Easy Veg Kothu Parotta

Easy Veg Kothu Parotta by DK on Nov 15, 2017

Weekday meals can become a chore, especially when there are no plans in place. But, I find that even with proper planning, life happens and plans go haywire! That's when leftovers, store bought freezer essentials and minimal elbow grease works wonders for your energy and time. It is my belief that even with store bought hacks, your home cooked meal is still healthier and cheaper than the restaurant fare ( provided what you have in your pantry is healthy that is!) Kothu parotta is a South Indian delicacy meaning "minced parotta" . Parotta is a flaky flatbread that is rich in itself and thereby extremely filling. Parotta is particularly famous as a roadside "street" food back home since its cheaper and very filling hence a best option for everyday manual labourers. But for those not into too much physical activity, parottas are better left as an occasional treat for treat it sure is.

The taste is sublime and very addictive. If you want to develop self control, try with this dish in front of you. The aroma will force you to take a spoon. Give in and THEN try the self control. Yes I can be mean that way :) Leftover Parotta work best with this. But is there something like leftover parottas, I wonder? I found a brand at my local Indian groceries whose ingredients did not spill all over the page. I stocked that in my freezer for a rainy day and that which comes handy for this post.

Even if you don't have any ingredients that this recipe mentions, you can use the general idea and jazz up - tortillas, rotis why even Naan this way. No Kurma? Just use a organic mixed vegetable brand and use it after cooking down onion and tomato mixture ( until you get a sauce) until you get a thick gravy and add the parotta to it. While you might not that get that roadside taste, you will have served a warm and delicious meal that would have needed about 15-20min of your time. Lets see how to make this now shall we?

Cook time: Under 15 min
Prep time: Under 15 min
Serves: Enough for 2-3 people

Ingredients

2 large (or 4 small) leftover/stale Parotta or Roti Canai or store bought frozen parotta- see Tips
About 1/2 cup leftover Vegetable Kurma or as needed - see Tips
1 large Onion, chopped fine
1 med-large Tomato chopped fine
1-2 green chillies, or as per taste
1/2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
A little salt - see Tips
Curry leaves, to taste
Cilantro leaves to garnish

Protein Additions

Paneer, Egg, Seitan, crumbled tofu etc

Tips

1. Parotta: No Parotta? Use stale tortillas, rotis, Naan, lavash etc. Do not use fresh since it would make this mushy.

2. Vegetable Kurma: No Kurma? My recipe for Vegetable Kuruma takes less than 15-20 minutes to put together. But if that's not an option, a simple curry sauce of onions and tomatoes can be made along with spices like Garam Masala, Fennel, Cumin-Coriander powder, Ginger-Garlic paste and some chillies. JUst heat the onions and tomatoes until mush, season it and blend it. Or more simply, instead of blending, add the chopped parathas to this directly. Its fuss free that way unless you are really going the purist way (if such a thing exists that is!)

3. Salt: Since the parotta and Kurma already has salt, you need very little salt (if at all), so use caution before using salt.

Method

1. Fresh parotta doesnt work as well as stale/day old ones. The latter is drier and works great to absorb the juices of the assorted veggies/sauce. You can tear them into bite sized chunks , use kitchen shears to cut them or use plain old knife like me. I just arrange the parathas one on top of the other and cut them vertically.

2. Then without changing the arrangement, chop them horizontally.

3. The parotta pieces are all ready. Set aside.

4. Heat a shallow pan. I use my cast iron pan and when hot add some oil. If you don't want additional oil, just add the onions right away with little salt. The salt helps to bring out moisture and that helps in the onion cooking. If cooking in high heat like me, then adding few teaspoon of water also helps in breaking down the onions without making it too soggy. Add the curry leaves next,

5. followed by tomatoes. You can add other spices of your choice at this point if you like. Since I am going to be using my leftover Kurma which is already spiced, I skip additional seasoning.

6. But if you feel that you want to add more, go ahead :)

7. Give it a good mix and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes for the flavors to combine.

8. Add the parotta pieces

9. and cook another 1-2 minutes for it to absorb the sauce. A quick beating with your spatula (in short: making a mincemeat) of your parotta helps it to break down and absorb as much of the flavors as possible. Switch off the heat and wait for about 20-30 seconds. Squeeze some lemon juice and garnish with mint/cilantro and serve hot.

Serve it immediately and hot because it is at its optimum best. Leftovers don't make for a great kothu parotta. Since it is very easy to put together, just make a small batch if not sure about consumption. Best accompaniment is onion raita.