2. Pinch a lemon-sized piece of dough and roll it into a ball, then flatten it between your palms. Roll it out on a lightly floured board into a small circle, using more flour to dust the dough as required to stop it from sticking.

3. Place 2 tablespoons of chopped pea shoots in the centre of the dough, then fold to enclose the filling.

Lightly flatten the dough, then roll out into a circle that's about 6cm across and 1/4 cm thick.

4. Place the paratha on a medium hot tava/pancake pan and let it cook for 30 seconds or so.

Flip it over and grease the top, then turn it over again after 30 seconds and grease that side as well.

Let the paratha cook until both sides acquire golden spots and are cooked. Keep warm in a cloth-lined container while you make the rest of the parathas. Serve them warm with any curry.

RECIPE: PEA SHOOT PARATHAS
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp carom seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup pea shoots, chopped
water as required
Pam spray/butter/ghee/oil to cook the parathas
Extra flour for dusting


Method:
1. Combine the flour, carom seeds and salt, and make a pliant, soft dough using as much water as required. Let the dough rest covered for 30 minutes.
 2. Pinch a lemon-sized piece of dough and roll it into a ball, then flatten it between your palms. Roll it out on a lightly floured board into a small circle, using more flour to dust the dough as required to stop it from sticking.
 3. Place 2 tablespoons of the chopped pea shoots in the centre of the dough, then fold  to enclose the filling. Lightly flatten the dough, then roll out into a circle that's about 6cm across and 1/4 cm thick.
 4. Place the paratha on a medium hot tava/pancake pan and let it cook for 30 seconds or so. Flip it over and grease the top, then turn it over again after 30 seconds and grease that side as well. Let the paratha cook until both sides acquire golden spots and are cooked. Keep warm in a cloth-lined container while you make the rest of the parathas in the same way. Serve the parathas warm with any curry.