You don’t need to sit and spent an entire day in the kitchen rolling out parathas to freeze. You can simply use the leftover roti/chapati dough every other night and use it to freeze parathas. I roll out 1 or 2 parathas every time I have said leftover atta. And before I know it, within a month I am looking at a stack of fresh homemade 30 40 parathas, which btw is a LOT! and perfect if you are meal prepping for Ramzan (Muslim fasting month)

FAQS

Can you freeze fully cooked paratha?

Fully cooked parathas usually don’t do well in the freezer and somehow or the other, their taste, texture and softness doesn’t last. Unfortunately my friends, I’d have to say NO to this.

Is frozen paratha good for health?

The parathas you get in the store are normally made from the same dough they make puff pastries from. This is because, they need a large quantity of fat to keep commercially produced parathas soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Even if they offer you whole wheat options, they are still giving you a ton of butter with it. Since paratha is something us brown folks consume on a regular basis, buying the store bought ones might not be such a good idea. Ofcourse, the one you freeze yourself at home is wayyyyy better, infact its nutritious! Using good quality organic ghee, and wholemeal wheat flour, your homemade parathas can be a good source of Vit B, fibre and good carbs. Plus no added preservatives is always a bonus

How long can I freeze the parathas for?

They can last upto 2 months in the freezer and sometimes 3. Beyond that, they might be subjected to freezer burns because alas, we aren’t using a truck load of butter/ghee in them, so the shelf life is limited.

Can I use oil instead of ghee?

You can most definitely use oil instead of ghee, but then opt for freezing method 2 for better results. (see under freezing section)

Ingredients

• Chakki Atta (Wholemeal wheat flour) – Chakki Atta is the best option to make parathas or rotis and is the choice of flour in most brown households for all types of flatbreads. It is definitely more nutritious than all purpose flour. Please note, Chakki Atta is different from the regular whole wheat flour you get in American grocery stores. So if you want to make authentic parathas, look for chakki atta specifically. You can find them in Asian grocery stores.
• Salt – Goes without saying but your parathas need seasoning too. A few pinches of salt ar enough to add flavor to your flatbreads.
• Water – Room temperature or lukewarm water works best for kneading the dough.
• Melted Ghee (clarified butter) – We are going to need ghee in the dough as well as while rolling and folding the parathas. I prefer using melted ghee because you end up using less this way. Since so many steps involve applying layers of ghee, you will end up using more than a tbsp per paratha is you use solidified ghee. If you want, you can use oil too, but the results may vary with it.

Prepare Dough

For preparing the dough, you can use a stand mixer with the hook attachment or simply do it by hand. There’s a small video tutorial at the end of this post too!

Start with flour, salt and melted ghee. And allow the ghee to spread evenly throughout the dough. Then slowly starting adding water until your flour is fully combined. You are NOT kneading at this point. Simply allowing all the flour to soak up water and form a dough. It may seem crumbly or not smooth, which is fine! Trust the process!

Cover the dough with cling wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 30 to 40 mins. This allows the gluten in the dough to be activated and makes kneading much easier.

A well rested, cold dough is easier to work with and gives you a
good paratha/roti texture.

Take out your dough from the fridge and now knead it for about 5 to 6 mins with your fists. You will eventually get a uniform smooth dough, that springs back a little when you poke it. Now you can decide to roll out the parathas straight away or keep the dough back in the fridge, where it can last for 5 days.

Instructions

Rolling out Parathas

STEP 1 & 2– Divide your dough into smaller segments and make small dough balls from your dough. Coat with lose flour before placing them on the countertop.

STEP 3– Flatten the dough balls by pressing them with the palms of your hand. Flatten them as much as you can with ease. Sprinkle more flour on the dough discs if they become too sticky. Use a rolling pin to flatten out one dough disc into a medium disc shape. The shape doesn’t need to be perfect. Just a rough round shape is good enough.

