Chocolate Parathas

Um, yes.

My friend Anshuman invented these last weekend, and they were beyond fan-tabulous served with channa dal (yellow lentils simmered with onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and meat masala). Sound like the strangest combination, I know, but he was convinced that the sweetness and spiciness would be brilliant together, and it was. My friend Martha and I agreed that this kind of crazy combination can only work in India.

Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour
cinnamon
Mashed potatoes (no spices added)
Chocolate (he used Cadbury milk chocolate, but I bet it would also be yummy with dark)

For the dough:
Place a cup or two of whole wheat flour in a bowl along with a healthy dash of cinnamon. Add water in small amounts, kneading with hands, until dough is a soft and manageable ball – about 10-15 minutes. It should smell deliciously cinnamon-y. Let it rest for about an hour.

For the filling:

Melt the chocolate, and mix with the mashed potatoes. Proportions are up to you. The ones he made weren’t very sweet; the potatoes turned a dark chocolate-y brown, but the taste carried more of a hint of sweetness than an overwhelming rush of chocolate.

From here, you can basically follow the directions for cooking Aloo Parathas (a few recipes down), with the following changes:

When you fill the parathas, add about a teaspoon of honey before closing up the little dough balls and rolling them out.

When frying them, brush the tops with butter (he used ghee, but I think butter should be fine), and dab tiny pats of butter around the pan so they melt and run into the edges of the paratha.


Martha and I agreed that you could also up the chocolate level and top them with ice cream and strawberries to make an amazing dessert. Also, she gets MAJOR points for making a salad, with LETTUCE, that we ate with this meal without getting sick! A-mazingness!