Malabar Parotta

Parotta is the most famous and favorite street food in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. You can see the daabhas along the high way or street vendors in the cities busy well into the night. Making parotta is an art in itself. Watching Parotta Masters (guys who only make parotta in the daabha) is fascinating. The way they toss the flat dough around. Parotta is flaky layered flat bread made with all purpose flour and lots of oil. This can be made with whole wheat flour as well. It can be made with or without egg. Malabar in Kerala is very famous for parotta. I have never attempted to make them. I buy them frozen from Indian market. I have seen my in-law's neighbor in India make it once when I was home on vacation. My daughter wanted to make (me to make) parotta and korma for lunch. So I called my neighbor last night and asked for the recipe. It is a time consuming process. But, it was worth the time and effort. I am happy with the result.

Ingredients:
2 Cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon olive or sunflower oil
2/3 cups water plus little more
1/2 cup oil for dough and cooking

Method:
1. Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

2. Add 1 tablespoon oil and the water to the flour. Knead well for 5 minutes to form a soft dough. Cover with a towel and leave it for 2 hours.

3. Divide dough into equal size balls. I made 9 balls from 2 cups of flour. Cover and let it rest for 5 minutes.

4. On a floured surface, roll out each ball into a disk, using a rolling pin. Then, brush generously with oil on both sides. Set it on a plate. Repeat process with the remaining dough. Place them on top of each other. Brush with oil on the top surface of the rolled dough. Leave if for 30 minutes. Do not use oil while rolling out, it might cause dough to stick.

5. Gently lift one disk. Hold the edges and stretch gently to make it thin. Place on a clean flat surface.

6. Gently make folds from the bottom of the disk, like you would fold a paper fan. Another way to do is to cut along the center. Lift one half like a rope and just twist to a roll.

7. Repeat the process with the remaining disks.

8. Place one roll on a plate. Flatten evenly with fingers to make a thin disk. Repeat process with remaining rolls. Arrange them on  a flat surface or plate.

9. Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil on a griddle. Gently transfer parotta from the plate to the griddle. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon oil along the edges of the parotta and on top. Cook both sides on low flame, drizzling oil in between. Cook till golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate. Repeat process with remaining parotta.

10. Hold on either sides of the stack of parotta, gently squeeze pat to make them flaky.

11. Serve parotta hot with kurma of your choice. I made vegetable kurma to go with it today.

Note:
Make sure not to add oil while rolling out the dough in step 4, it would cause dough to stick.
Be generous in brushing the disks with oil.
You can also use whole wheat flour to make parotta.
Different versions of parotta can be found in Sri Lanka, and Malaysia.