STEP 4 – Use a brush and cover the surface of the disc with ghee. Sprinkle some lose flour on top of the ghee and start folding as shown in the pictures below

STEP 5 & 6 – Lift one edge of the disc and fold towards the centre. Now do the same on the opposite side to form a burrito.

STEP 7 – Use the brush and cover the surface of the exposed top of the paratha and sprinkle some lose flour again.

STEP 8 – Bring in one of the open ends of the paratha towards the centre and bring the other to overlap the first one to form a square.

STEP 9 & 10 – Coat the square dough with flour again and roll it out to form a square paratha. Sprinkle lose flour again if the dough becomes sticky. Parathas are thicker than rotis when rolled out.

How to freeze paratha

There are 2 methods to freeze parathas, you can use whichever one you find easier. For both methods, you will needs sheets of butter paper or wax paper, and a ziplock bag or an airtight box.

METHOD 1 – FREEZING RAW PARATHAS

In this method, you simply brush some melted ghee on either side of the rolled out paratha and place them on a sheet of wax paper. Add another layer of wax paper and layer the rolled out parathas this way Keep the tray in the freezer to turn the parathas solid. Once they harden up, transfer them into a ziplock bag and store for upto 2 months

METHOD 2 – FREEZING SEMI COOKED PARATHAS

Another approach is to half cook the paratha before freezing. Heat a pan and cook the paratha on one side long enough to see the color of the paratha change on top. When that happens, remove the paratha and keep on the side to cool down. Stack the parathas with wax papers in between each paratha and since these aren’t delicate, you can directly put them in a ziplock bag and freeze (for upto 2 months)

Cooking Frozen paratha

You don’t need to thaw frozen parathas. Simply place the solid paratha on a hot pan and brush a little ghee on all corners. Flip over when the top changes color. Brush ghee on this side too and flip over when the bottom gets nice golden brown color all around.

Enjoy with your favorite curries, kebabs.

Expert Tips

• Make sure your ziplock bags are sealed properly. You can use a box or a zipper bag to store your parathas but it needs to be airtight. The freezerburn from being exposed in the freezer is real and will make your parathas hard when you make cook them.
• Always use oil or ghee in the dough when making frozen parathas.
• Sprinkling flour on ghee while folding the paratha gives it better layers and makes it flaky.
• Label your bags with dates of when you started adding parathas to it, so that you have a rough estimate of when your parathas will expire.
• You can prepare a big batch of parathas to freeze together all in one go or do it in increments, every other night when you are making fresh parathas, just roll out 1 or 2 extra and freeze!
• On those lazy days, bring out some frozen dam keema (slow cooked beef mince) or frozen chicken curry from your stock, pair it with your frozen parathas, and you have to hardly spend 10 mins in the kitchen max to serve food.

Similar Tutorials

How to make crispy fried onions for curries
How to make Chili oil

Print

How to freeze parathas

Parathas are fried flatbreads from India / Pakistan. Follow these instructions to make parathas from scratch and freeze them for future use

Course Side Dish

Cuisine South Asian

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 8 parathas

Calories 237kcal

Author Wajiha

Equipment

• 1 Rolling Pin
• 11 sheets of wax papers
• 1 ziplock bag or airtight container

Ingredients

• 3 cups Chakki Atta Flour wholemeal wheat flour see notes
• 2 tbsp melted ghee clarified butter for dough + 3 tbsp for layering
• 1½ cup warm Water or as needed.
• 1/2 tsp salt
• more ghee needed if cooking on the spot

