Jalapeño Garlic Mint Fennel Mini "Green" Flatbread

Serene green. Only in Spring and Summer.

By Autumn there's more reds and oranges and yellows and browns around here.

By Autumn, the summer garden is spent, and if I am lucky, I might get to plant a small fall edible garden, and then wait patiently till following April when things start sprouting green again.

To savor the greenness of the season, this pillowy soft, flavorful, warm, and irresistible flatbread is packed with herbs, no added food coloring.

Since the mint is taking over a corner of the garden with its runner roots, I've been trying to use up as much of it as I can. Mint thookku is perfect to keep for a few months - especially if I can it in boiling water bath, with enough added tamarind and lemon. Dried mint leaves stored in the freezer bring that instant flash of summer during the wet and cold winter days.

I also make a paste of fresh mint, fennel, jalapeño, and garlic and store it refrigerated every week or so to add to curries and soups. And, that's how this flatbread got a boost of flavor from home garden herbs.

The basic recipe is similar to my usual naan recipe in that this flatbread uses yeast-risen dough. Rather than traditional rounds or ovals, I went with squares this time, just for fun.

These are perfect as-is at tea time or even for breakfast, but the best thing about it for me is that both the kids like it and ask for it to be packed for lunch. I can make a stack of two dozen or so quickly on a weekend and freeze it for months. The recipe here makes about 16 3x3" square flatbreads. More than enough to pack a week's lunch for both kids, with enough to spare for adults.

Ingredients

2 tsp yeast

12/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/3 cup flax meal

1/2 cup mint fennel jalapeño garlic paste*

1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt

1 to 2 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup scalded milk

(*substitute any favorite herbs and aromatics)


Preparation

1. Knead the dough, roll it out into a large rectangle, fold in half, fold in half again and roll it out again to build layers
2. Cut into squares with a knife and cook each square much like naan

Sweet Potato and Coconut Flour Flax Meal Roti Flatbreads

Considering the amazing properties of sweet potato, it is hard not to incorporate it more in our diets.

While roast sweet potatoes in dessert-ish form is relished by kids, I wanted to leverage its natural sweetness to make everyday foods a bit more colorful and appealing.

Coconut flour is another ingredient that adds a bit of sweetness and flavor to everyday items.

Since fusion cuisine is my forte, my signature of sorts, this dish came about quite naturally one day.

Sweet potatoes, coconut flour, chickpea flour, and all purpose flour come together with chipotle in adobo sauce, and fenugreek leaves to make this incredibly orange and incredibly tasty rotis -- flatbreads cooked on the griddle pan. I'd have preferred to use whole wheat instead of all purpose flour, but I was all out, so, maybe next time...

Ingredients
1 average sweet potato, cooked and peeled

⅓ cup coconut flour

⅓ cup chickpea flour (aka besan)

1⅓ cup all purpose flour (more or less)
2 Tablespoon flax meal

salt to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 Tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
2 chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped finely

a few tablespoons of oil for griddle-cooking the rotis

Preparation

1. Since sweet potato is cooked to mush, not much water is needed at first. Simply combine all the ingredients and knead to a smooth elastic dough, adding the all purpose flour a little at a time as needed. 
2. Divide the dough into golf-ball-sized balls; roll each ball flat to about 2 millimeters thick rotis
3. Heat a griddle much like for pancake, and cook the rotis till done 
4. Serve with any of the curries or chutneys. here I serve it with my favorite carrot salad.

Carrot Salad: Grate carrots, finely slice celery, finely chop green chilies, finely chop cilantro, combine it all with a splash of lemon juice and a sprinkling of salt, serve fresh.

Kohlrabi Stuffed Kale and Fennel Naan with Home-garden Lemon Cucumber Raita

The unassuming basic naan recipe lends itself well to boundless additions and variations.

Much like the Mint Fennel Garlic Naan, this recipe starts out with Fennel and Kale added to the dough; but, to take it a step further, sauteed and flavored kohlrabi is stashed into the dough when making the naan.

Instead of Kohlrabi, Daikon radish or Opo squash or Chayote squash can be used.

Peel and grate the kohlrabi finely; heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and saute the grated kohlrabi with salt and turmeric powder till cooked and fairly dry. Since this will be enclosed and folded in the dough, it cannot be runny.

Fennel and Kale being handy in the backyard garden, I went with those. I needed to find ways to use them up. But, any other herbs and greens can be used instead.

