A Vegetarian Recipe: Radish Paratha [무로만드는빵]



Radish Paratha at a final stage of frying.

 Impossible is nothing - right!

To kick start, I will give you a very simple recipe - a Paratha ( a flat bread) with a filling.

I am NO expert but whatever and whenever I cooked for friends and family, they complimented it. I guess cooking and recipes are a work in progress. Every time we cook something, there is a slight improvement in it from the previous time. In addition, it is an art - your very original and non plagiarized work.

Ten years ago, when we moved to Seoul, in the beginning, I thought that we do NOT have many vegetable varieties but with time, things have changed. Think of a vegetable and it is highly unlikely that you won't find it.

Among one of the common Korean veges is their radish (무/ moo), it is very close to Daikon but tastes slightly different. It is very juicy and sweet unlike radish in Pakistan. I love to munch it just like that.

Today's dish is Radish Paratha or flat bread with seasoned radish filling

Preparation Time: 45 minutes - 1 Hour.
Cooking Time: 20 Minutes.
Serves: 2 People
Yield : 3 Meduim Size Parathas ( 6 inch).
Variations: Instead of radish, one can use boiled/mashed potatoes or steamed spinach or whatever leftover vegetable or fried meat etc.)


Ingredients for Paratha Dough. ( All the ingredients are sold at Foreign Food Mart, Itaewon, Seoul)

1. 150 gm: Whole wheat flour ( all purpose flour)
2. 1/2 tea spoon: Salt
3. Luke warm water to knead

Method

Mix the dry ingredients together and knead it with luke warm water to make a dough similar to pizza (or bread) dough and set aside for 10 minutes.

Ingredients for the Seasoned Radish Filling


Grated- seasoned Radish



1.  2 cups: Grated radish (grate a radish after peeling it).
2.  3 table spoons: Chopped onion
3.  1 table spoon: Crushed garlic
4.  1 tea spoon: Chopped green Chili peppers
5.  4 table spoons: Chopped coriander
6.  Salt (according to your taste)
7.  1/4 tea spoon: Red Chili powder)
8.  1/2 tea spoon: Crushed Cumin seeds
9.   1/4 tea spoon: Freshly ground black pepper
10. Nutmeg: freshly grated (a pinch/optional)

Mix all the above ingredients for filling and set aside for 5 minutes.

METHOD FOR PARATHA PREPARATION



First make two balls (almost twice the size of the golf ball)

 Flat the balls and keep one slightly bigger than the other and spread the filling on the (bigger) flattened out portion.



Spread the filling and after that cover this with the other layer.



While covering it with the other layer, press it with your thumb softly to close it.





That is how it looks once the filling is sandwiched and it is rolled out.

 Now add 2-3 table spoons of oil in a pre heated frying pan at a medium heat and slide your paratha in it. Fry for 5 minutes and then flip it and add a spoon full of oil equally dripping oil in all corners of paratha. Let it fry for 4-6 minutes on medium heat. For a very crispy paratha, slow the heat *and leave it for 5 more minutes. Take it out when it turns golden from both sides (picture is on top) and serve with a chutney or ketchup or lemon or fresh yogurt with mint.

Mackerel from Andong (안동고등어)

I cooked Andong Mackerel or Kodong-au (고등어) this week. It was my first time to cook it myself, usually I go out in a restaurant to eat seafood. It turned out great. Nevertheless, my room was smelling like a fish for a few hours - gosh!

Andong is famous for many things such as its centuries old traditions that are still well kept in many ways, Hahoe Maeul(UNESCO: World Cultural Heritage site), Mask dance festival, Food : Andong jjimdak and Andong Soju. I spent 3 days in Andong for the famous Mask Dance Festival (2002) and it was my first trip outside Seoul. It is indeed one of the most memorable and exciting ones in Korea thus far .

Now back to the fish, Andong's Mackerel is also very famous ...and compared to the fish in other countries, here fish smells a little too fishy/it's smell is quite strong but it tastes great too...somebody told me that maybe, I am used to freshwater fish rather than the seawater fish...so I feel that way, anyhow!

The pic. below is of 고등어 (Mackerel)
Salted Mackerel is washed thoroughly in vinegar water ( add 2-3 table spoons of vinegar in bowl of water).
 
My recipe was simple (see pictures) and tasted very good. Entire preparation and cooking time took 20 minutes. I have to say that I don't have a kitchen and most of the things I cook either go into the microwave, toaster oven or a small hotplate that is solar powered, hence, I have limitations but I only cook what I really crave for, thank God!

Pieces on the right side were fried whereas, on the left, used in a soup!

Here, I have to thank my neighborhood farmer friends - who have always provided me with fresh supplies of their farms -picked up just before cooking - totally free of cost, have no words to express my thanks to them. These farmers and their families are a fantastic company - a much needed change, I really want in my life and also a window to Korean farming communities of Unjeong Dong - a 300 years old small village which is now nestled between hightech Pangyo(a solar-powered neighborhood with the first wi-fi neighborhood in Korea from 2012) and Bundang, why I mentioned here coz, I used their redleaf lettace!

1. Sprinkle salt, red chillie flakes (or Tandoori masala: if available), cumin and rub it with garlic paste (more the better) and fry in olive oil.

2. Add in a few slices of onion and garlic along with fish, so they fry together.

3.Fry both the sides and serve with a bowl of rice or bread (pita etc.)

4. Wrap a piece of fish, a spoon of rice and squeeze lemon and fold it in a lettace leaf and eat!

Note:

- Wrapping fried meat,(chicken, fish), rice and red pepper paste or with lemon juice in a combination of lettuce and sesame leaves gives a very nice taste to the dish ~ it can be called lettuce wraps or ssam.

- Korean Lettuce wraps: a very traditional way of eating Korean BBQ by folding it in assorted lettuces/sesame leaves and kimchi + side dishes(반찬), the process is called ssam and this is a good way of eating meat of any sort!