Malabar Parathas

Malabar Parathas

Ingredients:
For making the dough:
Veg oil or Dalda - 1 tbsp
Luke warm water - as required
Maida - 2 cups
Salt as per taste

Method:
1. Take all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Knead the dough well just as you do with chapathi or roti dough. Cover dough with damp muslin cloth. Put aside it for an hour. For better results place it in an air tight container. This prevents the drying at the top of the dough.
2. Make 10 equal portions of dividing the dough. Each portion should be a little less than the size of a tennis ball.
3. Take one portion of the dough. Put some oil on it.
4. Next apply oil on a flat surface. Roll out the portion as much as you can so as to make it as thin as possible, equally in its length and width. Do not worry about the shape. It may even break in between. Just make it as thin as you can. A rolling pin can be used here.
5. Put a little oil over rolled out dough.
6. Make pleats on the rolled dough with the help of both hands. Start from one end as you do with sari pleats.
7. Hold at one end of the pleated dough. Then spin it just like a spiral. Put aside.
8. Repeat the same process for all the dough portions. Cover pleated dough portions with wet muslin cloth or keep it in air tight container. Keep aside.
9. Heat a pan until medium hot.
10. Roll out each dough portion just as you do to make a roti. But make sure that it is not as thin as a roti. Parathas should have medium thickness. Do not apply any flour on it. Put some oil or ghee if you want.
11. Place one rolled dough portion on the heated pan. Add a little butter or ghee. Cook for about 1 or 2 minutes. Toss often, till it becomes firm and speckled brown. Cover the paraha with aluminium foil. Put it in an air tight container.
12. Once you have made 3 or 4 parathas, put them on a flat surface. Then hold them between your hands. Clap the hands together with 3 or 4 parathas in between them. Make sure not to clap hard as that may crack the parathas. This is to separate the layers of the parathas. It does not alter the taste in any way.
13. Serve with any kurma or masala.