The naan dough is pretty much the same as Mint Fennel Garlic Naan, so, prepare as usual and let it rise. The only addition is grated sauteed flavored kohlrabi folded into the naan as it is rolled out for cooking.

My preferred method of making naan using gas stove:

1. Heat a cast iron skillet to high heat
2. Brush one side of the rolled out naan dough with water and place it water-side down on the hot skillet
3. Allow bubbles to form on the top surface
4. Transfer the part-cooked naan to a wire frame, flipped now so the uncooked side is down over the flame
5. Hold the naan on the wire frame directly over the flame till cooked through, shifting and moving it to cover all its surface
6. I prefer some mild charring as it adds character and flavor

Serve warm with vegetable curries,  chutney, and raita.


Here I serve it with a simple Indian chickpea curry called Cholay, and a yogurt-based raita made with home-garden lemon cucumbers.

For the Lemon Cucumber Colorful Raita:
1 Lemon cucumber,grated
½ Green apples, diced
¼ Red onions, sliced thin
Orange and Yellow Mini Peppers, chopped finely
Green Spring Onions, chopped on a bias
Thai green chilies, slit and chopped on a bias
Cilantro for garnish
Greek Yogurt

1. Cut the lemon cucumber in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp and grate finely
2. Chop some mini orange and red peppers, red onions, green apples, spring onions, and Thai green chilies if preferred
3. Combine the grated lemon cucumbers and all the finely chopped veggies, along with thick Greek yogurt and stir well; season to taste
4. Garnish with chopped cilantro

Flaky Parathas

Paratha is an unleavened Indian flatbread made with wholewheat flour. It is usually pan-fried on the griddle and served hot with a few different sides - like curries, chutneys and raita.

To get the flaky layers, it can be rolled out, folded over on itself and rolled out four or five times before pan-frying, spreading a layer of ghee in between. Home-made Ghee is traditional, but, I like to use Smart Balance Omega™ Light.

Stuffed parathas used to be my favorite when I was young. Stuffing can be any leftover vegetables like potatoes, peas, carrots which incorporate well into the dough and can be rolled out without falling apart.

Served here is a South Indian side called Ellu Pachadi, made with home-garden butternut squash and zucchini.



Ingredients
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp Smart Balance Omega™ Light
1 cup warm water, more or less
1 tsp salt (more if preferred)
Oil for pan frying

Preparation

1. Combine the flour, salt, and Smart Butter; add a little water at a time and knead till the dough comes together, not stiff but quite elastic; let it sit for 15-20 minutes
   
2. Divide into balls and roll out one at a time, folding over a few times to create layers, not thicker than 4 or 5 millimeters (else it takes a lot longer to cook through)
   
3. Pan fry on a medium-hot pan, with a touch of oil to crisp the sides, maybe a couple of minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the paratha and heat of the pan

Chicken Enchilada Soup with Naan Panino

Chicken Enchilada Soup is a hearty flavorful meal in itself, but for a little something extra on cold nights, a grilled panino rounds it out well.

Panini, fresh from the grill, are quite an appetizing version of my kids' favorite grilled cheese sandwich. For the adults in the household, I make the panini with marinated eggplant, red onions, bell peppers and cheese, much like the marinated eggplant sandwich, only I just marinated it for the 30-40 minutes it takes soup to get ready.

Any bread roll or flat bread would do, but here, I use Kale-and-Cilantro Naan I had leftover from a previous meal. Kale-and-Cilantro Naan is made very much like my other naans, just had kale handy and wanted to use it up.

Fusion cuisine being my personal slant, for a bright color and rich flavor, I like to marinate the chicken pieces in Patak's™ Tandoori Masala Paste, then cook it in a combination of typical Mexican and Indian spices.

Instead of Tandoori paste, can substitute Achiote seeds (Annatto) which is traditionally used as seasoning in Yucatan and Central American dishes, and makes a nice marinade when combined with a few other spices to make a rub. The rich red color and a mild earthy flavor are its main attraction for me, much like in this Achiote Potatoes and Black-Eyed Peas recipe.

Optionally, add peas and carrots for the kids, but for an adult version, can leave it out. If preferred, mellow it out with some sour cream or yogurt when serving this spicy soup for the kids.