Instructions

• In a bowl, add flour, ghee and salt. Mix well.
• Now add water gradually and knead the dough as you go. You can do this manually by hand or use a stand mixer with the hook attachment.
• Once your dough is mixed, don’t knead any more. Transfer the dough into a clean bowl, cover it and refrigerate for about 15 to 20 mins.
• Bring out the dough and now knead for 5 mins with your fists. Knead till you get a smooth dough.
• Make small dough balls from your dough. And keep placing them on a surface that has been sprinkled with flour.
• Flatten the dough balls by pressing them in the palms of your hands. Flatten them as much as you can with ease. Sprinkle more flour on the dough discs if they become too sticky.
• Use a rolling pin to flatten out one dough disc into a medium round shape.
• Use a brush and cover the surface the rolled out dough with ghee.
• Lift one edge of the disc and fold towards the centre. Now do the same on the opposite side.
• Your paratha should look like a log right now. Use the brush and cover the surface of the exposed top of the paratha.
• Bring in one end of the paratha towards the centre and bring the other to overlap the first one to form a square.
• Dust the square dough with flour and roll it out to form a square paratha
• TO FREEZEMETHOD 1 – RAW PARATHA
• In this method, you simply brush some melted ghee on either side of the rolled out paratha and place them on a sheet of wax paper.
• Add another layer of wax paper and layer the rolled out parathas this way
• Keep the tray in the freezer to turn the parathas solid.
• Once they harden up, transfer them into a ziplock bag and freeze.

METHOD 2 – HALF COOKED PARATHA

• Heat a pan and cook the paratha on one side long enough to see the color of the paratha change on top.
• When that happens, remove the paratha and keep on the side to cool down.
• Stack the parathas with wax papers in between each paratha and since these aren’t delicate, you can directly put them in a ziplock bag and freeze
  
• COOKING
• You don’t need to thaw frozen parathas. Simply place the solid paratha on a hot pan and brush a little ghee on all corners.
• Flip over when the top changes color.
• Brush ghee on this side too and flip over when the bottom gets nice golden brown color all around.
• Serve with your favorite curry or kebab.
  

Notes

• Chakki atta or wholemeal wheat flour is different than regular whole wheat flour, you can find it in Asian grocery stores. Most bags also have pictures of roti or paratha on it.
• If you don’t want to roll out parathas straight away, keep the kneaded dough back in the fridge where it can last upto 5 days
• Your frozen parathas can last 2 months.
• IF you want to use oil instead of ghee, go for method 2 of freezing.
• You can use any other folding method than the one mentioned in the this post as well.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 237kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 179mg

The post How to make Frozen parathas at home appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

Just like garlic ginger paste, crispy fried onions is one of the basis of all South Asian cooking and if you nail it, you pretty much have MASTERED one of the CORE ingredients in almost ALL Indian/Pakistani curries.

So getting these beautiful crispy onions is honestly just a few tips and tricks away. But behold...since it is something we struggle with, the internet has come up with WEIRD and absolutely useless tips and tricks as well. I’ll mention some really popular myths below as well so that you know what to stay away from as well.

Where are fried onions used?

Fried onions are a staple in South Asian cooking. Here’s where they are used

• Used in gravies and curries like Chicken ka saalan
• They are used for layering and adding flavor. like in Biryanis and Pulaos
• Also used as garnishing or toppings on dals, and haleems.
• They are also used in certain kebab marinations and dam keema etc.

Different levels of fried onions.

A glimpse of what topics this post covers

• Choosing the right onions
• Peeling onions
• Cutting the onions
• Selecting the pot
• Selecting the oil
• How much oil to use
• Reaching the right color
• Letting the onions cool down
• Serving Size
• Storing fried onions
• What to do with left-over oil

Here’s are a few key things to know about frying onions.

Choosing the right onions

There are 6 kinds of onions:

• Red onion
• white onions,
• yellow onions,
• sweet onions,
• shallots and
• Scallions / Green onions
  
  The internet will tell you that the ideal onions for frying are the sweet onions. And it won’t be completely wrong. They do have a uniform color through out and the perfect amount of natural sugars that fry up to give you a uniform golden brown color. But they don’t have thin layers, which when sliced, will not give you nice thin slivers. Thin layers are important for that crispy frying. You can use any, white onion, red onion, or sweet onion, as long as they have thin layers. And you will great results! Where I live, red onions are the ones with the thinnest layers so I pick those.

