Kerala Parotta/ Porotta/ Borotta

Recipe No: 115

After ‘God knows  how many times’ I got my favorite ‘thattukada’ food, the one thing that is responsible for my 7 kg increase in weight on our last Kerala visit, right. Somehow many people like Parottas from roadside shops (Thattukada) better than what you get from a rather high class restaurant. May be I am one among them…This is an entirely different thing from the North Indian Parathas, but from the information in the internet, I come to know that variations of this can be found in some other countries (like Singapore) too..

Ingredients                                                Makes 10-12

• Maida………………4 Cups (I don’t prefer All Purpose Flour)
• Sugar……………….2 Tablespoons
• Salt………………….3/4 Teaspoon
• Water……………...1 ½ Cups (Distilled or Spring Water preferred)
• Oil………………...…1/3 Cup + 2 Tablespoons

Method of Preparation

1. Mix together Maida, Sugar and Salt and make a dough using Water. Dump it onto a flat surface (Marble, counter top or a large cutting board will do) and knead thoroughly into soft, elastic dough. If you are kneading by hand it will take at least 20 minutes but if you have a stand mixer, knead it for about 8 minutes on speed 2.
2. Towards the end of kneading add two tablespoons of Oil and knead well. Don’t use flour to reduce sticking. Use only Oil. At the end of kneading the dough should be smooth, elastic and soft.
3. Spread some Oil on top of the Dough; cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes.
4. After resting, divide the dough into 12 equal parts. For this, smooth the surface of the dough and detach the amount of dough for the ball from the rest by pressing with the thump and the index finger. This will give a perfectly smooth ball of dough.
5. Rub the ball with Oil and arrange them on an oiled tray covered with a damp cloth. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
6. On a large working surface (Marble, counter top or a large cutting board will do) roll each portion as thin as possible. The dough may tear in between but that is perfectly okay.
7. Spread a tablespoon of Oil on the rolled out dough.
8. Now you can either pleat or just raise one side of the dough with one hand and let the rest form a pleat with some help from the other hand. This will result in a long piece of pleated dough.
9. With a circular motion roll it as concentric circles on itself. Tuck the end of the dough on the under side of the pleated ball.
10. Let this sit under a damp cloth while you work with the other pieces.
11. Heat a pan on medium high heat. Rub the surface with Oil.
12. Roll each piece again into 5 or 6 inch circles and place on the heated pan. When the under surface starts to cook turn it over and let the other side also cook. Turn it once more and start pressing. This will reveal the layers.
13. Once cooked and slightly browned on both sides, take it from the pan and place it on a board.
14. Once two of them are ready, layer then on top of each other and press with both hands from both sides. This will partially separate the layers, which is a characteristic of Parottas.
15. Serve it hot with desired Curries.

Notes:

• Don’t use more Maida than mentioned in the ingredient section and use only Oil to prevent sticking.
• If the kneading is not done properly the Parottas will be tough to tear. I should confess that it happened to me a lot of times, but since I have a stand mixer now, kneading is a breeze and the Parottas are as soft as store bought ones.
• Parotta makers at the roadside shops won’t roll out the Poratta dough but they will stretch it  by holding with two hands on one end and throw the other side in the air and let it hit the work surface (Veeshal). This needs experience and a big work surface. But this way of rolling and pleating is perfect when you make this at home.
• I like to use Indian Maida in this recipe over All Purpose Flour as in my experience the former one gives a much similar texture of Parottas.
• Tap water may change the behavior of the dough slightly. So I prefer Spring or Distilled water from bottles.

 





Make it, enjoy the deliciousness and
serve it to your family with love…