Ingredients
2 or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks
1 medium onion, sliced thin, or chopped fine
6-8 cloves of garlic, finely minced
optional cooked veggies: peas, carrots, black beans, corn kernels
2 Tbsp Patak's™ Tandoori Masala Paste (less if preferred)
3 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp canola oil
salt to taste

for garnish:
chopped cilantro
crisp tortilla strips

spices for the chicken enchilada soup:
1 tsp oregano powder or1 Tbsp crushed dried oregano leaves
1 Tbsp cumin powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp McCormick's™ Original Taco Seasoning (optional)
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Preparation

1. Combine the spice mix and keep it handy
2. Cut a tortilla into strips, spray some oil and broil in the toaster oven till crisp and keep it handy
   
3. Heat the canola oil in a pot, add the onions, garlic, some salt and stir till onions are translucent; then, add the tomato paste and sauté till it turns rich red and is aromatic
4. Add the chicken pieces, spices, enough water, cover and cook till chicken is done
5. Stir in the cooked veggies, adjust flavors if needed, garnish and serve warm

Rajma with Opo Squash-Bok Choy Naan

Rajma (raaj-maa) is a North Indian dish, which along with the Punjabi Cholay used to be my favorite side to eat with rotis and naans when I was young. Rajma is a wholesome yet simple kidney beans dish full of flavor.

Here I serve Rajma with Opo Squash and Bok Choy Naan. Now, this naan might sound a bit off-beat, but, the mild flavors of these two vegetables, with a generous portion of cilantro and mint leaves makes these quite delicious.

Yeshimbra Injera: Chickpea Flour Injera

Yeshimbra Dabbo, a bread made with fermented chickpea flour, is the inspiration for this dish. Injeras are Ethiopian thin pancake-like fermented flat breads usually made from flours like t'ef, sorghum, barley, maybe even corn, wheat, or a combination. I like making injeras as it is a great alternative to my favorite Dosai that I grew up with.

The idea behind Dosai and injera seems similar to me - fermented flour, spread thin on a griddle or pan, cooked over medium heat till required done-ness, served with some wonderful sides, torn by hand and relished slowly.

I like to make injeras with buckwheat, rye, spelt flours sometimes. Chickpea flour is another great option for soft fluffy injeras and they are quite tasty.

It does need some planning ahead as the batter is not ready till well-fermented - and that could take up to 36 or 48 hours depending on the season, how warm the place is to allow good fermentation. Usually, if I start the batter tonight, it is fermented and ready for dinner the day after tomorrow.

Ingredients
2 cups chickpea flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp rapid rise yeast
2 cups warm water (more if needed before cooking)

1 tsp baking soda and salt to taste, to be used just before cooking

Preparation

1. Combine the flours, yeast, and water, stir well, cover loosely with a cheesecloth and allow to ferment in a warm place for 24 to 36 hours; stir once every 12 hours or so
2. When it develops a slight pleasant sour smell and bubbles when stirred, it is ready to be made into injeras
3. Heat a non-stick pan or griddle over medium heat, brush or spray with oil if preferred
4. Stir in the salt and baking soda, add a little water if needed to make a thin batter like for crepes, which can be poured into the pan and spread around by simply picking up and tilting the pan
5. Holes form on the surface as it cooks; I usually cook only on one side till the raw batter turns color as it cooks through; but, can flip and cook the other side if preferred

Roll up the injera one by one as they come off the pan and stack them for serving. Perhaps lay a few of them flat and overlapping on a large plate and scoop small mounds of sides on top. Serve warm with sides like mesir wat, y'abesha gomen, yekik alicha or bamya alicha, maybe even some Yeqey Sir Qiqqil, some Selatta...

Some of the sides can be prepared ahead of time, refrigerated, and warmed up before serving.

Simple Mint, Fennel and Garlic Naan

This Mint, Fennel and Garlic Naan recipe is similar to my stuffed naan recipe, but, rather than use the piroshky dough, this recipe has no eggs, and has a couple of ingredients that I have been incorporating into foods over the last few years - viz., flax meal and nutritional yeast.

Ground up flax seeds (flax meal) is better utilized by the body than whole flax seeds which might just pass through undigested at times. Nutritional yeast tastes good in many savory foods like mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and even makes air-popped popcorn taste delicious. If buying these from bulk food stores, store in cool dry place and smell before using - flax meal can go rancid over time.

The fresh mint and fennel in the home garden was the inspiration for this dish - much like mint and fennel pesto.



