Agretti Parathas

The CSA season is in full swing. Every week the bag brings us just-harvested, lovingly grown, organic vegetables. A recent bag contained, amongst other things, bok choy, cilantro, broccoli, baby carrots, kale and agretti. While reading the newsletter that accompanies the produce, I mentally made plans for each item; but at the last one I hit a major speedbreaker.

Each year we get introduced to a couple of new vegetables/ cooking greens. Last year it was lamb's quarters. This year it is agretti. More about agretti here.

When presented with a new cooking green, I usually try them for the first time in a daal or in parathas. Both don't need a recipe per se which make them ideal for experimentation. If the green is not welcomed in the daal or paratha avatar, it is unlikely we'd like them prepared any other way. But so far we haven't met a cooking green we didn't like.

This time I made agretti parathas. Here is a picture of the parathas and a spring (bunch?) of agretti.

We were quite happy with the results. The inherent sourness came through quite well.
The only herb/ spice I used was chopped garlic and some mirchi powder. Next time I can load up on the spices as this is quite a sturdy green. Owa (ajwain, carom) with agretti already sounds good.

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour (atta)
1 cup chopped agretti
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 tsp mirchi powder
4-5 stalks of cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Method
Heat the oil over medium high heat, add garlic. Don't let it brown.
Add the mirchi powder, salt, and agretti.
Cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the cilantro.
Let cool slightly before adding the flour.
Add water as need to make a soft dough. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into about 20 pieces.
Roll each piece into parathas of even thickness.
Use a little oil and cook both sides of the parathas on a heated pan.
Enjoy with yogurt!

These parathas go to Srivalli's Roti Mela.

X = Lamb's Quarters

Lamb's quarters a.k.a goosefoot, pigweed, and fat hen. So many names and each one more glamorous and appetising than the previous one. As if this wasn't enough, this edible weed thrives on muck.
But since I was on the look out for something unusual, something I hadn't used before for Nupur's A-Z event, I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of trying this green.
More on this weed here and here.

Lamb's quarters can be eaten raw, but the taste and rough texture just did not appeal to me.
They had to be cooked. I could've taken the easy way out and used them to make daal. Nah, too boring and predictable.
Since I am in a major bread making phase, it didn't take me long to figure out how I'd use the lamb's quarters: whole wheat buns stuffed with seasoned lamb's quarters!
On a whim I used pav bhaaji masala instead of garam masala. So glad I did that. The pav bhaaji masala worked really well here.
The buns were delicious, just delicious!
I like the idea of making such stuffed buns, the possibilities are endless.

Ingredients
whole wheat bread dough, divided into 12 pieces
4 cups lamb's quarters, finely chopped
1 carrot, shredded (optional. I used this only for the colour contrast.)
1 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tbps pav bhaaji masala
1 tbsp oil
salt and lemon juice, to taste

Method
Make the filling:
Heat the oil, first add the pav bhaaji masala and then the lamb's quarters.
Cook for about 10 minutes.
Add the salt, lemon juice, carrots, and cilantro and mix well. Turn off the heat.
After the mixture cools slightly, taste it and adjust the salt and lemon accordingly.

Make the buns:
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Roll each piece of dough into a roughly circular shape, the size of your palm.
Put about 2 tbsp of the filling on the dough and fold the edges to cover the dough and press slightly.
Place the bun, fold side down in a 13x9 pan.
Prepare the rest of the buns in the same manner.
Cover the buns with a moist kitchen towel. Let them rest for 10-15 minutes.
Brush the buns with a bit of melted butter.
Bake the buns on a pizza stone or in the pan, about 15 minutes.
Enjoy!


This is my entry for Nupur's A-Z of Indian Vegetables food blog event.