Jain Roti Recipes, Jain Paratha Recipes

Jain Roti Recipes, Jain Paratha Recipes. At least one Indian bread is served with most meals, be it Rotis, Parathas, Bhakri or others. It is essential in every Indian home and is made in many forms! Some people even like to take these in the dabba to eat at work or in school. Ideally, People who follow Jainism do not consume any root vegetables and many green leafy vegetables in the monsoons.

Many Jains do not follow this rule exactly as they eat all vegetables except onions, potatoes and garlic but we have still mentioned a few examples of ingredients that Jains avoid. This list is not exhaustive but is indicative.  

Jain paneer paratha recipe | no onion, no garlic paratha | Jain vegetable paratha | healthy Jain paratha |

Items avoided by Jains

1. onions
2. garlic
3. Green ginger and Turmeric
4. Yams
5. Carrots
6. Bambo Karela
7. Radish
8. Funghi (mushrooms)
9. Tubular vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes
10. Green Leafy Vegetables like coriander, spinach, methi, cabbage, cauliflower greens and suva bhaji are avoided during the monsoon season.
11. Cauliflower
12. Many seeded vegetables like eggplant
13. Pods of many trees including banyan tree, pipal tree etc
14. Yeast
15. Alcohol

Jain Roti Recipes

Jain rotis adhere strictly to the tenets of Jainism, a philosophy deeply rooted in ahimsa or non-violence towards all living beings, including microorganisms. Therefore, Jain rotis, whether plain or stuffed, must not contain any root vegetables such as onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, radishes, or ginger (fresh/green). This restriction stems from the belief that harvesting root vegetables involves killing the entire plant and harming countless microscopic organisms residing in the soil around them. Additionally, some Jain traditions may avoid multi-seeded vegetables like brinjal (eggplant) during certain periods, and certainly exclude any animal products or derivatives like eggs, meat, or honey. Jain rotis are typically made from above-ground grains and vegetables, often focusing on whole wheat flour (atta) and incorporating finely chopped allowed vegetables like cabbage, capsicum, peas, spinach, or bottle gourd, along with spices like asafoetida (hing) and green chilies, to create flavorful and permissible flatbreads.

This section gives you a wide choice of such rotis and parathas that even Jains can eat so that they can make a different dish each day. The most basic and most common out of this is the phulka roti or as Gujaratis call it, Rotli. This is had on a daily basis with different subzis like Bhindi or gobi. 

 Another type of roti is Thepla which is made by adding different masalas to the whole wheat dough and is cooked in oil to make it very soft. A very popular variant of thepla is Methi Thepla.

Thepla

Usually rotis are made in oil or ghee, but sometimes you can use everyone's favorite, butter, and make Makhani Rotis to eat alongside different subzis. Not only does it taste amazing, but the texture turns out great as well.

Makhani Roti

jowar roti recipe | jowar ki roti | jowar bhakri | healthy jowar roti | sorghum roti |

bajra roti recipe | bajre ki roti | healthy pearl millet roti | Rajasthani bajra roti | Sajje Roti

Another type of basic roti is the Padvali Roti. This is a pair of really thin chapatis that are usually served with aamras during the summers. The thin rotis are gotten by sticking two small dough balls and rolling them out together to get 2 thin layers.  You can even try adding coriander to the dough to make these beautiful Coriander rotis.

Padvali Roti, Gujarati Thin Rotli Recipe

Jain Paratha Recipes

Jain paratha recipes. Parathas are thicker than rotis and are often made with whole wheat dough as well. Usually filled with a stuffing of different vegetables, you can make many Jain variations of it as well. Cabbage and paneer parathas is quite an easy and wonderful dish to make. The succulent paneer with cabbage is a unique way to incorporate protein in your diet along with a wonderful taste. It is jazzed up with coriander and green chillies and tastes best served hot with homemade butter.

Cabbage and Paneer Parathas

Another mouth-watering paratha is the Masala Paratha. Here, instead of adding the masalas to the dough, the masala is stuffed inside the dough. Not only that, the masala is a not usual,  but a unique mix of cumin seeds, hing, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and chillies. You can also have a go at delectable options like the Green Pea Parathas and Pudina Parathas.

Masala Paratha

Unique Jain paratha and Jain puri preparations

Puran poli, a sweet jaggery and toor dal stuffed paratha, even though is quite common to Gujaratis, it is very unique to everyone else. The dal and jaggery are cooked down to get a beautiful paste that is then stuffed in whole wheat dough, rolled out and cooked in oodles of ghee!

Puran Poli

On the savory side we have the Stuffed Shahi Puri. Stuffed with a classic combination of paneer, chillies and coriander, this deep fried delicacy is a treat on its own.

Stuffed Shahi Puri

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