After my stay at my parent’s, my next break was in Bangalore with my in laws. They wanted some exclusive time with their new grandson and I was happy to oblige. We had some quiet family time together.

The meals served on my  in laws table have always been immaculate and things rarely go wrong. Right from the way the table is laid to the food itself, everything has a certain degree of perfection to it.

One of my first meals with my in laws was a north Indian dinner served in the garden in my mother-in-law’s exquisite antique copper dinnerware. When Maya, my in laws cook was making Gobi parathas for breakfast, I wanted to take pictures of them in her copper dining set and it was my mother-in-laws lovely idea to shoot them in the garden.

Gobi Paratha/ Griddle baked Savoury Cauliflower Pancakes Recipe

The ajwain or the carom seeds add a special touch to these parathas. You could substitute the grated cauliflower with mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

2 cups atta (whole wheat flour)
½ tsp salt
2 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
1 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil

For the stuffing:

1 medium sized cauliflower, cleaned and grated
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp jeera  (cumin seeds)
1/2  tsp asafetida
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp jeera (cumin seed) powder
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1  tsp salt or to taste

Oil and salted butter for cooking
Extra flour for dredging

Method:

Prepare the dough:

Mix all the ingredients for the dough and knead into a semi-soft consistency using enough water. Allow the dough to rest for at least ½ hour.

Prepare the stuffing:

In a wok, heat the oil over a medium flame.  Lower the flame and drop in the cumin seeds, asafetida, ginger, green chillies and turmeric powder and cook for a few seconds. Put in the grated cauliflower and raise the heat to medium. Stir and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes until the spices properly coat the cauliflower. Put in the cumin seed powder and fresh coriander. Turn off the flame and allow the stuffing mixture to cool.

Prepare the Parathas:

Divide the dough into 12 small balls. On a flat surface using a rolling pin, roll each dough into a 5” round disc using a little flour. Take one round disc. Place a little stuffing mixture and spread it, leaving 1/4” space around the edges. Place another round disc over it and seal the edges using a little water. Cook on a hot griddle using a little oil or ghee until golden brown spots appear on the surface. Serve hot with pickle and plain yogurt.

Makes approximately 6 medium sized parathas