Any other herb or even grated vegetables can be added to the dough to make interesting naans. Some of my staples: sprinkle some white or black sesame seeds, or some kalonji (nigella sativa), maybe some chopped spring onions, or some methi (fenugreek) leaves if handy.

If making on a weekend, I start the dough around mid-morning and let it rise till ready to make at dinner time. The mild sour smell and beautifully fluffed up dough indicates it is ready to be cooked.

These naans freeze well - place sheets of wax paper between each one, store in a zipper sealed freezer bag. Thaw in fridge overnight and warm up in toaster oven or conventional oven, or even stove-top. (Microwaving the naans don't work well for me).

Serve with Radish Greens Dal (I used radish greens from the home-garden which had to harvested anyway) and Muttar Tofu Curry (pictured);

or with Paneer Kofta Curry and Kohlrabi Dal;

or with any South Indian Koottu or Korma

maybe even some cucumber,mint, tomato, onion raita.

My gas stove and roti-wirework , with cast iron skillet come in handy to simulate the earthy texture and flavor, but, even just a cast iron skillet approximates the clay-oven-like (tandoori) finish.



Ingredients
4 tsp rapid rise yeast
3½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup flax meal
4 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
½ cup 110°F water
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1¼ cup warm milk (more or less)
1-2 tsp salt (depending on how salty you prefer the naan)
4-6 cloves of garlic finely minced (more if you prefer)
½ cup freshly chopped mint and fennel leaves, combined

Preparation

1. Making the dough: In a large bowl, add the rapid rise yeast, brown sugar and lukewarm water and allow to sit for 5 minutes till frothy
2. Add the salt, flax meal, nutritional yeast, flour, chopped up herbs, garlic, plus a little milk at a time, and knead to a smooth elastic dough; place in an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume - I leave it by the heating vent or in a slightly warm oven (oven turned off, of course)
3. When ready to cook, divide into 10 or 12 balls - bigger balls makes fewer but larger naans, as expected
4. Roll each ball out, one at a time, to a quarter inch thick round; fold once to form semicircle, fold again to form a rough triangular shape; roll with rolling pin to about ¼-inch thick and keep covered till ready to cook
5. Cooking the Naan: Heat a cast iron skillet to high heat; brush one side of the naan with water, place the damp side down on the hot skillet and leave it undisturbed for a minute or so till bubbles form on the top surface
6. Remove from skillet, flip and transfer to the roti-wirework and place the uncooked side over open flame of gas stove till it is cooked through, but not charred;
7. Alternately, flip and cook on the cast iron skillet till done

The complicated description above could be quite misleading - these naans are the easiest to make and quite wholesome :)

Rye Spelt Injera

Over the last few years, I have started incorporating more of buckwheat, rye and spelt flours in my recipes.

Pizza, injera, and even some earthy breads seemed to turn out fine. The trick was to experiment and find the right balance with all purpose flour and gluten when using spelt or rye or buckwheat flours. Many of my breads and naans with spelt and rye flours turned out a disaster - dense and stiff like cardboard.

Spelt especially can be difficult to work with as it doesn't have as much gluten as whole wheat, so, it won't rise as much and tends to stay dense, but tastes pretty good. And precisely for this reason of low gluten it is preferred by many who have gluten-intolerance.

Even now, I can't say I have any sure-fire way of success... am still experimenting and documenting all the successful ones here :)

A while back, Sig sent me some starter which I have been feeding and using in a few other recipes. This injera recipe is one of them. I started the fermentation on a Sunday night and the batter was ready for dinner following Wednesday.

If starter is not handy, I am sure my usual recipe with rapid rise yeast would work just fine.

The only main difference I found between rye-spelt injera and all-purpose flour injera is that I had to make these a little thicker than normal else they fell apart easily. Plus they had a more wholesome earthy flavor than the all-purpose injeras.

This time, I served the injera with some steamed spinach (with spices similar to y'abesah gomen), a mushroom and bell pepper curry, and some kohlrabi dal ... not quite the traditional Ethiopian sides, but, I had them handy and it made a sumptuous weeknight meal.

