| 1. | To make filling: Bring water to boil in a medium pan on high heat. Add gram, salt and turmeric powder. Stir. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook till gram is tender but not mushy (about 35 minutes). Meanwhile, do step 2. Drain off excess water, if any. Allow to cool. Add remaining ingredients. Mix. |
| 2. | To make dough: Mix flour, salt and 1 cup water. Add enough of remaining water (6 tablespoons), 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing after each addition, till dough forms a soft ball (stop adding water before dough becomes wet and sticky). Knead till dough is smooth and elastic (about 2 minutes). Keep covered with a damp cloth about 30 minutes. |
| 3. | Rub hands with a little ghee. Knead dough briefly. Make 12 balls about 4 cm in diameter. Keep covered with a damp cloth. |
| 4. | On a floured board, roll each ball of dough into a flat round 10 cm in diameter. (To prevent sticking when rolling out rounds of dough: slightly flatten balls and press the balls/coils lightly in flour on both sides. Shake off excess flour and roll out). Keep covered with a damp cloth. |
| 5. | To stuff paratha: Place round on palm of hand. Cup hand slightly to form a depression in centre of round. Place ¼ cup of filling on round. Lightly pat filling, spreading evenly to 6 mm from edge of round. Surround filling evenly with dough by gently opening and closing hand slightly in a pulsating motion till some edges just meet. Pinch together the edges which meet just enough to seal. Pat sealed area to get an even thickness of dough. Repeat till round is closed fully. Placed stuffed round on board. Flatten slightly. Stuff remaining rounds of dough in the same way. Keep covered with a damp cloth. On a floured board, roll each stuffed ball gently into a flat round 15 cm in diameter. Keep on a lightly floured surface, covered with a damp cloth. |
| 6. | Heat tava on medium heat about 3 minutes. |
| 7. | Put round on tava. Cook 1 minute. (Top should begin to look dry and darken. There should be a few light brown specks on the underside. If you can adjust the heat so that a few brown specks appear on the underside in 1 minute, you will be cooking at the ideal temperature). Turn over round with a broad spatula. Spread ½ teaspoon ghee all over top surface of round. Turn over. Spread ½ teaspoon ghee in the same way. Turn over. Lightly press entire round with spatula, rotating and pressing a small area at a time. Turn over. Press in the same way. Turn over. Spread ½ teaspoon ghee over round. Turn over. Spread ½ teaspoon ghee over round. Turn over. Continue pressing and turning till paratha is evenly browned (medium-brown) on both sides. Remove. |