Breaking a piece off of a Malabar parotta and dipping it in a rich, succulent meat curry is a singular pleasure. The flatbread soaks the curry and meat into its thick folds, its luxurious taste lingering on the tongue long after the meal is over. Making the rich yet flaky and light Malabar parotta at home can be an interesting culinary activity, especially for pairing it with a delicious chicken or mutton gravy.
As far as flatbreads go, the Malabar parotta takes centre stage in Indian cuisine for its rich flavour that is nonetheless complemented by a flaky texture. In fact, tearing a piece of a freshly-made Malabar parotta and coating it with a succulent meat or chicken curry is a singular, unparalleled gastronomical treat.
The Malabar parotta is a traditional, layered flatbread with origins in Kerala-style cuisine. Now, it has become a staple across varied culinary cultures and is served with several stews, kormas and thick mutton or chicken gravies. The parotta itself has a very subtle taste, which makes it the perfect accompaniment with spicy and robust curry recipes.
Making the Malabar parotta at home is an elaborate and skilled culinary activity. It requires much practice to get the flaky texture of the parotta just right, but a homemade Malabar parotta definitely brings a lot of culinary luxury into a simple parotta and mutton curry meal. Kneading, resting, stretching and coiling are the
Read MoreTo make the Malabar parotta, start by mixing maida, sugar, salt and a tablespoon of oil in a large bowl.
Add warm water gradually and knead into a soft, smooth, stretchy dough. Continue the kneading process for at least 8-10 minutes so the dough becomes glutinous and stretchy.
Coat the dough with a little bit of oil and cover it with a cloth. Let it rest for about 30 minutes.
Now, divide the dough into 5-6 big balls and let it rest again for 20-30 minutes to develop more elasticity. Coat the dough balls in oil before allowing them to rest.
Now, take one dough ball and flatten it on an oiled countertop. Ensure the countertop is clean before flattening the parotta.
Stretch the dough ball gently using your palms and fingertips until it is flattened into a thin, almost translucent sheet.
Next, roll this stretched sheet into a long log and coil it into a spiral, tucking the loose end underneath. Repeat this process for all the dough balls.
For the final rolling, take each of these spiral rolls and using a rolling pin, flatten them into a thick parotta without hampering the layers.
To cook the parottas, heat a tawa on a medium flame and place the parotta on it for roasting until golden-brown spots appear.
Apply a little ghee on both sides of the parotta while it roasts. Keep on the pan until the parotta is crisp and fully cooked.
Fluffing the parotta is the most iconic step involved in its making. Once off the flame, place the cooked parotta in both hands and clap it gently together from the edges, to separate the layers. Serve warm with a spicy meat curry.
1 One of the first most essential steps in preparing the Malabar parotta is kneading. To make a stretchy dough, mix it using the TTK Prestige Hand Blender which comes with a different attachment for kneading dough. The blender will turn the maida and water mixture into a smooth, glutinous whole.
2 Another important step for making the Malabar parotta is resting. Using a good non-stick kadai with a lid to store the dough keeps it from sticking to the vessel. A good quality TTK Prestige Omega Die-Cast Plus Aluminium Non-Stick Kadai with Glass Lid is the perfect home cookware to store the kneaded dough.
3 Make the Malabar parotta on a tawa or a pan which would uniformly cook the flatbread. The TTK Prestige Omega Select Plus Non-Stick Omni Tawa will roast the parotta evenly without any risk of burning, or of the parotta sticking to its surface.
4 Some expert cooks advocate using a cast iron or heavy steel tawa to roast the parotta as this lends it good browning and retains its flaky texture. Go for the TTK Prestige Cast Iron Scratch Resistant Concave Tawa, designed exclusively to roast flatbreads which require even, uniform browning.
5 Many homecooks are comfortable kneading dough in the mixer grinder too. Use the TTK Prestige Deluxe Mixer Grinder, if you are one of those, to craft a dough that is stretchy, elastic and glutinous.
It is important to coat dough in oil as it rests to prevent it from drying out. Oiling the dough prior to resting also makes stretching easier.
Proper resting leads to the making of soft dough with flakier layers and good elasticity. That’s why resting the dough is essential while making the Malabar parotta.
Certainly. For a lighter version, swap half the all-purpose flour with wheat flour and knead the dough. It will be less flaky but will definitely carry a crisper quality.
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