Peeling Onions

Keep dipping your peeled onions in a pot or bowl of cold water. Helps with the tears (more on that below)

Cutting the onions

The onions are peeled, halved vertically and their roots are removed. And then cut into long thin slices. This is also known as the “biryani cut” onions. Obviously this is a tedious task to do by hand and when done in bulk can feel like a truckload of work. You can use the slicer option in your food processor to slice your onions the easy way. You can also use a manual mandoline slicer to do the deed as well. Of course the food processor is quicker, but a mandoline is also twice as fast as manual slicing.

How to avoid crying while cutting the onions

So, so far with all the methods I’ve tried, all I can say is, crying a li’l is inevitable (yeah you hate me I know). Maybe do it in a well ventilated area or near a candle so the gases don’t effect you as much? But here’s a good read on how to avoid crying if you wanna check it out.

Selecting the pot

So it all comes down to size and area. Imagine frying french fries. Your fries are going to get clumpy and soggy if you toss them in a small space. The same rule applies while frying onions. So opt for a wider shallow utensil with a thick base. Give your sliced onions room to crisp up individually. 

Ideal pot:
Thick base, wide and can withstand high temperatures.

Selecting the oil

When frying onions, or any other thing for that matter, you want to make sure that your oil has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point. The temperatures can go up to 190 C while frying onions and you want to use an oil that can stay stable for that long. Basic vegetable oil like sunflower oil and canola oil can easily stay stable at those temperatures. If you are on a keto diet or are trying to live a healthier lifestyle, coconut oil is also a good option for frying as it can stay stable up to 180 C. As an alternative, you can also use ghee.

Important: Always use fresh oil when you want the perfectly nice brown onions. Oil that has been used once to fry before is going to take double or triple time to brown onions and you will end up with onions that have soaked up a LOT of oil!

How much quantity of oil to use

When frying onions for one time use, you can get away with using very little oil and stirring constantly to get a good color. But for a large batch, you will definitely need to use oil enough for deep frying. So adding a truck load of oil in the onions seems like OMG this is soooooo frikking unhealthy. But trust me when I say this. If you fry your onions right, your onions will NOTTT absorb a lot of oil. You can even measure the amount of oil you put in the pan before frying and how much oil is left AFTER frying.

While growing up I kept hearing this very popular TOTKA (aka tip) that adding onions in cold oil makes it crispier. This, of ALL THE hacks out there, is the only one that LEGIT works. All it does is absorb more oil. Always add onions to oil that has already started to heat up. Doesn’t need to be boiling hot, just warmed up. And keep frying your onions at high heat. 

TIP: Add onions and oil together in a pot first and then putting them on a flame to fry for crispy onions

You can easily eyeball the amount of oil you want to add. Toss in your onions in the pot you are going to fry them in. And THEN add oil to it till it comes up to the level of the onions roughly.

TIP: Don’t I repeat DON’t Add stuff to your oil

Lots of internet groups and articles suggest to add baking soda or salt or sugar to your oil in hopes of achieving a uniform brown color. PLEASE do NOT commit this heinous crime! Not only will these ingredients make your onions absorb MORE oil, but it will also alter the natural sweet taste of the fried onions, and eventually might also effect the dish you are preparing your fried onions for.

TIP: Use a slotted stainless steel spoon or skimmer for stirring through the onions. Try not to stir too much, just occasionally a stir here and there, making sure all the onions are getting evenly fried.

Reaching the right color

When you keep your pot with onions and oils onto the stove, turn on the flame directly at a high. You will begin to notice the changes that the onions will go through during its frying journey.

