Now I'm posting recipes!

We're pretty healthy eaters in our household. I keep trying out a lot of new stuff in the kitchen and my mantra has always been quick-fix, healthy meals. I'm not a great cook (just average) and I can't stand around slaving in the kitchen for hours so what I really love are the "one-pot" meals where you throw everything into a pot, switch on the gas/electric cooker and 20 minutes later, it's all done! Pongal, pulao, veg noodles, veg casserole - anyone? So - I've been thinking for a while that I should post some of the new recipes I try out, on this blog. Just so that I remember them myself, if nothing else :)

Yesterday we had my tried-and-trusted staple - the veg paratha with a simple moong dal on the side. I think I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've made a traditional paratha - y'know - the aloo, the gobi, the mooli ones? Most of the time, my parathas are a medley of several things and not just one vegetable. Yesterday, I wanted to use up a lot of cilantro (coriander) that has been lying in the fridge. There was also some leftover arhar (tuar) dal. I also threw some pumpkin (cubed) into the pressure cooker. I don't know why but it was an inspired choice, as it turned out. In the mixer, I ground jeera, shredded ginger, 2 green chillies, the arhar dal, lots of coriander leaves, along with some salt and milk (the things that went into that paratha!). After the pumpkin was done, I ground that too along with all the other stuff. Poured the whole thing into wheat flour and mixed it really well. The parathas came out so soft that it was a pleasure to eat them, even plain. I suspect the pumpkin made all the difference to the texture. 

My other favourite is the beetroot paratha. The beetroot has to be grated beforehand. Saute it with jeera, red chilli powder or green chillies, salt, coriander (if you like) and ginger. Stuff into the dough and roll it out and cook. It's yummy! Unless you like the slightly sweet taste of this paratha, you might want to add a little extra salt and spice to compensate. Or one could balance it with a spicy side-dish or chutney. The sweetness of it works just fine for us because the kids can't take spicy food anyway. This paratha also looks very appealing - brown with red and green spots due to the beetroot and coriander :) I'll try and post some pictures next time I make this.