A parotta is judged on two things: its layers and its softness. Get either wrong and no gravy will rescue it. The dough is worked, rested, stretched thin, coiled, and only then pressed out and cooked on a hot flat griddle so the layers separate cleanly.
What makes it a complete plate is what comes beside it. A thick, slow-cooked kulambu clings to the layers instead of running off them, and the parotta soaks it up without turning heavy.
It is the most-ordered combination at our counter, and it is the one we would put in front of anyone eating with us for the first time.
