He He … ABC Paratha, isn’t that a fun name? Its an interesting story how this particular paratha was conceived in my kitchen. So you see, of late I have been juicing regularly using a variety of vegetables and fruits. I would always feel upset about throwing away all the pulp since there is so much fiber (and also nutrients) left in the pulp after you juice. At least my Breville juicer does not really compact my veggies and fruits and so I know there is still a lot of good stuff left in that pulp. What I would do is freeze the pulp and then put it in smoothies and soups.
Then one fine day while I was making methi parathas for my kiddos, a light bulb went on and I said to myself – Hey, next time I an use some of that juice pulp! And so as it happened , the next time I used Apples, beets, cucumber and celery for making my juice. I faithfully gathered the pulp and saved it for making parathas the following day. The next day as the kids came home from school, there were these warm, pink parathas ready for them. They both devoured the parathas. They loved it! I did not tell them what was in them nor did they bother to ask! So after that day I kept making such parathas frequently and this combination with the apple, beets and the cucumber was the one they loved the best. One day I had added grapefruit too and that gave a bitter taste which they complained about. So Ok no grapefruit business. let’s stick to the ABC and let’s call it the ABC paratha.
So now this paratha has become a regular in our house along with the methi thepla. Over the past few weeks I experimented further with these parathas adding ragi flour (finger millet flour) and flaxseed meal to replace part of the whole wheat flour. The kids continued to love it. Isn’t that the best thing? When you make them such healthy, wholesome food and they enjoy it?
Btw, I make this paratha now by using freshly grated apples, beets and cucumber even on the days I am not juicing:) And I serve these parathas with my homemade apple and date chutney, which is also a cinch to make and my daughter and my favorite chutney since it is sweet, tangy and spicy. My daughter loves the combination – of this paratha with the apple chutney. I think they perfectly complement each other.
- ½ cup grated apple (about ½ of a medium peeled apple)
- ¼ cup grated red beets(after peeling the skin)
- ¼ cup grated cucumber (skin peeled)
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp red chilli powder(cayenne pepper)
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp ajwain seeds (carom seeds)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ cups whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup Ragi flour (finger millet flour)
- 1 tbsp flax seed meal
- about ¾ cup water to knead the dough
- extra ghee or olive oil for cooking paranthas
- In a large mixing bowl, add the grated beets, apple and cucumber. then add the salt and all the spices and the oil.
- Next add the whole wheat flour, the rage flour and the flexed meal and the oil and start mixing together. Add water slowly until you get a smooth dough. (Add additional bit of flour or water as needed)
- Divide the dough into small golf ball size balls - about 20 balls.
- Heat a frying pan on medium heat.
- Take each dough ball and roll using chapati rolling pin into a round chapati shape (about 5-6 inches diameter) - use flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking to the rolling surface.
- Place the chapati onto the heated pan and cook for 1 minute. Flip and apply oil or ghee to the chapati and let cook for about 30 seconds and then again flip to the other side. Apply oil/ghee to this side too and again flip to let cook for another 30-40 seconds or until both sides are cooked and have brown spots on top. Transfer to a container to keep warm. Continue making the rest of the parathas the same way.
For the recipe of Apple and Date Chutney, Click here
Btw Happy Holi to all those who celebrate! I started writing this post and realized it was Holi. In maharashtra we make stuffed lentil parathas called Puran Poli for Holi. These Pink parathas I made I thought could also be very apt for Holi don’t you think so? 🙂
Linking today’s recipe to Plant Based Potluck Party and to Saucy Saturday this week.
I am curious how did the celery pulp tasted in the paratha? I started juicing and first thought came to mind after seeing the pulp was – paratha… But was curious how different veggies would taste, so thought to see if someone else has experiment this already, and landed here!
Celery pulp tastes ok in parathas but mix it with other veggies so the taste is not overwhelming.
I could imagine the taste as my wife also tries to make such stuff.
Shiva! Nice to see you! Yes I think we all moms love to experiment to make the kids eat good healthy stuff! Your family is lucky?