|
A paratha (or
parantha) is a flatbread that originated in the Indian
subcontinent. It is usually made with whole-wheat flour, pan
fried in ghee or cooking oil, and often stuffed with
vegetables, especially boiled potatoes, radish or
cauliflower and/or paneer (Indian cheese). A paratha
(especially a stuffed one) can be eaten simply with a blob
of butter spread on top but it is best served with pickles
and yoghurt, or thick spicy curries of meat and vegetables.
Some people prefer to roll up the paratha into a "pipe" and
eat it with tea, often dipping the paratha into the tea.
The paratha can either be round, square or triangular. In
the former, the stuffing is simply mixed with the kneaded
flour and the paratha is prepared like the roti, but in the
latter two, the peda (ball of kneaded flour) is flattened
into a flattened shape, the stuffing is kept in the middle
and the flatbread is now closed around the stuffing like an
envelope. The two variants differ in the fact that while the
former is like a thick (in terms of width) version of the
roti with filling inside; the latter two, have discernible
soft layers if one "opens" the crispier shell layers.
The paratha has a social connotation too. The significantly
higher expenditure and effort in preparing the paratha when
compared with the daily roti means that the paratha is
usually prepared as a special item, or for important guests.
The paratha was conceived in ancient North India especially
in the region of Punjab. Regardless of its origins, it soon
became popular all over India and is now available
everywhere in South Asia. Even the South Indian states have
their own versions of the ubiquitous paratha, the most
popular being "Kerala paratha," also called Kerala porotta.
Indian immigrants took this dish to Malaysia, Mauritius
(where it is known as farata) and Singapore, resulting in
variations such as roti canai and roti prata. In Myanmar
(Burma), where it is known as palata, it is eaten with
curries or cooked with either egg or mutton, or as a dessert
with white sugar. Htat ta ya, literally 'a hundred layers',
is a fried flaky multilayered paratha with either sugar or
boiled peas (pè byouk). Paratha in Trinidad and Tobago
differs from the South Asian paratha in that it is generally
thinner and larger. In Trinidad and Tobago it is commonly
called "buss up shut" ("burst-up shirt"), especially by
non-Indo-Trinidadians.
|
|
Other pieces of information
The best variety of parathas is served within the state of
Punjab, the home of parathas. It is bathed in delicious
homemade butter and eaten by dipping pieces of the paratha
in homemade yogurt. Parathas go best with lassi, a
buttermilk drink also originating in Punjab.
During Ramadan, Muslims from the Indian subcontinent (India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh), often eat parathas for breakfast. It
is thought that the butter and flour mixture are not only a
good souce of calories but also stave off hunger pangs and
help sustain a person throughout the long day.
Parathas are commonly eaten with yoghurt or with vegetables.
They too are often consumed with meat dishes, especially
chicken, but don't particularly sit well with high oil
content foods such as curries. Thus it's good advice to
remove oil from such foods and eat parathas with the edible
pieces from curries, susus and dishes
|
