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Recipe: A Roll To Relish – Radish Paratha

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Let’s face it: most children dislike radish. I did too, and it was only when I was studying Macrobiotics about a decade ago that I really began to appreciate the vegetable that was known to those of us in the course as daikon. After that, I began to look at the humble Indian mooli – which we get here in pink and white, and which are used in salads, curries and sambars – differently. There’s one particular usage of it that is my absolute favourite, and that is the mooli paratha or radish paratha.

Parathas are an excellent way of getting kids to eat ingredients they may not be fond of, which is probably how this particular one came into being. The stuffings also vary across regions – in Bengal, for instance, I believe that fish is commonly used. I once had some that was stuffed only with fresh cream, which was fascinating to me. They can be made quite healthy, as well as flavourful. They don’t need an accompaniment, but a pickle may sometimes complement them.

Radish paratha is popular in North India as a Punjabi street food, and along with peas paratha is one of my two favourite versions of stuffed Indian flatbreads. To me, it is synonymous with some of the best food that Delhi – a city that I’m rarely in, but in which I have had many cherished moments and meals with loved ones – has to offer.

The radish paratha came into my life at a time when my dear friends Sujatha and Michael lived there. They would take me to a famous parathawalla near a railway station, a roadside vendor whose enterprise had grown quite large. There was always a crowd and a queue there. To me, it looked like there were hundreds of options on the menu. We would each order what we liked, and sit in the car and consume our stuffed parathas while they were hot. They all came with pickled onions, and were served rolled in a newspaper page with some kind of leaf inside it to mop up the oil. They were just such a joy to eat. Those experiences of sharing food and laughter in a parked vehicle became great memories, too.

I tried some different options out on occasion, but always came back to the radish paratha. It was absolutely delicious, and filling enough to count as a meal. That’s the thing about street food in India. The fancy restaurants have their charms, but there’s something about the food prepared by roadside hawkers and railway vendors that just hits the spot every time.

In the years since, I began recreating the radish paratha at home, and it has become fairly frequent at our dinner table. I have found that while radish is pungent on its own, it is also absorbent, which means that adding a good masala to it makes it very appealing. Try it out and see for yourself!

Radish Paratha

(Yield: 5 pieces)

150 grams radish (3 medium-sized)
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon green chili+ginger paste
½ teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon aamchur powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
¼ teaspoon ajwain
3 tablespoons coriander leaves (finely chopped)
1½ cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon oil + oil for sautéing paratha

Clean and grate the radishes. Add ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix well and squeeze out the water really well. Set the radish water aside.

To the grated radish, add the cumin powder, pinch salt, coriander leaves, aamchur powder, ajwain, chili+ginger paste and garam masala. Mix with your fingertips.

In a bowl, add the flour and the squeezed-out water from the radish so there is zero waste.  Make a tight and smooth dough of the flour with the help of a little oil.

Now, it is time to roll out the parathas. Divide the dough into 10 small balls and set aside. Dust and roll a ball. Set aside and roll another.

Now, fill one flattened disc with 1 tablespoon of the radish filling and cover with another rolled out disc. Make sure you pinch the edges well. Using a rolling pin, roll gently over the paratha. Roll out 5 such filled parathas.

Heat a griddle and place one of the parathas on it. Allow to cook until a few spots are formed. Flip the paratha. Once it turns golden brown on both sides, apply a few drops of oil onto both sides and allow to cook until darkened. Transfer it onto a lined plate. Repeat with the remaining parathas.

Serve hot, with or without accompaniments. Yoghurt and pickle go well, but as I said the radish paratha is itself quite flavourful. It is also rather filling, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you also begin serving it for dinner, as I do.

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Recipes

Recipe: Deep Healing – Daikon Tea

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If you ask me what I think of as the star among all vegetables, you may be surprised to learn that in my opinion it is the underestimated radish. Specifically, I mean the long-rooted winter radish known as “daikon”, from the Japanese words for “big root”. In India, you may know it as “mulli”, the main ingredient of mulli-mulli paratha in the North; its leaves are eaten in the South as “mullangi-keerai”. My appreciation for daikon was inculcated when I was a student of Macrobiotics at the Kushi Institute a few years ago. The Macrobiotic principle of yin & yang is based on the belief that food has healing properties, and that with the right food we can actually improve our health and immune system in many ways. It is an old Indian Ayurvedic principle too, and the two differ only slightly.

Macrobiotics is a culinary science with a foundational principle of the incorporation of local and seasonal logic to our cooking and eating methods. Logic, not just ingredients. It is a holistic system that considers the effect of food on mind, body and spirit. While Macrobiotics began in Japan, daikon is locally-grown and widely-available in India, and so the daikon tea recipe that I am sharing today fits the principle well.

This daikon tea is known for being effective against deep-rooted cancer and pain. In general, it also has a cooling effect, and is anti-inflammatory. Daikon itself is highly nutritious, and contains phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C and potassium. It is beneficial for kidney function, respiratory health and immunity. Its high folate content makes it good for pregnant women, while its low carb content makes it good for diabetics. Daikon can be eaten raw, so you can have it sliced or grated too. In a future post, I’ll discuss Macrobiotic pickling (which is often probiotic), which is something this ingredient is good for as well. In tea form, it helps remove the oil from any heavy food consumed, and lowers cholesterol and cleans the intestines.

As it is quite powerful, daikon tea is recommended only for healing purposes. It is to be had a couple of times a day for three days, with a break afterwards, and for no more than two weeks at a stretch (including breaks).

 

Daikon Tea

(Yield: 1 small pot)

Ingredients

½ cup grated daikon

3 portions water

Place the grated daikon in a cheese cloth and squeeze out the juice into the pot. Add 3 equal portions of water to it.

Place the pot to boil gently on a medium flame. Lower the flame when it begins to boil, then allow it to simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add a pinch of sea salt.

Switch off the stove. Your daikon tea is now ready to be served. Drink sparingly, and remember that this is a medicinal supplement.

I learnt some very important basics during my Macrobiotics course, about how the energy and environment matter to what is being cooked and eaten. While in the kitchen, and especially when preparing healing food, it is important to keep sound to a minimum. For instance, while stirring the tea, do not allow the spoon to clank with the pot or cup.  Try and maintain a calm, almost meditative, state. So as you stir this tea, serve it, and and sip it, always allow good thoughts to be the most important ingredients.

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