Once the cooler weather sets in all that I get to see in the easily available vegetable section is cabbages, cauliflower and pumpkin. By the time we get through the season, trying them in various ways and combinations there ate plenty of recipes in the collection. One such recipe that sticks through the winter is bandh gobi paratha or cabbage paratha.
What makes these parathas perfect winter flatbreads?
The piping hot cabbage parathas are always the favourite winter flatbread. The parathas are perfect when packed in the lunch box. Though cold they add flavour to a soup that we take in a Thermos. Unusual combo but try it with pumpkin soup. The paratha has a good mix of slow-release carbohydrates from jowar ( sorghum) and protein through the chickpea flour (besan) along with the least goodness from the cabbages. The heartwarming spices make it special with a cup of yogurt and a touch of achar anyway.
Why mix jowar and besan for the dough?
Sorghum or jowar flour is a gluten-free flour that is slightly harder to get the dough together as the sticky gluten is lacking. The fine chickpea flour when mixed with water, easily adheres to the other ingredients providing what the dough needs to come together. Adding besan to the dough also makes it protein-rich and lesser in glycaemic spike making it much more useful for diabetic diets.
Shaping up these jowar besan parathas.
When we discussed aloo paratha, we discussed the method of stuffing the mix in the dough and flattening it. The process is certainly tricky for a new cook. The filling kneaded into the paratha dough us the easier technique. This is what we are doing today. This method will work with all vegetables that do not leach a lot of water.
The method in this recipe card is step by step for faster and easier paratha making.
Cabbage paratha with jowar and besan.
Equipment
- 1 measuring cups and spoons
- 1 mixing bowls and spoons.
- 1 grater
Ingredients
For the flour mix
- 3/4 cup sorghum flour jowar atta
- 1/4 cup chickpea flour besan
The cabbage mix
- 1 cup Cabbage shredded
- salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder
Flour for rolling
- 1/2 cup sorghum flour
for cooking the paratha
- 2-3 tbsp oil or ghee.
Instructions
- Add the flours to the mixing bowl and mix them well. Set it aside till needed.
- Add the grated cabbage, salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and roasted cumin powder to another mixing bowl.
- Mix well and set this aside for 10 minutes, so the cabbage leavesa a bit of water.
- After 20 minutes add the flour and mix it with the cabbage mix.
- If the water from the cabbage is enough to combine them into a dough, knead well.
- If the mix is feeling dry, sprinkle a bit of water at a time and knead into a smooth dough.
- Make lemon sized balls of this dough
- Roll out this dough as thin as you can using more flour to dust.
- Cook this on a flat pan one side on medium heat.
- Flip over and brush oil on the side and cook the other side till a small brown blister appear.
- Remove the cooked paratha and stack to serve.
- The parathas served with chutney, yogurt and achar taste amazing.
Pro jowar besan paratha tips
Fresh jowar flour has better hold than stored ones. so, it is best to look for a freshly milled date on the jowar.
The cabbage ( white or purple) releases water and goes limp, but this also make your dough too soft and difficult to handle. So let your dough rest for 10 to 15 minutes and not longer. The dough is not useful to be stored in the fridge for use later.
Making the bandhgobi paratha ahead
I make the batch of bandh gobi paratha over the weekend. Then cool them and wrap them in freezer-friendly bags with a few parchment sheets to separate them. This stays well in the fridge. To have, heat up the cabbage paratha on the tawa with a touch of butter, ghee or oil and warm fresh parathas are ready. For lunch, ready ones, wrap these in foil and keep in a warm box.
