Pudine ka paratha is a flaky layered flatbread scented with fresh mint and filled with a tangy chilli-cumin-chaat masala. It eats crisp at the edges, with a warm minty heat and a sour-salty lift from the chaat masala.
Put 210 g plain flour, 13.5 g vegetable oil and 0.3 g sea salt into a wide bowl. Stir in the mint for the dough (20 g mint leaf), then add 110 ml water in small splashes, kneading until a soft dough forms. Cover the bowl and leave for 1 hour.
Stir together the spice mix: 1.2 g dried mint leaf, 1.1 g cumin seed, 2.6 g kashmiri chilli powder and 6 g chaat masala. Set aside in a small bowl.
Cut the dough into 5 equal pieces. Roll one piece out very thin. Brush it with melted ghee, then scatter over a generous pinch of the spice mix. From the near edge, roll the dough away into a long rope. Curl one end round until it meets the other end, press the coil flat and set aside. Repeat with the rest, cover and rest for 1 hour.
Heat a large dry frying pan over a medium heat.
Roll one coil into a 20 cm round, dusting with extra plain flour to stop it sticking. Put it in the pan and cook for 1 minute on each side. Add 1 teaspoon melted ghee, flip the paratha and fry for 1 minute until light brown and flaky. Spread a little more ghee on the top, flip again and cook for 1 minute more, adding a little ghee as needed, until light brown and cooked through. Wrap in foil or a clean cloth to keep warm. Cook the remaining parathas the same way.
Use 3 to 4 times the weight, finely chopped. Stir in towards the very end of cooking; provides a fresher, brighter herbal lift rather than deep, concentrated menthol.
Use equal weight, crushed between your palms. Offers savoury, earthy bitterness rather than cooling mint, but works nicely in marinades and rich gravies.