Recipe - Dhakai Paratha (Flaky Fried Bread)

1 One half cup (1 One half pounds) all purpose
flour
1/3 teaspoon Salt
One fourth teaspoon Baking powder
3 One half tablespoon Soft butter or margerine (I
used far more than they
called for because it was
so hard to stretch it out)
1/3 cup (2 One half ounces) milk

from The Art of Indian Cuisine by Pranati Sen Gupta (who probably wouldn`t
mind me reprinting her recipe because every Bengolee I know is related to
someone who is somehow related to me)

1. sift dry ingredients.Mix in 2 One half tbsp butter or shortening.Add enough
milk to make a soft dough.Cover bowl containing dough with damp cloth and
set aside for 30 min.

2. Knead dough well.Devide into 2 balls.Roll out each ball into a round
about 6 inches in diameterand 1/6 inch thick.Brush each round with One half tbsp
butter and sprinkle lightly with flour.Make a cut from the centre of the
round to the edge.Roll dough from one cut edge to the other to form a
crescent like roll.Cut each roll into 3 equal parts.Place cut side of each
up,flatten,and roll out to the size of a pancake.

(*i didn`t really understand the last 2 lines so i did like they do at
home.The mamak people which are indian muslims usually make this by
throwing it up in the air rather like i believe they do with pizza over
here.Deficient in this regard,my mother made do with stretching it out on
an oily surface before folding it up into a 6 inch pancake of sorts.)

...to cont.where I left off....

Heat ghee in a shallow frying pan and fry paratha turning about 57 min or
until both sides are a golden brown and crisp.Serve while hot.(At home it
would be served with a dhal.We do have varieties of these whereby a meat
/chicken filling is added ((murtabak)) or where it is fried after being
dipped in an egg mixture((no special name)). Posted to FOODWINE Digest by
Lena Das v63ld@MORGAN.UCS.MUN.CA on Sep 2, 1997