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				Mooli Paratha

		TSC's grand paratha.  All standard recipes say
		to make little dinky things in an iron pan or
		taava, topside.  TSC says: do it all at once
		in what amounts to a pizza pan, in an oven that
		amounts to a tandoori.  It is crispy-chewy,
		pliable, light yet rich and flavorful.  Bake,
		and tear off a piece, or cut in wedges as a
		pizza if you need great orderliness.  A pizza
		wheel cutter works better here than with a
		pizza.


	INGREDIENTS:

	DOUGH -
	1.5       cup allpurpose flour
	1.5       cup wholewheat flour
		OR
	3         cup your favorite "Chapatti flour" (Atta)

	1/4       cup butter, lightly salted
	1         cup water, warm-hot
	1/4       tsp sugar

	FOR DOUGH TREATMENT -
	1/4       cup light vegetable oil of choice,
		      or melted usli ghee (better choice)

	STUFFING -
	5-6        @ red radishes, grated (or equivalent volume of
		     grated Daikon, which is actually traditional)

	1-2        @ green chiles, grated
		OR
	1/4 - 1/2 tsp pepper powder (Indian hot pepper powder)

	2          @  scallion or
	1/2        @  onion, small, grated
	3         TBS cilantro, chopped finely

	1         tsp cumino seed, ground
	1/2 - 1   tsp garam masala
	1/4       tsp salt

	16" pizza pan, lightly greased or oiled
		  (safflower/refined peanut/corn), not soy or
		  canola, nor crisco.

	METHOD:

	1.  Mix the wet stuffing ingredients together, and set aside.

	2.  Mix the dough ingredients together, in the usual way,
	    either by hand, kneading for about six minutes, or do
	    it in a processor.  Cover with a moist towel and allow
	    to rest for at least 30 minutes, in a refrigerator.

	3.  Divide the dough in half, setting second half aside
	    under moist towel.

		Preheat oven to 450° F

	    Form first half into a ball, put on cutting board or
	    what you have, and press down firmly and evenly on it with
	    the palm of your hand.  Roll out the dough to about 10"
	    long, dribble some oil over the surface, fold like a letter,
	    in thirds, roll out as before, and repeat this, at least
	    4 times.

	    Finally, form the dough into a ball, and roll out to a
	    circle of about 10" in diameter - put it aside under a
	    moist cloth.

	    Repeat with the second half of the dough.
	    Both dough circles should be about the same size.

	4.  Drain any moisture from the stuffing, pressing any water
	    out; add the dry ingredients, mix well and spread it
	    evenly over the surface of the 10" circle of dough leaving
	    about a 1 inch border uncovered.

	5.  Place the other circle of dough over the stuffing, and
	    press down to seal all together, particularly at the edge.
	    Stretch, pull, coax, etc. to make the two halves fit
	    together, and seal around the edges.

	6.  Using your hands, particularly the heels, press the
	    dough down, repeatedly, to extend its surface and
	    keep its circular aspect.

	    In a possible endgame, using a greased rolling pin,
	    if necessary.

	    You will find a long, 24-36 inch, at least 2 inch diameter,
	    dowel, possibly available from your local lumber yard,
	    a very useful kitchen item.

	    Roll the formed giant paratha out to about 16"
	    in diameter, and slip onto the greased pizza pan.
	    Press and pull to make the dough conform to the pan.
	    Transfer to the oven.

	7.  Bake on a low oven rack for about 10 minutes, or until
	    puffed and lightly browned.  Do get the other racks moved
	    up and out of the way since the puffing should be
	    considerable.

	8.  In cooling to warm, there will be deflation, and eating.


	NOTES:

	1.  This is a rather different way of making paratha, in
	    several respects, that TSC, finally, in exasperation,
	    managed to reconstruct from memories of his adolescence.

	2.  This is a rather festive bread that can be served with
	    meals, or as a snack with yoghurt, raitas, chutnies,
	    Indian pickles, dal, ad infinitum.

	3.  There are many variations of the stuffing mixture.
	    It can, in fact, be omitted altogether.

	    E.g., Mulla Ka Paratha has as its star, horseradish.

	    Almost any vegetable or mixture works, as do eggs;
	    you just have to make sure that there are no big
	    pieces of stuffing mixture.

	    You could be cross cultural and use any Italian pesto in
	    this, and the bread would not be an accompaniment, but a
	    star to go with some rice and dal, sambhar, rasam, chutneys,
	    pickles, raitas, yoghurt, etc.

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