Family Food: Bringing Loved Ones Together | Neyra Foods
125 ml Milk (you can replace this with water if you like)
2-3 tsp Sugar
1 Egg – 1
1 tsp Salt
Cooking Oil – to grease, shape and cook with
Water – as needed
1. Crack the egg into a measuring cup or teacup and beat lightly with the sugar. Add the milk and then enough water to just about fill the cup to the brim
2. Add the flour and salt to a bowl, mix well so the salt is evenly incorporated. Make a well in the middle and pour in the egg mixture. Stir well enough so you have a sticky, shaggy dough. Cover and keep aside for 15 minutes.
3. Start kneading the dough adding not more than a tablespoon of flour at a time if you find the dough to be far too sticky. At this point, you are aiming for a very soft dough that is slightly sticky when you press into it with your hands. Keep aside to rest for another 10 minutes.
4. After the 10 minutes, start kneading your dough again. Rub your hands with oil and drizzle a tablespoon or so around the edges of the dough ball to make it less sticky and easier to knead. Knead for about 5-10 minutes till its soft and smooth. Divide into 4 parts, roll each part into a ball, brush or rub oil generously over the dough balls, cover with a clean tea towel and leave aside to rest for 35 minutes.
5. This time when you return to the dough you should find that it has slackened greatly. Grease your work surface with oil, place the dough ball on it and press with your fingers to flatten. Start rolling with a rolling pin to make a thin rectangle without tearing the dough. (Do not use any flour for rolling).
6. Now slip your hands under one edge of the dough sheet and gently pull it so that it stretches and becomes thinner. Stretch the dough from all directions till you have a squarish sheet that is at least 15 inch in width. The dough should stretch rather easily. A few small tears are fine. (if you find that you make a mess of your initial attempt, don’t worry, roll the dough into a ball and leave aside to relax for 5-10 minutes to relax before starting again.)
7. Drizzle oil all over the stretched out sheet and spread it with your hands or a basting brush. Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of flour evenly over the sheet. Now gently lift one of the edges of the rolled sheet with both your hands and start folding it into a fan or a piano fold. Keep doing this till the entire sheet is folded into a long folded strip. Do not worry if your folding is not perfectly even. Starting from one end, pick up the folded strip and coil the strip around itself into a spiral. Try and ensure that the folds in the strip face the top. Tuck the loose end under the coil, brush generously with oil once more and set aside for 5 minutes. Repeat with the other 3 dough balls.
8. Heat your griddle or tawa and meanwhile start rolling out the coils into a parotta that is about 9 inches in diameter.
9. Half-cook the parottas on the hot griddle, turning once and then shallow fry by pouring and spreading a tablespoon of oil on each side. The parottas should be flecked with golden spots and crisp on the outside when done. Set aside on a towel and cook the other 3 parottas, stacking them as they are done.
10. Crumple the stack of parottas with both your hands so that the layers separate, the flakiness is enhanced and you get the lovely uneven layers that are the beauty of a parotta.
11. Enjoy the hot, crisp,cosider as a family food