Broccoli Paratha Recipe | How to Make Simple Stuffed Parathas

Broccoli Paratha ~ Whole wheat flat breads stuffed with spicy grated broccoli

We have experienced warm to hot to cold to chilling cold weather in the past one week. And tonight, it’s going to snow heavily!!! This sudden change in weather resulted in Lil Dumpling falling ill with dry, chesty cough followed by wheezing, something I always dread whenever there is extreme change in temperature as he is still developing his immunity to fight against nasty virus and bad germs!

Only thing I can do during these times of illness is cook something healthy and fresh that is packed with nutrition and flavour to tickle his taste buds and senses. As the food intake drops south, I try to come up with recipes that will keep his interest in food at average if not high! As he loves flatbreads especially the gluten free ones prepared using rice flour, I decided to try something similar with wheat flour. Since he is going through ‘avoid vegetables to piss Amma’ phase, I decided do what every normal mother would do at that time. And that is disguise the vegetable into something that he loves. And this we made big stack of Broccoli Paratha for weekend and stored the leftovers in freezer to be relished on some other night when the heart desires to eat something wholesome and delicious. The best part of making these was to watch Lil dumpling eat them with gusto and enjoy every single mouthful of it. Now that is very rewarding for any mother!

Delicious and Wholesome ~ Broccoli Paratha

If you are making these stuffed parathas for the very first time, then please read these basic tips which will help you in rolling perfect parathas, which will puff up beautifully while cooking, without any stuffing oozing out from it. Always make sure that the vegetable stuffing/filling is as dry as possible. If not there is a high chance of it oozing out while rolling the parathas due to moisture content. Start with small amount of stuffing/filling and roll into parathas. Once you learn the technique and are comfortable with the process, you can gradually increase the amount of filling. If you are not too confident or fond of stuffing but still enjoy vegetables in your flatbreads, then simply mix the vegetable stuffing with the whole wheat flour while preparing the dough and roll it as you would do for simple roti or chapatti. I have kept the broccoli stuffing very simple with basic spice mixture but you want to add more spice kick to your parathas, simply add garam masala or any of your favourite ground spice mixture.

This recipe for Broccoli Paratha is very simple with no over powering spices to ruin the delicate taste of broccoli. With minimal spices and handful of ingredients, this Broccoli Paratha is perfect for any time and occasion. Serve them with a bowl of chilled yogurt and pickle or with any Raita of Curry of your choice and see the tall stack of this Broccoli Paratha disappearing in no time!

Broccoli for Broccoli Paratha

Grate them or finely chop them in a food processor

Lightely sautéed with few spices and ready for stuffing

Broccoli Paratha ~ Work-in-Progress

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Broccoli Paratha (Indian flat bread of whole wheat flour stuffed with spiced broccoli and pan fried)
Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cooking Time: 5 mins for preparing the stuffing + 4-5 mins for cooking each Paratha
Spice Level: Mild to Medium
Recipe Level: Intermediary
Makes: Around 10-12 Parathas
Shelf Life: Best served fresh but can refrigerated for 3 days and frozen for 1 month
Serving Suggestion: With any Raita and pickle or Curries

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Ingredients:
For the Dough:
3 cups Atta/Wheat Flour + 2-3 tbsp for rolling the paratha
¼ cup Yogurt (Optional, vegans can skip this)
½ tsp Salt or to taste
Luke warm water for kneading

For the Stuffing:
1 medium Broccoli, grated (approx 3 cups)
1-2 Green Chillies, very finely chopped (Optional, adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
1 tsp Dhania/Coriander Powder
¾ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder (Optional. Can be replaced with dash of lemon juice)
1 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients:
Oil or Ghee for cooking the Paratha
Little Wheat Flour for rolling the Paratha

Stacked wholesome goodness ~ Broccoli Paratha

Method:
For the Dough:

1. Sieve atta/wheat flour and add salt and yogurt.
2. Slowly add warm water as and when required and make soft and pliable dough.
3. Cover the dough with wet tea towel and keep it aside for at least half an hour.

For the Stuffing/Filling:

1. For the Paratha stuffing, you can either slightly stir fry the broccoli as in next step or simply mix in all the ingredients with out cooking and then stuff the Parathas. I prefer to stir fry it a little bit as the little moisture produced during stir frying helps the stuffing to hold together.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped green chillies for half a minute on medium flame.
3. Next add grated broccoli and stir fry them for couple of minutes till little moisture is released, about 3 minutes.
4. Add cumin powder, coriander powder and dry mango powder and give it a good mix, about 1 minute.
5. Turn off the gas and mix in salt to taste. Let the stuffing come to a room temperature. It is important to make sure that the filling is completely cooled before stuffing as it might ooze from parathas while rolling due to moisture content.

Proceed to Make Paratha:

1. Knead the dough again for a minute and divide it into 10-12 equal lemon sized balls.
2. Dust this dough ball with flour and roll them using a rolling pin into thick discs of 4 inch in diameter.
3. Place about 1 tbsp of filling in the centre. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting little flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick parathas.
4. Mean while, heat a griddle on high flame and once heated, lower it to low-medium flame.
5. Gently dust off the excess flour and place stuffed Broccoli Paratha on griddle and cook on both the sides till its cooked through and brown spots start to appear on top. It usually takes about 3-4 minutes to cook properly and once cooked the paratha will puff up beautifully. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
6. Serve this delicious and nutritious Broccoli Parathas immediately with any Raita and pickle or curries or just with plain yogurt and pickle of your choice. Heaven!

Broccoli Paratha served with Kadai Paneer and Chilled Yogurt

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Sia’s Notes:

• Always make sure that the vegetable stuffing/filling is as dry as possible. If not there is a high chance of it oozing out while rolling the parathas due to moisture content.
• If you are a beginner, start with small amount of stuffing/filling and roll into parathas. Once you learn the technique and are comfortable with the process, you can gradually increase the amount of filling.
• I have kept the broccoli stuffing very simple with basic spice mixes. You can also add little garam masala or any spice powder to the broccoli stuffing if desired.
• Once the stuffing comes to room temperature, you can also add some grated Paneer/Indian cottage cheese, like I do for my Lil Dumpling, mix them well and proceed to make stuffed parathas.
• If you are not too confident or fond of stuffing, then simply mix the broccoli stuffing with the wheat flour while preparing the dough and roll it as you would do for simple roti or chapatti.