Shepu Paratha (Dill stuffed flat bread)

Dill as a vegetable was introduced to me by my husband who loves using it in making Dill Sambhar as he has grown up eating it in Bangalore where it is quite commonly used. In the US, I am used to buying it as Dill, so when I started shopping in Pune, I used to ask the owner of the corner vegetable market if he had any Dill... He would always smile.. for in Hindi, Dil (with one l) means "Heart", so it is quite funny when I ask him if he had Dil (heart).

Anyway, since two years he knows exactly what I mean by Dill.. and promptly gives me Shepu, commonly known in Maharashtra.  Here is an interesting read on various names of Dill in India.. thought you would love to know and appreciate the diversity of languages that we have in India.

Courtesy: Wikipedia
"In India, dill is known as shepu (शेपू) in Marathi and Konkani, savaa or menthulu in Hindi or soa in Punjabi. In Telugu, it is called methulu and Soa-kura (for herb greens). It is also called sabbasige soppu (ಸಬ್ಬಸಿಗೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು) in Kannada. In Tamil it is known as sada kuppi(சதகுப்பி). In Malayalam, it is ചതകുപ്പ (chathakuppa) or ശതകുപ്പ (sathakuppa). In Sanskrit, this herb is called shatapushpa. In Gujarati, it is known as suva. In India, dill is prepared in the manner of yellow moong dal as a main-course dish. It is considered to have very good antigas properties,so it is used as mukhwas, or an after-meal digestive. It is also traditionally given to mothers immediately after childbirth. In the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, a smaller amount of fresh dill is cooked along with cut potatoes and fresh fenugreek leaves(Hindi आलू-मेथी-सोया). In Manipur, dill, locally known as pakhon, is an essential ingredient of chagem pomba – a traditional Manipuri dish made with fermented soybean and rice".


Puneists cook Shepu as Sukha Bhaji (Dry vegetable curry) with lentils and eat it with Chapathi. Today, I thought I will give a new use for Dill in making a stuffed Paratha similar to any leafy paratha. My maid servant was quite surprised to find me make Dill Paratha for breakfast today, for she never imagined using Dill in this application.. That is where my product development skills and thinking comes of use I guess.. to think out of the box in corporate language:)

So readers.. here is the recipe for Dill Paratha.. which could be used for making any kind of leaf based Paratha - may it be Methi (Fenugreek), Palak (Spinach) or Kothimbir (Cilantro).

Shepu/Dill Paratha/Flat bread

Ingredient
Whole Wheat flour - 2 cups
Salt  - 1-2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala (spicy powder) - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 Tbsp for dough and as needed during making of the Paratha
Dill/Shepu - Finely chopped - 1 cup

Directions
Making the dough
Add the spices and salt to the flour along with oil and Dill and knead it well into a non-sticky dough. The oil will help remove the stickyness. Add less water than usual as Dill (vegetable) will give some water too. Keep it aside for 30 min or 1 hour covered.

Making the Paratha
Spread a ball of the dough using the bread roll and make a thin and flat bread. Use flour to help the dough not stick while spreading it flat. Take 1 tsp oil on a flat pan and cook the Paratha. Add oil on the sides and cook it well on both sides. Serve hot with Curd or pickle.

In North, people tend to eat it with green chilli and onion to give it the bite. The Paratha was flavorful and similar in consistency to Methi Paratha (thin and flavorful). It truly is a neat snack for the evening..

My little one has it for lunch today..lets see if the lunch box comes back empty..