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

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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.

Tips for Sehri

It’s always better to be prepared in advance so that you are not spending most of your time in the kitchen during Ramadan. Here are a couple of pointers to keep in mind for Sehri, along with some great recipe recommendations.

• Jot down a rough menu list in advance for Sehri and Iftar. This way you know exactly what you are going to have and you can work on freezing as much food as you can beforehand so that the actual Sehri time is not a crazy “running around the house” scenario.
• Yogurt based food and drinks are awesome in keeping you hydrated throughout the day. So drinks like lassi or smoothies, side serving of raw yogurt are great additions to your Sehri meals.
• Try to keep your water intake to a minimum and Sehri and spread it out throughout the non-fasting period instead.
• I’ve put together a pretty awesome list for Sehri for you, most of which are freezable, and the rest are easy to whip up. Up ahead

The post Easy make-ahead Sehri Recipes and Ideas appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

MENU PLANNING CAN BE DAUNTING!

Hosting guests can be a stressful experience for some and others might tell you how enjoyable they find entertaining guests and designing their spreads. If I am being completely honest, I think I am very much a part of the latter category. I absolutely enjoy planning for dinners, hosting guests and designing my own dinner or lunch menus from scratch. This sometimes might even take weeks to perfect. But I get it, my friends find it hard to come up with arrangements, and food ideas impromptu too. So I thought to myself, hmm maybe I can help out fellow hosts bringing their A game to the next event they host.

MENU PLANNING 101

So lets take the guesswork out of menu planning. What should I add? What’s the right number of items to cook? How much should I cook? And most importantly WHAT should I cook? Lets start with designing your menu first

In this post, I shall talk about the different components of a basic food spread. Something that you can easily make with one day of prep or this might just be your weekend menu plan as well. Remember, a well designed menu isn’t only a list of delicious food items, it should also be covering all your basic nutritional requirements i.e. carbs, proteins, fiber and fats.

Ok, so lets get started shall we?

ELEMENTS OF A GOOD FOOD SPREAD

1. THE FILLING MAIN COURSE.

Ofcourse this one is mandatory and goes without saying. Your main course can either be 1 main dish that has both protein and carbs. (for e.g Shrimp Pasta or Chicken Biryani) Or it can be 2 dishes both supporting each other to make 1 main course. (Think Chinese fried rice and Chicken Manchurian.

2. THE NICE SALAD.

This is the second most important addition to your table. A good salad compliments your Main course an also adds fibre to your meal. It is important to have a salad that works really well with your Main course. For instance, a cold macaroni salad will clash with an Alfredo pasta as the main course. However, it will go very well if your main dish is burger or steak.

3. THE SIDE-KICK AKA THE SIDE DISH

A side dish is food that cannot be eaten on its own as a meal
and will not affect the main course if excluded. It is important to note the difference between a SIDE and a SIDE-DISH here. The western countries refer to bread, potatoes, couscous or even rice as a side. A side is part of the main course where as a side dish is another dish altogether made to increase the food spread. Therefore a  side dish must not be confused with a SIDE. You can browse through my side dishes recipes here.

4. A SAUCY ADDITION

It is always a good idea to add sauces or condiments to your dining table. It gives your guests the option to add texture and flavor to their meals. Plus some Main courses are almost incomplete without an accompanying sauce. (for e.g chicken biryani without Raita – a yoghurt based sauce- is almost a crime.)

Ok so How many sauces or dips should you have?

My magic number here is 2. 2 sauces will not only give you the option to add 1 basic sauce and another complimentary sauce, but it also makes your spread look better and fuller. Plus it’s the cheapest way to add elements to your spread. Your second sauce can be as simple as ketchup, right out the bottle, or as sophisticated as a Veloute’ sauce. The selection is really flexible and quite frankly very easily tailored to your palate.

Bonus: If you are having kids over, you really can’t skip regular mayo and ketchup from your table now, can you?

5. BOTTLES UP!

Drinks are another you-already-know-this kind of an element.

Obviously water is a given. We are talking about the +1 that comes with water.

There is no right or wrong choice for what drink you choose to keep. You can keep whatever beverages you thinks your guests would prefer.

6. MY FIRST LOVE! DESSERTS.

I swear if it were up to me, this is allllllll I would cook and serve and put it on repeat till I die. Its a shame dessert only parties aren’t a thing (or are they?). Anyhow, 1 dessert is more than sufficient to end your lovely feast and tie up your event in a neat little bow. Choices for desserts again are endless. We’ll definitely talk about choosing the right dessert in future posts. For now know, that even a bowl of fresh cut up fruits or a store brought ice-cream can serve as dessert, in case you don’t have the time or energy to cook or prepare one from scratch. I mean I’d happily gobble down a bowl of cut up mangoes or dark chocolate ice-cream. Yum!!

