Lachha Paratha – Love and ghee in every layer

We made Lachha Parathas at home the other day. They turned out to be smoky, crispy and slightly flaky, just like they should be – only a bit less oily and slightly thicker.

Making the multi layered Lachha Paratha at home was another feat. Much like making Acharuli, the boat-shaped Georgian cheese bread at home. Or perfecting the Awadhi style Kolkata Mutton Biryani. The first time we made the Lachha Parathas at home, they turned out to be smoky, crispy and slightly flaky, just like they should be – only a bit less oily and slightly thicker. No matter how much ghee we poured (or love, for that matter) onto the Lachhas, the layers seem to gulp up all the ghee.

We complimented the Lachha Parathas with a pistachio encrusted Mughlai preparation of beef (above), the aroma of which reminded us immediately of Galawati Kababs. Naturally, there had to be a next time for the Lachhas… this time with Galawatis (below)!

Paratha – the popular flatbread from the subcontinent, can be compared to fine jewellery. Like jewellery, there are different types of parathas originating in different regions and they come in different shapes, textures, forms and intricacies in design. The basic technique of paratha making remains the same…  unleavened flatbreads made by cooking flour dough on a tawa or the cast-iron griddle, or baking inside a tandoor and mostly followed by shallow frying. The nitty-gritties of making each type, make the parathas distinctively different from each other.

I love parathas of all kinds. Apart from stuffed parathas, I also love plain parathas – specially when they are fresh out of the tawa, with a dollop of ghee or butter. There are some parathas which are absolute indulgences, namely the Lachha paratha, Mughlai paratha, Dhakai paratha and the soft fluffy ones that go into the making of Kolkata Kati Rolls.

Nothing beats these pleated multi-layered Lachha Parathas though, where the drama unfolds as you rip the flaky ghee-laden concentric layers and dip into your desired curry or a simple hot garlic pickle!

Unblogging it all… Ishita

Bread recipes that you might enjoy:
Homemade Bread with Sprinkled Sesame
Cinnamon Rolls

Laccha Paratha

• Time: 45mins
• Difficulty: medium
• Print

Category=Flatbread; Cuisine=Punjabi, Indian

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour (you can also use 1 cup whole wheat flour and 2 cups all purpose flour)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
3 tbsp milk
½ cup ghee or white oil

Method

• In a bowl, combine well-sifted flour and salt. Dissolve the sugar in warm water and add into the flour. Stir and mix well. Add 2 tbsp of ghee. Start kneading the dough by adding a bit of water and 1 tbsp of ghee. Knead until the dough is soft.
• Take palmfuls of dough to roll into smooth balls, with slightly greased hands.. With a rolling pin, roll out each ball into a rectangular shape, spreading it as thinly as you can. Brush the surface of the flattened out dough generously with ghee.
• Make thin strips onto the flattened out dough with a knife. (You can also make pleats)
• Gather the strips longitudinally and holding onto one end with your palm, make a spiral like a Swiss roll. Gently flatten the spiral roll into a paratha by pressing onto the with your fingers. Apply some more ghee continuously.
• Heat a tawa or a pan, pour ghee and shallow fry the Paratha on both sides until it turns crispy and golden brown. Serve hot.

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