Flavorsome Flavors: My Mother's Deep Fried Methi Parantha's

My Mother’s deep Fried Methi / Fenugreek Parantha’s have always been A’s favorite. In fact till he came into our lives, I was never so fond of these Parantha’s myself. Maa is health conscious and says that rather than frying Parantha’s on a Tawa and adding Ghee (Clarified Butter) or Oil or Butter little by little, deep frying them in hot oil is better as the former has more fat content as the fat is totally absorbed when roasted on a Tawa while the latter leaves behind the Oil once it puffs up in the hot oil and is taken out. You can even put them on paper towels for a minute or two so that fat quantity being consumed can be lessened further.

We Ghoti’s (Bengalee’s from West Bengal before partition) normally eat Vegetarian on Ashtami (the 8^th and most auspicious day of Durga Pujo). This norm is followed especially by Mothers. I have been brought up in a very unprejudiced ambience at home and the rule for us was we could eat whatever we wanted if we were eating out, we could even order in anything we like but in the Kitchen, nothing Non-Vegetarian will be prepared that day. This Durga Pujo, the two of us traveled from my In-Law’s house to my Parent’s house and Maa prepared these lovely Methi Parantha’s with Aloo Chorchori rather than the usual Luchi-Aloo Chorchori and it was one of the many wonderful meals that we had during our trip back home this time around.

This is what you will need to make deep Fried Methi Parantha’s:

1. Methi / Fenugreek Leaves – 1 bunch

2. All Purpose Flour – 2 cups

3. Wheat Flour – 1 cup

4. Salt to taste

5. Sugar to balance

6. Oil – 1 tsp + for frying the Parantha’s

Method:

· Separate the leaves of Methi from the stems and wash them thoroughly. (My Maa adds them whole, if you wish you can chop them and add them too, I feel I like the look of it more when I can figure the leaves out in my Parantha’s). Drain as much as you can.

· Add this to 2 cups of All Purpose Flour and 1 cup of Wheat Flour and mix. Let the moisture remaining in the Methi leaves get soaked into the flour mix.

· Add Sugar and Salt to taste to the mix.

· Add 1-2 tsp of Cooking Oil.

· Add a little water at a time and start kneading the dough.

· This dough will neither be too soft or too hard, so add water if you think needed and keep the dough covered for 30 minutes. (Maa does not let it rest as she is always in a hurry, I do)

· Make small balls out of the dough.

· Take one ball at a time, flatten out with your fingers and dust the sides with some All Purpose flour and roll it out to a small round like shown in the picture.

· Fold into a triangle and roll it out again, this looks nice rather than the usual rounds.

· Heat Oil in a Kadhai or Indian wok till smoking, add a Parantha to it, press with your ladle so that it puffs up leaving the Oil behind, turn and fry the other side. This process of frying does not even take a minute hence you will have to be quick and do it with precision.