(TIMINGS FOR BULK FRYING)

5 to 10 min mark – The oil will get hot and the onions will start releasing water of their own. (Stir from sides once in 5 mins)

15 min mark– The onions will start to dehydrate at the water evaporates and will start to shrink in size. (Stir once or twice to check even browning)

20 min mark – The onions will turn very light gold and have now officially started to crisp up. (stir once or twice and now stay close)

25 min mark – Onions have started to crisp up. Some thinner ones are golden already. Reduce the flame to medium and stir constantly. Start removing onions that have turned golden.

Between 25 to 30 min – This is a critical time. When you see your onions are just ABOUT to reach the perfect color, reduce the flame to low and start removing them with the skimmer. The oil is hot and the onions will turn a shade darker after getting removed as well. If you wait till you reach the right color and THEN start removing onions, the last batch you remove will be burnt.

Letting the onions cool down.

You should have a large tray or plate lined with paper towel ready on the side when you start frying the onions. Remove all your fried onions from the oil and place them directly on top of these paper towels. Make sure they are spread out evenly. Allow the onions to cool down. Its important for the onions to cool down in as much space as possible, in order to crisp up properly. You can press the onions together once they cool down, and you’ll hear a gentle crisp. Which will say, all of your effort, was well WORTH IT!

Serving Size

1 medium onion is equal to 1/2 cup of fried onions and 1/4 cup of crushed fried onions.

Storing the onions

The best part about all of this hard work is that you can savor it! You can batch fry lots of onions in one go and freeze them! They are totally freeezer friendly and can last indefinitely! (I’ve always used them within 4 months, but I don’t see a reason why they won’t last longer than that) Once the onions cool down, bag them up in a ziplock bag and keep it in the freezer. If you want to use them in the coming days, they can even stay outside in a jar for a week.

What to do with the left over oil?

I usually fry my onions when I have a fresh bottle of cooking oil, and a big batch of onions, i.e. when I have freshly done my groceries. Let the remaining oil cool down and use a funnel to transfer it back to the bottle you had used it from. This oil has a nice sweet oniony flavor to it and can be used basically for everything savory. Of course not for sweets, and definitely not for more deep frying.

Bonus: If you are using pre-fried onions in your curry etc, you can make those with about 1 tbsp of oil, because all the oil that goes in a gravy is usually to fry the onions. And if that’s already done, you don’t need anymore!

Print

How to fry onions

A batch of perfectly fried brown onions to use in all Pakistani Indian Recipes

Course Dips & Condiments, FRIED FOOD

Cuisine Continental, South Asian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 1 pack

Calories 400kcal

Author Wajiha

Ingredients

• 1 kg onions
• Oil for frying

Instructions

• Peel the onions and remove the root.
• Cut the onions from the center vertically, and slice the halves thinly in vertical cuts
• Add sliced onions in a wide pot and add oil till it comes at the level of the onions. Eye ball the quantity.
• Increase heat to high flame and fry the onions until golden brown.
• Keep stirring the onions every 5 mins to check its getting cooked evenly.
• Use a slotted stainless steel spoon to stir the onions.
• The onions will release water over time and then will start to fry.
• At about 20 min mark your onions will start to look very slightly brown. Reduce the flame to medium at this point and don’t leave the onions un-attended anymore.
• Stir constantly to make sure all the onions turn evenly golden.
• When the onions turn light gold, reduce the flame to low and start removing the onions from the oil slowly.
• Spread the onions on a tray covered with paper towel. And try not to crowd them.
• Allow the onions to cool down and you will have crispy golden onions.
• Use directly in recipes or make a pack in save it in the freezer.

Notes

for more detailed information, read the entire post with tips, tricks and onion selection

if you use these pre-fried onions in your gravies, you can make them with a tbsp of oil.