PLANNING LEVEL 1 – CHECKED

Whatever you end up cooking, its always a good idea to plan ahead. This is the most basic kind of menu there is. We”ll cover more advance menus and options and how to work with them in upcoming posts.

So there you go, you have all your bases covered about how to design your menu. These elements are the bare minimum or the basic items that you should be aiming for when cooking for guests. Anything less than this might make your table look empty and may not be able to give your guests enough options to pick and chose from. Hey! You are already on the way to becoming the best host ever!  Stay posted, I’m gonna be posting lots of sample menus and talking about how to manage your time when creating more difficult and advance menus.

Was this post helpful? What kind of menu designs do you want to see? I would love to here from you! Let me know what more do you want me to post? Or a specific recipe you might want! Till next time!

p.s Can we create a movement for making dessert-only parties a thing? I mean! plz? That menu planning would be EXCELLENT!

The post Mastering Menu planning for Guests! appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

Of course I had to Iftar recipes round up for you guys! So, Ramadan is right around the corner and I am sure you all are busy prepping for it already.

Prepping for Ramadan spiritually, practically and food wise as well. All around the world the customs and food for Ramadan are always different and I love trying new things. For us brown folks, samosa, pakoras, fruit chat and dahi bareys are like a must! And living in Saudi Arabia for a while, I know people here eat a dish called Shorba in their iftar as well. So I thought instead of compiling together recipes, that I know you guys will already be making, why not give you different new options to try that you can add to your Iftar table. All these recipes can be prepared in advance (which is why I chose them honestly) and I’ve even added a few healthy recipes to make a complete food spread.

1.Chili Parm Chicken Nuggets.

Ya, like I was going to skip fried food for Iftar! These chicken parmesan nuggets are perfect for Iftar. Mostly, because you can prepare them days in advance and freeze them ahead for using in Ramadan. Plus, they are super kid friendly! Spice up your regular nuggets with some chili and parm and wow your Rozedars. Click here to get the recipe.

2. Sweet and Sour Veggie Sticks

The best kind of iftar table is one which is balanced. If you are someone who likes to have samosa, pakoras on your menu ( a…I am looking at all brown folks here), you’ll know you need some healthy food on the table to reduce that guilt factor. These veggie skewers are purrrrrfect for just that. Easy to assemble, delicious to eat and nutritious to label, these sweet and sour sticks are going to add a pop of color and health to your table. Click here to read the recipe.

3. Sweet Mayo Vegetable Sandwiches

Hi, I am a brown person. My family needs 10 to 12 different items in iftari. ugh. Like cooking in Ramadan is our only task. When you have a menu to prepare which is fit for a king, look for easy filling options that will make your iftar spread look vast and beautiful in half the amount of time. These beautiful and easy cold cut sandwiches are prepared within 20 mins, can be made in advance and also, easy on the wallet. You just need some mayo, seasonings, capsicum and cabbage and viola! You have a dish ready. Get the full recipe here

4. Tangy Lentil Oats Bowl

Ok I might not serve this in an Iftar party, but I sure am serving this for my family on a daily basis! This red lentils and oats bowl is like the healthiest thing you can gulp down while your breaking your fast. It fills you up with some healthy proteins and complex carbs plus is super delicious. If you like red lentils, you will love this one. Get to the full recipe here.

5. Chicken Tikka Open Sandwiches

Don’t do 2 sandwiches together in 1 iftar party ok? But just for inspiration, here is another Sandwich recipe you can try on some other day. You can prepare them early on in the day, and refrigerate. No last minute hassle into getting these made, which is honestly all I need in Ramadan. Click here for the easy peasy recipe.

6. Chicken and Oats Kebabs

Hey, you gotta eat the right kinds of food too ok? I know you are going to make your samosa, spring rolls and dahi bareys. Cz, guess what? I am too! LOL! But you gotta pair it with some healthy side kicks so we don’t all go into a food coma right after and are found lying some where in the house. (this may or may not haver happened to me…). If lentil oats are not your thing, that’s alright. You can try these chicken and oats kebabs. They look and taste very similar to chapli kebabs. You can serve them as it is, or use these to make burgers or sandwiches! Get the recipe here. 

What do you guys like to add to your Iftar tables? Do you have any traditional iftar recipes? I’d love to hear from you! Let me know below!

The post Iftar Recipes 2019 appeared first on Butter Over Bae.