Ingredients
1 cup yeast starter
1 cup rye flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups water (plus more as needed)
½ cup spelt flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Mix the starter, rye, spelt, all purpose flour with the water, stir well, cover and allow to rise in a warm place for about 2-3 days, stirring once each day
2. I usually mix them in a ceramic bowl, heat the oven to about 175°F, turn it off and leave the bowl in there to start the fermenting process
3. When batter is well fermented, it will acquire a pleasant sour odor and be a little gooey with sort of latex paint consistency, and when stirred, gets quite bubbly
4. When ready to make the injeras, add the baking powder, salt, stir well, add water as needed to make a thin crepe-like batter
5. Heat a pan, brush or spray with oil as needed, ladle some batter and swirl it around to form a thin layer; bubbles/holes will form at the top surface and as it gets cooked the batter will set and no longer look wet; can remove from pan at this time - no need to flip and cook the second side

Stuffed Naan

This stuffed naan recipe came out of leftover piroshky dough. It freezes well - I simply line some wax paper between the naans, cover with foil and store in a freezer bag. To use, I simply leave it in the fridge overnight to thaw, and warm it in the oven or toaster oven.

Ingredients:

Dough: same as in Piroshky recipe

Stuffing: sauté some carrots and peas with mild curry powder and salt, keeping it dry, and allow it to cool a bit before using with the dough. (or use any other favorite vegetables like grated daikon radish or cauliflower, or even mincemeat)

Procedure is simple: Pinch off a chunk of dough, stretch the dough a little, spoon a little of the stuffing, close and seal, shape into a ball, then carefully roll it out flat making sure the stuffing doesn't spill or leak out.

Cooking: there are probably a few different ways of cooking these naans. My preferred way is to

1. heat a pan or griddle to high temperature on my gas stove,
2. dampen a surface of the naan,
3. place it wet side down on the hot griddle and leave it till large bubbles/bumps start to form on the top surface
4. then, flip it on to a roti-contraption that my mom gave me - looks like a skeletal ping-pong bat made of wire-rack, the "bat" area being made of a wire to allow flame to come through - and cook till done

Alternately, it can be baked on a hot pizza stone in the oven, or even on a BBQ gas/charcoal grill.

Simple Roti

Roti or Chappathi, along with vegetable sides, usually served as a light and satisfying supper when we were growing up. And, a couple of rotis served as starter/appetizer for lunch/dinner made the meal sumptuous and wholesome somehow.

There are several tried and tested alterations to the basic roti recipe; what I share here is just one of them. Start cooking some side-dish like curry or koottu or dal for serving with these rotis in the back-burner first, and by the time rotis are done so is the the side-dish.

These simple rotis are best when cooked right before sitting down for the meal. Sometimes referred to as Sukha/Sookha Roti meaning Dry Roti, these use little or no butter or oil. But, if preferred, can spread some butter or home-made flavored ghee.



Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour (or, chappathi flour)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp canola oil (or ghee)
extra flour for dusting
hot water (amount varies a bit)
salt to taste
some oil for cooking

Preparation:

1. combine the flours, salt and ghee in a bowl; add a little hot water at a time and start kneading the dough; keep adding a little water at a time till a soft, pliable, slightly sticky dough is formed; cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 5 minutes or so
2. divide the dough to form 2" or 3" diameter balls - number varies - but usually i make about a dozen or so with 3 cups of flour - not all of them the same exact size...
3. dust the work surface generously with some flour (either all purpose or whole wheat is fine); roll the balls into thin rounds about 5"-6" in diameter; try not to stack them on top of each other - just lay them out handy on the counter top*
4. heat a pan or griddle to pretty high temperature; cook both sides of the rolled out rotis on the hot pan - adding oil if needed
5. alternately, i like to cook them over open flame on my gas stove, by placing the raw roti on a contraption my mom gave me - a round wire-work with handle - and cook both sides till it puffs up a bit and forms tiny char spots on the surface :-)
6. at this point the rotis are ready to be eaten, straight off the griddle; but, sometimes, i brush it with some ghee or butter and wrap them with a kitchen towel till the whole batch is done; this helps keep them moist and warm till we all sit down for the meal

Serve with any of the curries, or chutneys, or koottus, or even indian pickles (achars):ridge gourd curry
egg curry
soya chunks curry
baby eggplant curry
ridge gourd peel chutney
mint chutney
green tomato dal
chayote squash koottu


*Alternately, after rolling out the balls in step 3 above, fold it in half to form a semi-circle, and fold again to form a sort of triangular shape, and then roll it out again to about 4"-5" diameter to form a slightly thicker but layered and fluffy rotis.