Avocado paratha (Avocado Indian bread)

I like making different flavours of Indian flat breads .  After looking at the my friend Daksha’s beetroot thepla recipe, I got the idea of making these avocado parathas.  I had a ripe one in my fridge and decided to add it to the paratha dough.  The parathas turned out nice and spicy and I cooked a few crispy ones for my husband and some soft ones for me.

What is a paratha?

A paratha is an Indian flat bread made with just wheat or a mixture of flours depending on the seasons or what you have available at home.  It’s become very common these days to add the  healthier grains and herbs to wheat these days.  You can also add vegetables such as beetroot, potatoes, carrots etc. to parathas.  Hence, I added avocado to mine. This flat bread is usually shallow fried in oil or ghee.  Again a lot of people try to use as little oil as possible and some people even use spray oils. An avocado oil spray works particularly well here – it withstands high frying temperatures and just a light spray is enough for each paratha.

What is a thepla?

A thepla is very similar to parathas and very traditional to Gujarat.  A mixture of flours are used for this dish and fresh or dried fenugreek is added to the dough.

What is the difference between a chapati (or roti/rotli) and a paratha?

A chapati is usually made of wheat or mixed grains and just roasted on a dry frying pan.  It can be spread with butter or any vegan spread such as Flora.

 

Ingredients for 8-10 parathas:

• 1 avocado – cut and mashed
• 2 cups of  chapati flour (save 3-4 tbls to use for dusting)
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ cup oil

Method:

1. Cut and remove the avocado stone. According to this article in the Independent – Lots of people ( Meryl Streep being one)  cut their hands whilst cutting the avocados to remove the stone. Just google Avocado hand and read about such injuries!! Here is a link to how to cut an avocado safely. Safely cut the avocado and remove the stone  by scooping round it with a spoon. The stone can be slippery so be careful and don’t think of stabbing it with a knife.  Remove any of the dark spots in the pulp and mash it using a fork or potato mash.

2.  Once mashed – add the minced garlic, salt, turmeric and chilli powder.

3. Now add the flour and one teaspoon of oil. Mix the ingredients to form a dough. I didn’t need to add any water.  If your dough is too dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water to the dough.

4. Once formed, rest  the dough in the fridge for at least an hour. Then remove and divide the dough in 10-11 balls depending on big you want to make your parathas.

5. Using some dusting powder roll out the paratha one at a time. Like my heart shaped paratha?

6.Heat a griddle or frying pan and cook the paratha on each side.

7. Using the back of a tablespoon, spread some oil on both sides of the paratha  and allow them to cook.  Best way is to let the paratha rise and brown in places.   If you like crispy parathas – use a kitchen paper or wooden spatula to press on the parathas on both sides.  This will make them crispy.  Use a kitchen paper to soak up any excess oil.

8. Finish cooking all the parathas and stack them to keep warm.

9. Serve them hot. We served them hot with a mung bean curry and raita

What kind of parathas do you like?

You may wish to try some of my paratha recipes:

• Plain parathas
• Spicy parathas with tomato and onion
• Stuffed parathas with quinoa
• Aloo parathas
• Vegan parathas with Apple

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