Bathua Paratha | {Indian, Healthy, Winter Recipe}

Do you know Winter greens are not just delicious but a bundle-pack of nutrition?

This Bathua Paratha, a hearty Indian breakfast made in desi ghee is incredibly crispy and rich in flavor of earthy green bathua leaves!

Bathua Paratha is one of the most popular parathas (flat-breads) of Indian cuisine. I believe we all wait for winters to show as we get amazing choices of greens to include in our daily meals. Winters for a Punjabi-born like me mean parathas as breakfast: Stuffed parathas or Methi, Palak Parathas.

Due to an agricultural evolution, many vegetables are available throughout the year but I being a typical Desi Foodie, would eat fresh ones always. So, for me winters are really special.

Made from scratch, each component of Bathua paratha is fresh and oozing savory spicy flavors. Blanching bathua leaves, kneading them in wheat flour along with spices, green chilies is a simple recipe that gathers in no time.

Trust me, they taste far better if they are fresh and not preserved. The whole process of sorting the leaves, washing them under tap thoroughly is like a therapy. Its a huge task but its rewarding at the end.

Why Would You Love This Recipe?

• Amazingly rich in nutrition
• Weight Loss friendly
• Bathua is considered to be great food for diabetics
• Desi Ghee Crispy Wheat Paratha
• Easily convertible to Gluten free and Vegan
• Use of Fresh Bathua Leaves
• No Processed food
• Kids Friendly
• The Best Bathua Paratha Ever!

Ingredients

• Bathua Leaves: The essential ones are the fresh Bathua (Chenopodium Album) leaves. Bathua can be replaced by Methi (Fenugreek) leaves, Palak (Spinach) or Kale leaves.
• Wheat Flour: I am a big fan of wheat flour. We get wheat flour from a near by Chakki (Mill). I have kneaded the leaves with the wheat flour. One may fell free to stuff the leaves as well.
• Spices: Use of green chilly (chopped) in the dough definitely adds the perfect heat. I add salt, Carom seeds, Red chilly powder, Garm Masala and Amchur/Lemon Juice also in the dough.

Benefits of Bathua Leaves

Rich in water content, high in fiber, bathua is a great for relieving constipation. It is loaded with Vitamin A, C , B6, calcium, potassium , magnesium and amino acids.

Not just it purifies blood, it also improves hemoglobin levels. It has vital oils that are good for healthy skin.

Is Bathua good for diabetic patients?

Yes and No.

That's not to worry you. Its to inform you that bathua lowers blood sugar level and this fiber-rich food is a good choice for diabetic people.

Having said so, one may consult their doctor before moving to a daily bathua intake, especially if they are taking medications to control the sugar levels.

This is important for people with unstable sugar levels. [1]

Can Bathua help lose weight?

Bathua is a great choice for a weight-loss diet as its a low calorie and high fiber food. For a promising fiber intake, including bathua in daily diet ensures that fake hunger pangs don't hurt your weight-loss goals.

Variations

• Bathua Raita: The boiled Bathua leaves can be used to make bathua raita, a popular curd recipe for winters to keep you warm. This savory curd is not just delicious but healthy too. When I boil Bathua, I store some of it for making raita too. Our Bathua Curd recipe is super amazing!
• Try another Green: Spinach, methi or kale can be used in place of Bathua and the same recipe works for them too.
• Gluten Free Paratha- You may swap wheat flour with gf flours like Ragi, Jowar, Bajra or Amranth.
• Vegan Paratha- I love these bathua paratha in ghee but for vegans, I may suggest swapping ghee with any vegan oil of good quality. Though the taste may vary significantly.
• Make as a vegetable: Made in desi ghee, bathua saag is a very popular Indian dish and is teamed with Makki Roti or wheat paratha. Bathua can also be made with potato as dry vegetable.
• Add another vegetable: Normally bathua leaves are had best without mixing with any other vegetable. You may make bathua aloo paratha by adding boiled potato and bathua leaves to the dough.
• Stuffed Bathua Paratha: For picky eaters, I have made this bathua paratha by kneading dough with bathua leaves. One may stuff the bathua leaves in wheat paratha too.

Recipe Overview

• Sort Bathua leaves. While sorting we take out leaves with soft stems and leave the hard long stem. Bathua leaves is muddy and must be washed thoroughly under running water.

• I take two large utensils and soak the leaves in one utensil and keep changing water while swapping utensil. If you notice, dust settles down in water after a while. Then I take a colander and wash leaves under tap.

• Boil the washed leaves till they change color from light green to dark.

• Sieve them and use immediately or you can refrigerate it upto one day.

• For storing them longer, keep the dry sorted leaves in a clean kitchen cloth or wrap them in a newspaper. They would be fresh for 2-3 days in refrigerator.

• Once the boiled leaves cool off, knead them in a dough and add spices as per your preference.

Expert Tips

• Make sure to cool off the boiled leaves before adding them to wheat flour for kneading or else the dough would not be enough tight.
• Since the leafy veggies leave water, the dough should be made a bit tight and little water gradually or else dough would not be easy to roll.
• Make sure the Tawa is hot before placing rolled paratha on it. Simmer the flame and cook on slow flame for a crispy paratha.
• Iron tawa is the best. Its a myth that paratha would stick to it. You need to cook on slow or medium flame and not High flame for best results.

FAQs

Detailed Recipe

1) Sort Bathua leaves. Wash them thoroughly and boil them in water in an open pan. Make sure to soak leaves in water. It takes around 10 min for leaves to soften up and change to a dark green color. Sieve the boiled leaves and let it cool off.

2) Take a large parath (steel broad pan). Add wheat flour, boiled leaves, green chillies, red chilli, salt, ajwain and knead a slight stiff dough.

3) Let dough rest for 15 min. Then take a small ball and make a flat bread (chapati) on rolling pin after dusting some flour. Place it on hot iron tawa and let it cook on simmer. It takes around 2-3 min to cook from one side.

Flip and cook from other side. Apply desi ghee when flipped and if you wish to make a chapati instead of paratha (avoid ghee at this step)

4) The crispy and spicy bathua paratha are ready. Serve with your favorite achar and curd.

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Stories From Kitchen

I had hated all winter greens most of my life and now I love them! Do you know what changed my feelings?

Well Its a long story for and I would cut it short for you. It was this family recipe that was the reason of this flip-flop. The elegant way of eating greens in which you wont get leafy bites (which was a repelling enough for me) made the same bathua paratha delicious for me.

If you have fussy eaters like me in your family, now you know the game changer trick!

You may also like:

More Winter Recipes:

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  Onion Pakoda Recipe | Onion Fritters | Vegan & Gluten Free
• 
  Sour Apple Smoothie {Healthy, Vegan and Sugar-Free}
• 
  Green Beans And Potatoes {Vegan Quick Recipe}

Healthy Recipes:

• 
  Sour Apple Smoothie {Healthy, Vegan and Sugar-Free}
• 
  Pan Fried Sweet Potato {Vegan, Gluten Free, Healthy}
• 
  Mushroom Soup Without Cream {Healthy & Vegetarian}

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