Flaky Breads Stuffed with Spinach and Cheese
- 3 cups roti flour (see Notes)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- About 1 cup warm water
- 8 ounces fresh spinach leaves, well rinsed, patted dry, and finely chopped; or 1 box (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry (see Notes)
- 4 ounces Doodh Paneer, crumbled
- 1 tablespoon mango powder, or the grated zest of 1 lime or lemon
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt
- 3 or 4 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, to taste, stems removed, finely chopped (do not remove the seeds)
- Ghee or melted butter for brushing
- Roti flour for dusting
- To make the dough, stir the roti flour and salt together in a medium-size bowl.
- Drizzle the oil over the flour mixture, rubbing the flour through your hands to evenly distribute the oil.
- Drizzle a few tablespoons of the warm water over the flour mixture, stirring it in as you do so.
- Continue drizzling warm water until the flour comes together to form a soft ball; you will need about 1 cup warm water altogether.
- Using your hand (as long as its clean, I think its the best tool), gather the ball, picking up any dry flour in the bottom of the bowl, and knead it to form a smooth, soft ball of dough (do this in the bowl or on a lightly floured surface).
- If its a little too wet, dust it with a little flour, kneading it in after every dusting, until you get the right soft, dry consistency.
- (If you used your hand to make the dough from the start, it will be caked with clumps of dough.
- Scrape them back into the bowl.
- Wash and dry your hands thoroughly, and return to the dough to knead it.
- You will get a much better feel for the doughs consistency with a dry hand.)
- Wrap the dough with plastic wrap or cover it with a slightly dampened cloth, and let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, make the filling: Combine the spinach, paneer, mango powder, salt, and chiles in a medium-size bowl.
- Stir well.
- When the dough has rested, roll it with your hands to form an 18-inch-long log (lightly flour the work surface if necessary).
- Cut it crosswise into 6 pieces, and shape each piece into a ball.
- Press each ball flat to form a patty.
- Cover the patties with plastic wrap.
- Place the ghee near the stove, with a pastry brush handy.
- Tear off a large sheet of aluminum foil and set it aside.
- Tear off 7 sheets of wax paper, each about 8 inches wide.
- Lightly flour a small work area near the stove and place a dough patty on it (keep the others under cover).
- Roll it out to form a round roughly 5 to 6 inches in diameter, dusting it with flour as needed.
- Make sure the round is evenly thin, with no tears on the surface.
- Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the spinach filling onto the center.
- Gather the edges of the dough, bring them together over the center, and pinch them together to seal the dough, forming a pouch shape.
- Flip the pouch over, pinched side down, and gently press it to flatten it.
- Reroll the dough, dusting it with flour as needed, to form a round roughly 5 to 6 inches in diameter.
- Lift the green-speckled round, plop it onto a sheet of wax paper, and cover it with a second sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining dough, stacking the patties between sheets of wax paper as they are rolled.
- Heat a medium-size skillet (preferably nonstick or cast iron) over medium heat.
- Transfer a patty to the hot skillet.
- Cook until the surface has some bumps and bubbles, and the underside has brown spots and looks cooked, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Immediately flip it over and cook until the other side has some brown spots, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Brush the surface with ghee and flip it over to sear it, about 30 seconds.
- Brush the top with ghee and flip it over to sear it, about 30 seconds.
- Transfer the parantha to the piece of foil, and fold the foil over it to keep it warm.
- Continue cooking the remaining filled dough, stacking the finished paranthas under the foil as they are cooked.
- Then serve.
roti flour, canola oil, water, fresh spinach leaves, paneer, mango powder, coarse kosher, green thai, butter, flour
Taken from www.cookstr.com/recipes/flaky-breads-stuffed-with-spinach-and-cheese (may not work)