Mooli Paratha

Mooli Paratha are whole wheat flatbreads with a spiced radish filling. These are best eaten hot or warm with a side of Chai or pickle and yogurt. Mooli Paratha are a winter favorite from North India and are mostly eaten for a breakfast. This post shows you how to make perfect, crisp and flaky parathas with a delicious and healthy radish filling.

Like Gobi Paratha, Mooli Paratha is also made with uncooked, raw veggie. Grated white radish is spiced and then stuffed in a soft pliable dough. It is later rolled before frying on a pan/ tawa.

About Mooli Paratha

“Mooli” is a Hindi word for radish and Paratha are whole wheat flatbreads. These radish paratha are a winter staple in the Punjabi homes and you will find these most commonly in dhabas and North Indian restaurant menus.

Many different kinds of radish are grown across the world. In India white radish is used to make these parathas but long red variety also work well. These parathas are best minimally spiced so I have kept the spice levels low. If you want you can up the heat levels by adding more green chilies.

But the beauty of these mooli paratha is to let the flavor, taste and texture of radish shine through, by keeping everything else to minimum. A good pickle or chutney on the side is all that you need. I have shared an instant chutney idea in the pro tips section below.

Radish is a root vegetable with high (about 90%) moisture content. Stuffing a dough ball with this kind of wet veggies will cause the dough to turn sticky and squishy. So to avoid this, grated radish is mixed with salt & allowed to rest for a short time.

Salt helps to draw out moisture from the mooli. This juice from the radish is used to form the dough. The stuffing is made by simply mixing the raw radish with spices and herbs.

It is then stuffed in a dough ball, rolled to parathas and then pan fried. During this step, radish gets steam cooked inside, keeping the parathas soft from inside and flaky from outside.

Many ways to make

Second Method: If you don’t eat raw radish, simply follow the same way of extracting the juice and then dry saute the grating in a steel pan or use a teaspoon of oil. Alternately you may also temper your spices – ginger, red chili powder etc in a tsp of oil before adding the radish.

Third Method: A lot of times I make these mooli paratha without stuffing. Simply mix all the ingredients together – flour, radish and spices to form a dough. I have shown the method in this Vegetable Parathas. With this method I double all the spices and cut down the mooli to 2 cups. You won’t use any water to make the dough but only use the mooli juices.

How to Make Mooli Paratha (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

1. Prepare the following

• Wash and peel 450 grams (1 lb.) radish
• Wash and peel ½ to ¾ inch ginger
• Fine chop 1 to 2 green chilies (optional, leave out for kids)
• Rinse and chop 3 to 4 tablespoons coriander leaves /cilantro

2. Use a medium grater (not fine), grate the mooli into a large bowl or a food processor. You can also use a hand grater. You will use 4 cups, about 400 grams gratings in this recipe.

5. Mix the radish with ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt. Be careful regarding the quantity of salt here. Every brand & kind of salt can be different. I use sea salt here. Let rest for 7 to 8 mins.

6. Press down with your hands to squeeze out most of the juices.

7. Add the radish to another mixing bowl and strain the juices to a cup.

Make the dough

8. Add 2 cups atta to the same food processor. Make sure your processor/ bowl has no gratings of radish in it. Pour half cup radish juice and a tsp of oil if you want.

9. Knead to a smooth and non-sticky dough, splashing more juice if needed. You will have surplus radish juice which you may refrigerate and use the next time to make your roti/ chapati dough. It can also be added to curries, soups, sambar, rasam and dal.

I got 1.5 cups juice and used a little less than 3/4 cup to make the dough.

10. Divide the dough to 12 portions if you want to follow method 1 of rolling, or to 8 portions if following method 2 of rolling. Roll them to smooth balls. Method 1 is for beginners.

