Mix Veg Paratha | Healthy Breakfast recipes

I recently read an article on Time of India which said that Idli is considered to be one of the healthiest breakfast to have. While I have no doubts about that, considering its steamed, fermented and light to digest. But I would like to advocate the nutritional factors associated with my beloved Parathas here too. I personally consider Parathas as another healthy and filling breakfast item on the menu. Especially when you use little oil to roast them, and the stuffing is made healthier by choice. Yes, you definitely cant have them as guilt free and frequently as you can have idlis. But come on, once or twice a week doesn’t really add up to your waist line. 

I had a friend who was apparently always on “diet” but given a chance to have Alu Paratha, she wouldn’t stop unless she is stuffed till gills. Dollops of butter on top added contributed to the irony. So that’s definitely a wrong way of having Parathas. But you can always make healthier choices. Like adding other vegetables along with potato. That makes equally satisfying Parathas, which are higher on nutrition side.  Pair your Parathas with chilled raita instead of butter and there you have a delicious balanced meal which will leave you satiated for hours. 

Another factor which you need to take care of is- the time of eating Parathas (or any heavy meal for that matter). There is a reason Punjabi’s eat Parathas for breakfast folks! They are rich in carbs, giving your body the energy to stay put for the day ahead. If you consume this bulk load of energy after the noon time, you wont do any favours to your metabolism. So savour this delicious and healthy treat every now and then taking care of the above factors and you wont hear your appetite complaining! 🙂 

P.S.- After all the lecture above, you can see in the pictures that I have still added loads of butter on top. In my defence, I could say that was only for the pictures. But yeah, secretly, I love it too 😉 

Check out some more Paratha recipes here 

What you need?

• 4 cups of Wholemeal flour (atta)
• 1 ½ cups of warm water to knead the dough (more or less)
• A generous pinch of salt

For stuffing:

• 5-6 small florets of cauliflower (about ½ cup when chopped fine)  – rinsed
• ½ cups green peas – thawed if frozen/ boiled if raw
• 2 medium sized potatoes – boiled till soft
• A few sprigs of coriander leaves (cilantro/dhaniya) – rinsed
• 1 large onion, chopped fine (optional)
• A small piece of ginger- grated
• ½ tsp cumin powder (jeera powder)
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• Salt to taste
• A pinch of black pepper (optional)

Oil for roasting 

How to make?

• Knead the dough using warm water and salt and keep aside for 20-30 minutes.

To prepare the stuffing-

• Boil the potatoes, let them cool, enough to be touched by bare hands and then peel them. Mash the potatoes while they are still a bit warm. If you wait till the potatoes have come down to the room temperature, the stuffing will be lumpy. And if the potatoes are too hot, it will be moist. So the right temperature for potatoes is really important. Read my post on Alu Paratha to get more tips.
• Thaw the green peas if using frozen OR boil them for 10 minutes if using the raw ones. They should be a soft and mashable when pressed between thumbs.
• Rinse cauliflower florets and wipe off extra water carefully. Since cauliflower takes a bit of time to get dry, hence I wash them almost an hour ago and leave in a colander to dry up. Then wipe using kitchen towel to make them good for stuffing.
• Wash the coriander leaves, drain off the extra water and chop them finely
• Now when we have all the ingredients ready, mix everything together. Adjust the seasoning as per your taste and keep aside.
• Heat a tawa (griddle), roll the dough on a flat surface. Fill in the stuffing inside and bind the sides together. Check the step by step pictures as below to understand the process.
• Roast the stuffed Parathas with little oil from both sides on medium flame. Serve hot with chilled Raita, pickle (and butter if you are greedy like me! )

Notes:

• You may also add 2 tbsp of yogurt to the dough to make softer Parathas. But do take care of the consistency, since if the dough is too soft or pliable the Parathas will break apart.
• Check out my post on How to make healthy Parathas to get more ideas on the same
• If you are not using yogurt or butter in this recipe, it’s a vegan  dish by default.
• You may also add other vegetables like – Broccoli, sweet corn, spring onion, spinach  and even Paneer to this Mix Veg Paratha.
• To make your breakfast even healthier, pair the Paratha with Vegetables Raita like Brinjal raita (eggplant/aubergine), Mooli Raita (Indian radish) or Ladyfinger raita  (Okra/bhindi)

 

If you are looking for more healthy Parathas, you might like this Alu Paalak Paratha which is simply amazing