Pumpkin Paratha Recipe

 This delightful recipe is brought to you by the Ministry of Curry!

I love fall season, the crisp air, cooler nights, the new harvest of pumpkins and apples, leaves changing color and the pretty mums!

For my cooking, I usually buy the already cut or small pumpkins. I peel the skin off, make smaller pieces and then pressure cook to make my own homemade pumpkin puree that I use for breads, pies and pancakes.

My mom makes pumpkin puri (small fried pumpkin flatbreads) that are lightly sweetened with jaggery (or brown sugar). These puri stay good for 2-3 days at room temperature and I remember my mom packing them on our vacations. We would love snacking on them.

Now that schools are back in full swing, I am trying to make healthier after-school snacks. My boys will mostly eat fruits but I think these days they are looking for something more hearty. So I decided to make my mom’s pumpkin puri with a healthy twist – lightly sweetened pumpkin flatbreads made with jaggery, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, saffron and sea salt.

Ingredients

1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)

2- 2/12 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup grated jaggery (or brown sugar)

¼ tsp saffron

1 tsp cinnamon powder

½ tsp cardamom powder

¼ tsp nutmeg powder

1 tsp sea salt

½ cup of whole wheat flour for rolling parathas

1 tbsp cooking oil

2 tbsp ghee

Instructions

1. Mix pumpkin puree, grated jaggery/brown sugar, saffron, cinnamon powder, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and salt. Make soft pliable dough by adding whole wheat flour. Add oil to the dough and knead it for few more minutes. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 20 mins.

2. Divide the dough into 8 balls. Roll each ball using some wheat flour into a 6-8 inch thin circle. Apply ghee to the rolled bread and then fold up to form layers and then fold it circular to form a disk. Parathas can also be made without layering by simply rolling the balls into 6-8 inch round parathas.

3. Now roll these discs (or the dough balls without layering) once again using dry flour to 6-8 inches diameter circle. Put the rolled paratha on a hot griddle and cook on both sides on high medium heat. Apply ghee on both sides.

4. Dust some powdered sugar over the paratha and serve hot or at room temperature with a glass of chilled milk or hot chai.