Arayees paratha: Indo-Emirati flatbread stuffed with minced lamb

Method to prepare the dough 

In a bowl, preferably a sturdy metal one, add whole wheat flour. Then add a pinch of salt to the flour and mix it into the dough. Keep adding water little by little till small clusters of dough begin to form. Continue kneading.

Keep kneading the flour till pliable. Use your knuckles to knead. Stretch the dough, knead, fold it inwards and knead until the dough becomes smooth.

Once the dough is ready, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil or ghee and knead it one  last time before setting it aside for 30 minutes. Cover the bowl with a wet muslin cloth or a lid. A wet muslin cloth will help the dough retain moisture. And resting relaxes the gluten strands formed, making it easier to roll out.

After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the bowl to check consistency. It should look like a neat ball just as shown below in the picture. Not too spongy, nor too hard.

Preparing the stuffing

Now, break the dough into small balls and start rolling them out, as shown in the image below.

Sprinkle some flour on the rolling surface to prevent the dough from sticking, and also for it to rotate freely with a rolling pin.

Now, fold the dough inwards, towards yourself and press it with your fingers. Fold it again, placing both corners on top of each other, forming a triangle. See images below.

Next, begin filling the minced lamb stuffing. Gently press the stuffing to flatten it a little so that you can close the dough back into a ball.

When the filled dough ball is round, press it gently to flatten it a little. Spinkle some flour on the rolling surface and begin rolling it out, as shown below. Make sure that you put equal pressure on both sides of the rolling pin, to press the filled dough evenly.

On a pre-heated griddle on a medium-high flame, put the rolled paratha carefully. In about 30 seconds, flip it using a flattened laddle. 

Once you flip it to the other side, the heated side of the paratha will have light brown marks. On this side, smear some ghee or clarified butter with a teaspoon, after ensuring both sides are cooked well.

You can serve this Indo-Emirati Arayees paratha, with either a dip, chutney or raita (yoghurt-based dip with Indian spices)

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