Collaboration
The blogger groups are a constant source of encouragement to try new ideas or bring forth the ones you never thought of putting on to the blog. This is why I love Shh cooking secretly group. The two secret ingredients chosen by a group member for you and the fun guessing game makes the blogging scene more fun that so competitive (believe me, this too!!). This season, Anu Kollon a fellow Kerala based blogger suggested trying a variety of flatbreads. It was right in the midst of heavy rains and floods here and Mayuri Patel, a trusted friend and fabulous blogger suggested jowar and oil make a flatbread. This worked perfectly to make these cabbage parathas for sharing and freezing to get us through the crazy time. Don’t miss checking Mayuri’s jikoni for those unique recipes from across the globe.
Stay connected
I hope you have subscribed to our blog to receive regular updates. We thank you for staying with us and encouraging us at every step. We would love to have you visit the youtube channel that we recently updated. Please subscribe, like and share these posts and let us know what you like and dislike about them. When you make these recipes, please rate them or share what changes you made. After all, it is creativity unlimited. If you are making this paratha with purple cabbage, check out this easy science idea with the outer leaves that you may discard –all those sciency cabbages!
Stay safe and let us catch up on the next post.
The parathas are too tempting, wish could just grab them off the screen. I like that you have incorporated the veggie in the dough and as you said it would be a bit easier than stuffing it. Perfectly made
Thanks, Renu, Some images ake you feel like having them, don’t they!!
Jowar and besan combo is interesting. The parath looks so tasty. I also like adding cumin seeds in parathas. They give a lovely flavour after roasting.
Yes the besan helps the jowar to bind better. Do try it. I like to add the roasted cumin powder so the paratha doesn’t break while rolling.The seeds will surely be lovely too for an expert paratha maker.
Seema, I remember stuffing parathas with red cabbage, making it a more colourful meal for the kids. Its been ages since I’ve used red cabbage for parathas.Like the combination of flours. Got some red cabbage today, planning to make the cabbage parathas tomorrow for breakfast.
Actually, I have no affinity for red or white cabbage in this paratha as both end up being terrific. The colour however attracts kids a bit better at the younger ages.
Gluten free cabbage paratha sounds awesome. A perfect filling, delicious and nutritious breakfast. I have some sorghum flour so I am going to try it. Loved your well explained recipe.
Please do give it a go with sorghum flour. the chickpea flour makes it easier to handle. Let me know how your paratha turns out.
Such a beautiful recipe, Seema! The parathas look so perfect and delicious. I’m amazed at how you were able to roll out the jowar dough so well. 😊 Would love to try this out shortly.
Priya, the jowar when combined with sticky besan yield a soft dough that is easy to handle unlike the jowar alone. If you are attempting jowar only paratha, I will suggest to finely grating the cabbage and kneading with hot water. then you can pat the dough like we have done the bajra roti.
Cabbage Parathas look so scrumptious that I feel like picking it off the screen. Loved that you have used jowar flour instead of whole wheat flour. A healthy and tasty treat any time of the day.
we love paratha. Especially in the morning time. I was looking for easy and healthy paratha recipes. this is really good and I will go to make it for my twins 🙂
Yummy parathas and loved your step by step instructions. We love this kind of parathas at home.
These Jowar besan cabbage parathas look so tempting and delicious. I have never tried jowar flour in any recipe and this is the best one to give a try. Also loved reading thru the purple cabbage experiment post.
we have begun getting (and using) a lot of red cabbage here for some years now. this bandh gobi paratha with red cabbage would make for a perfect weekday dinner!
cabbage paratha with Jowar flour and besan sounds so much healthy and filling. Your parathas have turned out flaky and oh so tempting ! Perfect to go with some spiced curd and mango pickle.
Lovely cabbage paratha using jowar flour in it. I have never made them this way, I will give a try to it in my kitchen.
Cabbage parathas and that too made with mixed flour sound so delicious … Just perfect for breakfast or even easy dinner time. Jowar n besan must be adding a nice texture
Jowar and besan combo sounds very unique and healthy. Also adding cabbages to the roti makes it a very healthy and filling choice for breakfast or early dinner
Cabbage Paratha looks so delish and filling.Even i add vegetables to the dough. So perfectly made.