Different FloursIt is cold here, quote cold; the forecast earlier said only a single thing about this evening's low, but now says nothing at all (and all of this is before the wind). The air outside tightens faces, and the chimney pot look meek. Everything is slow.
So I stayed inside and messed around with paratha. This is simple stuff: a measure of flour, half as much water, a scatter of salt. Mix that up, knead it a bit, and let it rest. Roll a circle, brush with butter and fold, roll, brush and fold again. One last roll and then onto a griddle, and very quickly there is fresh bread. Done right, the bread is tender, nearly pastry and puffy from the layers of butter.
As usual, things this simple do better with good ingredients. Salt is salt, but water makes a difference. I used to use various kinds of American wheat flours for this sort of thing, but I was only able to get odd results. The breads were quite good, but not quite right. Lights went on when I picked up a sack of atta flour from the excellent local Indian grocery. This is truly the flour to use for these things. I've no idea why. The breads are amazing.
All that stuff was set up, so I went and made roti to go with the rice and the light curry of turnip greens and black eyed peas that ended up becoming dinner. It is a happy truth of life for me that fresh bread utterly elevates a meal. If I had had a mango...
Instead, I have blankets and a mug of hot water with a touch of honey in. It is very cold.
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