Make the Stuffing

11. Before making the filling, squeeze out any left over juices and loosen the radish gratings with your hand. Add the ginger, green chilies, coriander leaves and the following spices:

• ⅛ teaspoon turmeric (optional)
• ⅓ to ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (adjust to taste)
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
• ¼ to ⅓ teaspoon gently crushed ajwain / carom seeds (use a rolling pin or mortar pestle)

12. Mix well and taste test. Adjust more spices but avoid adding salt at this stage. It will be low on salt here. Divide the mixture roughly to 8 or 6 portions, depending on the number of paratha you will make. Add 2 to 3 tbsps of flour to a small bowl and set aside. This will be used to roll the parathas.

Roll Mooli Paratha

Method 1 for beginners (with 12 portions of dough, it makes only 6 medium sized parathas)

13. Dust little flour on the rolling area. Dip your dough ball in the bowl of flour. Dust off the excess, place it on the rolling area, flatten it and roll to a 6 inch roti. Remove this and place on the counter, repeat rolling another one of the same size. Spread one portion of the filling over the roti, leaving half inch space on the edges. Sprinkle a generous amount of chaat masala if you want.

14. Place another roti and press down on the edges.

15. Sprinkle little flour on the paratha and roll to as thin as possible including the edges. Take care not to make them too thin else they will tear. Make 3 to 4 parathas and begin to cook them first, following the steps below. Make the other half later after frying the first batch.

Method 2 (with 8 portions of dough)

16. Dip a dough ball in atta and shake off the excess flour. Flour the rolling area lightly. Flatten the dough ball and spread it with your fingers to form a small cup (check video). Place one portion filling in the center of the cup.

17. Press down the mooli stuffing gently with your finger, to bring the sides higher. Sprinkle chaat masala if you want.

18. Seal the cup.

19. Flatten with your fingers and place it on the rolling area. Sprinkle little flour on it and spread gently.

20. Roll it to a 5 to 6 inch paratha. I make mine slightly thick. If the paratha tears or the filling seems to come out, apply little dry flour. This way make 4 parathas and cook them first, later repeat the same steps.

Cook the Mooli Paratha

21. To fry the paratha, heat a pan on a medium to medium high heat (not very high heat). Dust off the excess flour from the paratha gently with your hands (very important) and place it on the tawa/pan. Wait until you see bubbles on the mooli paratha.

22. With the help of a turner/ spatula, turn it to the other side. Spread a teaspoon of ghee and let cook until you see bubbles.

23. Next reduce the heat to medium. Turn them again and spread more ghee. Fry them pressing down with the turner, until the paratha has some deep golden spots. Make sure they are cooked on the edges as well. These parathas may or may not puff due the wet stuffing. Transfer and stack on a plate. If required, wipe off the pan with a tissue before cooking the next paratha.

Lastly If you want sprinkle chaat masala on the hot parathas. Serve Mooli Paratha hot with yogurt, pickle or chutney. These keep good for 2 to 3 days in a refrigerator, reheat them on a pan or in the instant pot for 3 to 4 mins on high pressure. I let the pressure drop naturally.

Pro Tips

• These parathas are best made with few spices. Serve them with a hot spicy chutney if you want.
• You may add more salt to the dough. But remember radish juices have some salt in it and there is no way to correct it if you add a lot.
• It is essential to regulate the flame as you cook. I feel these parathas need to be cooked longer. So cook them on a medium to low heat during the last few minutes.
• Using chaat masala while stuffing does nothing much but improves the flavor slightly. Also note that this makes the mooli release juices while you roll. So if you don’t want just avoid it and sprinkle after toasting them.
• If you are a beginner and slow in working, it is good to make a batch of 3 to 4 and finish frying them. Letting the rolled parathas sit too long, can let out moisture, depending on your indoor temperature and humidity levels.
• 1 serving of raw mooli/radish is 100 grams (1 cup grated). Eating too much raw radish can sometimes irritate the stomach and cause bloating & acidity. So limit to 2 parathas if you have a sensitive stomach.
• I make a instant chutney for these parathas with thick yogurt, green chutney and tamarind chutney. Stir together some yogurt, hot green chutney and a little tamarind chutney.

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