Nutrition

Serving: 1batch | Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 93g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 40mg | Potassium: 1460mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 74mg | Calcium: 230mg | Iron: 2mg

The post How to make crispy fried onions and store them appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

DIY Food Gift Ideas for this Holiday Season

1. Home made ghee aka Clarified butter
By Chai And Churros

Ghee or clarified butter is an essential in South Asian cooking and also used in a lot of cakes and western recipes. My friend Henna from Chai and Churros and I were talking, and she was telling me how expensive homemade ghee generally is in the market, where it actually is wayyyy cheaper to make at home. Of Course it takes a little time and the right technique. But hey, the next time your neighbour whines about “organic clarified butter” prices, you know what you are going to get them!

2. Chocolate peanut butter bars

These bars have been my GO-TO dessert option whenever I am short on time and I have to quickly whip up something to take to a gathering. It uses hardly a handful of ingredients and sets super fast! Lately, I have been packing them up real nice in basic brownie boxes and they’ve turned out to be such a winner! Say you love them (read fnf) with Peanut butter and Chocolate.

3. Pound Cake Loaf by Spoons of Flavor by Batool

All tea-time snacks are my FAVORITE Edible gift category. This Pound cake loaf by Batool screams comfort and would make such an easy and delicious treat to give. Simple brown paper and twine wrapping or transparent plastic wrapping and you are good to go!

4. Anday ka halwa (Egg Halwa)

Most Edible gift traditions include recipes that are mostly International. I loved doing something purely South Asian as a gift. It can be an amazing connection to your culture and totally insight some nostalgic memories for your friends if they are South Asian, or introduce them to your flavors if they aren’t. This Anday ka halwa aka Egg Halwa is a super traditional Pakistani recipe made with eggs, milk, ghee and sugar. The end result are these beautiful biscuit-y nutty bars that are hard and soft at the same time. It does take a little time to whip up but it’d be an excellent treat this holiday season.

5. Madeleines by Two Cloves In a Pot

If you already know about Madeleine than I don’t need to tell you why they are so awesome as gifts! if you don’t, here’s why

• They are small sponge cakes, easy to make and easy to store
• They have a distinct shell shape so they look super pretty if you simply dust them with some powdered sugar.
• Cute lil delicious shell shaped cakes packed in a jar or a box or a pack, are going to melt your heart right there!

6. Stuffed assorted dates by Dynamic Fatima Khan

We all know someone who stays super disciplined on holiday seasons too. What do you give such robots? I mean humans. Enter Stuffed dates. Nutritious li’l gems filled up with a little naughty combinations to make them all fancy and worthy of being called “treats”. Ok scratch that, I’d have it regardless! cz look so pretty!

7. Nutella cookies by Hungry Paprikas

I have been in love with these Nutella Cookies the moment I laid my eyes on them over at Amina’s. Amina blogs over at Hungry Paprikas and created these 15 mins YES 15 min nutella cookies! And Bonus! I love how cute the wrapping looks with li’l nutella jars! I mean, I’d probably go gaga if someone brings this over at my place. *HINT* (Someone please bring these over)

8. Cheesecake jars by Rabia Ammar Home

Your tank tops and jeans can go out of fashion, but dessert in a jar will always stay strong! These easy no-bake cheesecake jars were made by my friend Rabia who did a little DIY to spruce up her simple jars and make them more festive! You can do individual jars or medium sized ones where everyone just grabs a spoon and digs in. Won’t that be awesome!!!

9. NO bake Chocolate Oats Bars

Of Course if you are preparing treats for a lottttt of people, you’d want something that sets quick, looks pretty and doesn’t make you reach for the oven. Enters, No bake Chocolate oats bars. You can prepare these wayyyyyyy in advance and freeze them. Take them whenever you are ready to give your holiday gifts. I mean, that’s just winning at life. (Disclaimer: You might end up eating them before D day)

That’s it from me folks, these were holiday food gift ideas from me. If you have some cool new edible gift ideas or packing ideas, I’d loveeeee to hear from you! drop it in the comments below or message me on the link below! Happy holidays!

The post 9 Homemade Holiday Food Gifts Ideas appeared first on Butter Over Bae.