Leftover Dal Paratha

I love sharing little bits and pieces about my life and how the recipe I share with you is inspired by that little story of my life. I just find its a human way to connect with the food that I eat and also with my readers who MAYBE, just maybe, share the same essence of the story as mine and are able to relate to it.

So today when I sat in front of my computer to share a recipe that makes frequent appearances in my kitchen, I came across a recent comment from a reader to one of my previous posts. The person shared how boring it is for someone to “endure” through the personal stories that we share in the food blogging community now, to get to the story is boring even to our friends let alone strangers. Here’s his OR her full comment on my post for Khatti Dal “The personal story that we have to endure to get to the recipe is so damn boring. Alright ! You liked eating it as a child. Or your grandma had a tree. It’s such a terrible introduction that I wish was extinct from food blogging. Not even your friends might want to hear what trees your grandmother had. Let along strangers on the internet.”

I read that comment and burst into laughter! First of all you have to applaud the honesty of this “anonymous” person who funny enough is always anonymous. And second of all he OR she was SO bored by my story but still cared to take 5 minutes of his OR her precious time to write a comment on my blog. So today in your honor, Sir OR Madam, I will not put you through a boring story of a beloved memory from my childhood but thank you for caring to comment and encourage you to next time just skip through the prelude of the post and go straight to the recipe section. That will make both you, I and all my other readers happy.

With that, I come to my recipe for Leftover Dal Paratha recipe. If like me you are by default left with leftover dal the next day this recipe is a good option for you. Because as I said on instagram the other day sometimes leftovers are just that- leftovers! Sad, lonely, remainders. But then sometimes they turn into something much brighter, tastier and grander than what they originally were, like these Tikona Dal Parathas made out of the batches of different kinds of leftover dal (lentil soups) that I had collected over the week. Leftover dal when mixed with a few spices and herbs make for amazingly soft and decadent paratha. Try this recipe next time you have leftover dal and want to do more than just heating them up. There’s a step by step photo post for you to easily follow.

Ingredients:

2 cups leftover dal (You can easily adjust the quantity of the following ingredients based on the amount of leftover dal you have.)

2 1/2 cups atta (whole wheat flour)

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 cup cilantro (chopped)

1/2 mint leaves (chopped)

Ghee or oil for cooking the paratha

Method:

Its ok to use more than one variety of leftover Dal for this recipe. Bring leftover dal to a room temperature if pulling out of the refrigerator.

Transfer leftover Dal to a big bowl with whole wheat flour (atta)

Add rest of the ingredients together in the same bowl and mix it all well together.

Use a little water if required and knead the ingredients well together into a smooth dough. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes. Knead again for a couple minutes to smooth the dough out.

Divide the dough into 12 equal parts. Roll the them into balls. One ball at a time roll into a paratha.

In order to roll the paratha first flatten the dough ball into a circle. Smear 3-4 drops of ghee or oil on the circle. Then lift one one side and drop over the adjacent side making a semi circle. Smear a couple drops of ghee on the exposed surface and fold into a triangle.

Now dust and roll the paratha into a triangle.

Heat a tva or a skillet and transfer the rolled paratha into the tava. Cook for a minute each side until and then brush ghee or oil on each side and cook until you see brown patches on each side. By now the layers should begin to separate.

Serve hot with a side of raita, pickle or enjoy just as is!