September 6, 2011

Lachha Paratha – Layered Griddle Cooked Flatbread

There is nothing more delightful than scooping out spiced flavored curries with some fresh, hot, flaky flatbread. These lovely multi layered, rustic, crisp on the outside, pastry like breads are called the Parathas.

Parathas are an everyday kind of bread in the northern regions of India. They are eaten with curries but also with just pickles. They are enjoyed during breakfast lunch and dinner and as much as it sounds like a comfort food, it is a heartwarming luxurious experience when one gets to enjoy piping hot fresh parathas straight from the griddle.

During my childhood years, the weekend breakfasts were special treats; we had parathas or pooris/luchi with a light dry potato curry. It was the same sweet mornings when I went back this time. My aunts cooked crispy parathas and puffy pooris for breakfast, with the very familiar potato curry… reliving memories over flaky hot bread is calming.

The word Paratha breaks down to Parat (layer) + Atta (flour). Paratha is just a general term which means unleavened flaky, multi- layered bread cooked on the tawa or the griddle. There are quite a few variations to the Paratha, and they may be spiced or even stuffed (like Aloo Paratha and Dal Paratha and many more).

While the most common and the easy one is usually triangular in shape and usually contains about 2-3 folds/layers, the Lachha Paratha has many many layers. They are discernible soft layers when the crispy outer layer is torn opened. The layers inside are delicately thin, soft and flaky.

Here is a fun video to watch: Making the layers in Lachha Paratha. While the feat shown here is not exactly doable at home, it definitely shows how many layers can go into a Paratha professionally made and is quite entertaining to watch. Have fun watching!

Some variations of the recipes like to use egg and/or baking powder. The flaky multi layers can be achieved without using either of them, so I never use them in the dough.

I have done a step step by step to the process of the Lachha Paratha. Do refer to it if you are doing it for the first time. Hope it helps!

Make a smooth soft non sticky dough.

Rolled out, brushed with ghee/butter, dusted with flour, pleated, stretched, twisted, and rolled into a spiral.

Up close! See the layers?

All ready to be rolled and cooked. You can see the dusty flour between the layers. The brushing with the ghee/oil/butter and then the drizzle of flour prevents the layers from sticking to one another. Once cooked, they are paper thin and separated.. very distinct.

Cooked- the top is golden with streaks of brown and is crisp! now its ready to be brushed with more butter/ghee.

Smear a generous amount of butter/ghee. You only indulge once in a while.

Gently crush it before you serve.. piping hot. The crushing breaks the outer crisp layer and reveals the soft layers inside. This also allows the butter or ghee to seep inside the bread, which adds an extra level of flavor.

Enjoy with any Curry Dishes as an accompaniment.