Ragi Peas Paratha / Finger Millet Stuffed Flatbread

Ragi Peas Paratha – a healthy, gluten-free Indian flatbread made from ragi flour/finger millet, stuffed with boiled peas, ginger, garlic and few other spices. Ragi / Finger millet is a diabetic friendly whole grain and is packed with essential nutrients like Vitamin C, E, B- complex, iron and calcium. This gluten-free grain is known for its rich fibre content and hence is an excellent substitute to the regular cereals and grains such as rice, wheat and barley. Ragi flour as such has a rustic and earthy taste and hence stuffing it with masala peas balances the texture, flavour and taste. Serve this ragi peas paratha with a cup of yoghurt / tadka dhal / subzi.

Ragi flour is gluten-free and hence kneading the dough and rolling it thereafter is indeed a challenge. There are 3 or 4 ways by which you can make the roti. I have found that kneading the dough with boiling water as mentioned below helps in making a soft dough. The steps might look lengthy and difficult but with few practices you can gain the skill.

Preparation time: 30 to 40 minutes

Serving: 3

Ingredients:

To make the dough:

Ragi flour	2 cups
Salt	to taste
Turmeric powder (optional)	1/4 th teaspoon
Oil	1 tablespoon

For stuffing:

Peas (boiled)	2 cups
Green chilli	1
Ginger	1 inch piece
Garlic	3 cloves
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Kashmiri chilli powder	1/2 teaspoon
Fennel seeds	1 teaspoon
Salt	to taste
Oil	2 teaspoon

Instructions:

• To make the dough – Take a heavy bottomed pan, add 2 cups of water, salt , turmeric powder and oil. When the water starts boiling, add the ragi flour. Keep the heat on low for about 30 to 40 seconds and mix the contents with a ladle. Switch off the flame. The ragi flour might look stiff and crumbled at this stage.

• Remove the pan from the stove and keep mixing the ragi flour with a ladle until it comes to a dough like consistency. When it is comfortable to touch, grease your palms with oil, use both palms and knead it into a dough. Rest the dough for a minimum of 20 minutes.

• For stuffing – Take 2 cups of frozen peas and boil it in water. Drain the water. Take a pan, add 2 teaspoon oil. When the oil is warm enough, add 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1 slit green chilli, minced garlic and ginger. Sauté until the raw smell goes off. Add the boiled peas to this, add salt, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1/2 teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder. Stir the contents for about 1 minute or so until there is no moisture. Allow this to cool. Transfer the contents to a mixer / blender and give a pulse. Just grind it to form a coarse paste.

• To make the ragi chappathi – Divide the dough into small round shaped balls. Take one part and flatten it between the palms, dust it with ragi flour and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a medium size circle. Repeat the same process and roll the other parts into medium size circle.
• To make paratha – Take 1 rolled ragi roti. Using a spoon place about 2 teaspoons of the peas stuffing and spread it on one side. See that the stuffing is evenly distributed. Place another rolled ragi chappathi on top of this. Close the edges by pressing the fingers along the corner. Press gently in the middle so that the stuffing gets distributed evenly. Heat a tawa, place the stuffed ragi roti / paratha on the tawa and cook for few seconds. Flip over so that both sides are cooked evenly. Drizzle some oil or ghee on top.

• Repeat the same procedure for other parts. Two cups of ragi flour will approximately yield 10 to 12 chappathi / or 5 to 6 parathas.
• Serve with a cup of yoghurt or dhal tadka or subzi.

Notes:

• If you find it difficult to knead the ragi flour, you can use equal quantities of wheat flour and ragi flour.
• This recipe gives you medium spiced ragi parathas. If you wish the parathas to be more spicy, add two green chillies instead of one or add 1 teaspoon of kashmiri chilli powder.