Palak par bitha kar

On a cold sunny afternoon,Vandana had made Palak Paranthas for me. It was a Saturday; we had gotten together for our reading session. That followed by a long soul-chat & then lunch on the terrace. What an absolutely blissful day! That was the first time I had palak paranthas. While aloo, gobi, mooli, sattu & methi were regulars at home, spinach parantha was something I'd never eaten. And the effortlessness with she made them made it look like an achievable feat. 

She made them for me in my house too so that I pick the tricks. They came out crisp & yum. And with creamy yogurt, it was a treat. It helped me forget Yogacharya Kapil Ji's advice, 'kachcha palak khana hai.' 'Guruji palak toh hamesha paneer ke saath hi khate hain! Kachcha?' He had looked at me pityingly and said, 'roti chawal bilkul bandh.' That was over  three years ago. Every morsel I ate after that, Kapil Ji's voice rang in my head. Roti chawal bilkul bandh! 
                                                                                                  Vandu's parantha was a one off indulgence. And anyway, the yogacharya could not see me from Haridwar! And I was eating palak, wasn't I ! Greens! That is what was inportant!   
                                                                                            
Here's the recipe, guys. Enjoy!
                                                                                                        Ingredients:
1. 2 cups wheatflour[makes 10-12]
2. 1 cup chopped spinach
3. 1tsp cumin powder
4. 1tsp coriander powder
5. 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
6. 1 tsp red chilli powder(or chopped green chillies)
7. 2 tbsp oil(in the dough)
8. Salt to taste
9. Water to knead dough
10. Refined oil/ghee- to shallow fry parantha
                                                                                                                                            Method:
1. Mix ingredients 1-8 well. Knead for 10 mins so that they mix well.


2. Add water & make into dough(see pic)


3. Make into equal sized balls, flatten them & roll them into paranthas.


4. Shallow fry both sides on medium flame till golden brown.














Serve hot with yogurt & butter.




The next time I visited the Ashram, Kapil Ji looked through me  'Guruji! Aapne mujhe pehchana nahin! I accused. Arey Anindita ji, aap?! Main toh pehchan hi nahi paya.'
I had managed to knock off 17kgs :)