Pan-Fry

Stuffed Cauliflower Bread

October  7, 2010
4
2 Ratings
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

Most people don't think of bread when they think of India. But the country lays claim to some of the healthiest, yummiest and varied forms of non leavened (and a few leavened) bread. Think Paratha, Roti, Naan, Kulchha, Poori and many others. Paratha is one of the most popular Indian bread. It is prepared plain as well as stuffed with a variety of vegetables (potato, cauliflower, onion, spices, peas, radish, carrot, papaya, etc) egg and minced meat. I picked up cauliflower stuffed paratha, wildly popular in North India, due to its unique use of cauliflower yielding a rich and stunning taste. Accompanied by a yoghurt based salad, it is filling enough for an exotic lunch or dinner. I am sure you will enjoy this dish thoroughly. —theglobalgirl

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Cauliflower Stuffing
  • 1 small cauliflower head (1-1.25 lbs)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper or paprika
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons minced coriander/cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder (optional)
  • Bread Dough
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup warm water for the dough (around 90-100 degree F)
  • 1/2 cup flour, for dusting
  • 1/2 cup butter, for pan frying
Directions
  1. Discard the stem and outer leaves of the cauliflower. Shave off dark spots on the head, if any. Wash it thoroughly in cold water, shake off the excess water and pat dry. Using a coarse blade of a grater (you may use a food processor too) grate the cauliflower. Keep aside.
  2. Heat oil till smoking. Add the cauliflower and cook for 5-8 minutes, till the water is absorbed dry and the cauliflower looks fried. Switch off the heat. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and mix well. Stuffing's ready. Keep aside for later use. (you may prepare and refridgerate this a day ahead).
  3. Combine the wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt and 2 tbsp of vegetable in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix well till the oil is incorporated into the flour mix, about 1-2 mins. Now add half of the water steadily with the mixer on. Once a form of dough starts building, add the rest of the water slowly to allow the dough to form. It should take around 2 minutes in all. Change the paddle to a dough hook and mix for another 2-3 minutes on medium speed, drizzling the last tbsp of vegetable oil very slowly. You can prepare the dough using a food processor too (or, as is traditionally done, knead it using your hands).
  4. Once the dough is formed, take it out and put it in a lightly greased pan. Cover with a moist towel or saran wrap and let it rest for 45-60 minutes. If you prepare the dough a day ahead, wrap it tightly and refridgerate it. Remove from the fridge around 45 minutes before you proceed to the next step.
  5. Melt the butter, to be used to pan fry the bread and keep it aside. Similarly, keep the dusting flour aside, and ready for use. Take out the rolling pin and get ready to roll, literally.
  6. Divide both the dough and the filling into 12 equal parts. Keep aside.
  7. Take one part of the dough and form it into a thick patty, around 4" in diameter. Place the patty on your palm and put one part of the stuffing in it's center. Wrap the dough patty around the stuffing and pinch the opening to seal in the stuffing (think of it like a circular dumpling, if you have to). Now, again flatten the patty using your fingers, pinching the edges slightly to push the filling towards the center. Keep aside on a plate, covered with saran wrap to prevent it from drying out.
  8. Proceed with the rest of the dough/stuffing balls to make 12 stuffed patties.
  9. Lightly dust the rolling surface. Take a dough patty and dust it all over with the dusting flour (place it on the dusting flour on both sides perssing to make sure some of the flour sticks to it). Now return it to the rolling surface and using your rolling pin, roll the patty into a 6" circle. If at any point during rolling the patty starts sticking, dust that area with a little flour and get going.
  10. At this point you can do one of two things. You can either proceed to cook/pan fry the prepared bread and then go on to make the next bread (and then pan fry that one). Or you can do what I prefer to do, prepare all the breads from the patties and then pan fry each one. If you do the former, then you need to move on to the next step. If you choose the latter, then prepare the rest of the breads as instructed in step 9, stacking one on top of the other, each SEPARATED by a moist paper towel or saran wrap. If you dont use the separator they will stick to each other and that would not be a great outcome for your efforts.
  11. Heat a griddle/flat pan on medium heat and let it heat well(around 2-3 minutes). Put one bread on the griddle and cook for 2-3 minutes, till the side in contact with the griddle is baked and starts developing brown spots (let's call it Side A). At this point flip and cook the other side of the bread (let's call it Side B). Once you flip the bread, take a pastry brush, dip it in the melted butter and brush the baked Side A all over. After around 1-2 minutes, flip the bread to expose Side B and, like we did for Side A, brush it with butter. Cook for 20-30 seconds, flip again to cook Side B for another 20-30 seconds and you are done. Take it off the griddle and store covered or wrapped to keep it warm. Proceed likewise for the remaining breads.
  12. Serve warm with either plain yoghurt, raita or Indian pickles and enjoy the compliments.

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