Cabbage Paratha: Wholesome Pan-Fried Flatbread

Here’s a way to sneak in some cabbage goodness into your meals, without cooking up a full-blown cabbage curry: make patta gobhi paratha / cabbage paratha. With a generous spiking of cabbage (patta gobhi in Hindi) and spices, this wholesome pan-fried flatbread is a satisfying meal on its own. With chutney or pickle on the side, cabbage paratha is just the thing for a weekend brunch or a lunchbox treat.

You Need:

• Atta (whole wheat flour) – 1 cup
• Besan (gram flour) – 1 tablespoon
• Salt – to taste
• Cabbage – 100 grams (or 1 packed cup when shredded)
• Green chili – 1 or 2
• Red chili powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Roasted cumin powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt – to taste
• Carom seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
• Milk – 1 tablespoon (or as much as needed to knead the dough)
• Ghee – 1 teaspoon (for kneading) + 1/2 teaspoon per paratha for cooking

How To Make Cabbage Paratha:

1. Do the dough

In a large bowl, tip in the atta (whole wheat flour). Add to it salt, roasted cumin powder, red chili powder, carom seeds and besan (gram flour).

Using your fingers, mix the flour and spices very well with dry hands.

Grate the cabbage finely, or shred it.

Chop green chilies into tiny bits.

To the flour mixed with spices, add ghee, shredded cabbage and chopped green chilies. Rub in with the fingers again to form a homogenous mixture. Don’t add any water or milk at this stage, since the cabbage moistens the dough and you need very little extra for kneading.

Now add milk – a little at a time – and keep kneading the atta till it forms a stiff ball.

Let the dough rest covered for 15 minutes.

When kneading, remember to add milk in small sprinkles, and to add no further after the dough forms a hard ball. Since cabbage releases water, extra moisture will make the dough sticky after resting.

2. Roll and toast

Make balls of dough about in 2-inch diameter (larger than the size you’d use for making a chapati – we will be rolling cabbage paratha thicker).

Flatten a ball of dough between your palms, dip it into the dry flour briefly and roll it into a disk of about 5-inch diameter. Don’t roll too thin!

Heat a tava or wide, flat, thick-bottomed pan. Place the rolled out paratha on it. Cook on medium heat, till the side facing the heat begins to show brown spots (about 2 mins).

Flip it over.

Shift the position of the paratha in the pan a couple of times (a 30-degree twist will do) – this helps in even cooking.

Spread a bit of ghee on the surface facing up, while the surface facing down gets toasted (another 2mins). Flip it over again, and spread ghee on the second side that’s now facing up.

When both sides are done to your liking, take the paratha off the heat.

Continue the process of rolling and toasting for each cabbage paratha.

Serve cabbage parathas hot off the tava with a sweet and spicy accompaniment (such as mango chutney or peanut flaxseed chutney) on the side, and a dollop of butter.

Notes:

1. I usually make some extra parathas, wrap them in foil and stash them in the fridge for the next day’s lunchbox or another meal.
2. Want to try other types of parathas? Check out the paratha archives on The Steaming Pot.