A few weeks ago, Real Canadian Superstore started stocking Pran Plain Paratha in the frozen food section. The price has gone up since its first apperance, but it still seems like good value for a whopping 2400 grams and 30 pieces (originally $8.99 I believe, but now $11.49).
If there's one thing I really dislike about the product though, it's the excessive plastic. Each piece of paratha is separated from the others by two sheets of plastic. That seems rather excessive, especially nowadays when plastic is basically considered pollution. I think something that might be done to at least reduce the amount of plastic is to simply alternate a paratha and a piece of plastic, instead of two pieces of plastic per paratha.
I do try to save them all up and reuse, such as when I make burger patties or bread dough to keep them separated in the freezer. But the sheer amount does pile up.
They are very easily prepared in a non-stick frying pan or griddle, and without needing any oil. There's a fun layering and flakiness you can sort of control by how brown you let it get in the pan. And if you don't have anything to go with it, you can eat it straight from the skillet because even though it's "plain", there's sugar in the ingredients and you can just taste a slight sweetness.
Another fast and easy way to prepare them is with a toaster oven. From frozen, it takes approximately five minutes at high heat (450 degrees Farenheit), no pre-heating of the oven needed.
I've been using them to make meal pouches although they are smaller than the tortilla shells I normally use and a bit more prone to being punctured.
When I don't want to watch a paratha browning in my electric skillet, I do a lazy quesadilla (slide 3) with the paratha in my (really old) electric griddle (slide 4).
- Cut a frozen paratha in half.
- Tip: If it's frozen solid straight from the freezer, it's very prone to breaking into more than two neat halves. If you have time, Let it sit till it's slightly thawed so that there's little to no chance of shattering.
- Even if it does shatter, don't worry since when it's pressed together by the griddle (or maybe a sandwich maker) it'll all sort of fuse together hopefully.
- Put one half onto the griddle and assemble your toppings. (slide 5)
- I don't recommend anything too watery since all that liquid will probably just ooze out.
- In the picture I used some leftover stuffing. I've also used a handful of shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix plus a bit of salad dressing. Really, whatever you want or have on hand for a snack should be fine.
- Cover with the other half and set the timer. (slide 6)
- The timing will vary but probably 5-10 minutes of heat should do it, depending on how brown and crispy you want the paratha.
- You can see on my old griddle that there's a 5-minute preheat time so I just set it for 5 minutes (preheat) plus 7 minutes (actual cooking time) for a total of around 12 minutes.
- Then my favourite part: Just walk away and do something else till it's ready (slides 7-8). The griddle will turn itself off so it's not going to burn down the house. And even if I come back far too late, the "quesadilla" will probably still be hot or warm because of the residual heat of the griddle.
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