Aloo Paratha
January 14th, 2007 filed under Breads, Vegan
Parathas are whole-wheat Indian flatbread. Parathas can be made plain or stuffed with many different fillings. This recipe uses the most popular filling – Potatoes. Aloo Parathas are perfect for a weekend breakfast or brunch.
Makes 6 Parathas.
Ingredients:
Dough:
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 cup water (Use more as needed)
- Pinch of salt
Potato Filling
- 2 medium potatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 chopped green chili
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (green coriander)
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon amchoor powder (optional)
Also needed
- 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour for rolling
- Oil to cook
Method:
Dough
- Mix flour, salt and water together to make soft dough (if the dough is hard add a little more water). I like mixing the dough by hand.
- Knead the dough for a few minutes on a lightly greased surface to make smooth and pliable dough.
- Set the dough aside and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough rest for at least ten minutes.
Filling
- Boil 2 medium potatoes with 2 cups of water. After the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium. Let the potatoes cook until they are tender.
- Once tender, remove them from the water and let them cool down. Note: Do not cool the potatoes under running water because the potatoes will become too soft.
- After the potatoes are cold enough to handle, peel the skin off and mash the potatoes.
- Mix green chilies, cilantro, cumin seeds and salt to the mashed potatoes.
Making paratha
- Divide the dough and potato mixture into 6 equal parts. The potato balls should be about 1 1/2 times larger than the dough balls.
- Roll the dough into 3 inch diameter circles. Place the potato balls in the center. Seal by pulling the edges of the rolled dough together to
- make a ball. Proceed to make all six balls.
- Let them settle for 3 to 4 minutes before rolling them.
- Heat the skillet on medium high. Note: An iron skillet works best. To check if the skillet is hot enough, sprinkle a couple of drops of water
- on it. If the water sizzles right away, the skillet is ready.
- To make it easier to roll the balls, first roll them in dry whole-wheat flour.
- Lightly press the ball on the sealed side and keep it on the topside when rolling. Roll the ball light handed in to 6-inch circles. Whenever the dough sticks to the rolling pin or rolling surface, lightly sprinkle dry whole-wheat flour on both sides of the semi-rolled paratha.
- Place the paratha over the skillet. After a few seconds you will see the
- paratha change color and puff in different places.
- Then flip the paratha over. You should see some golden-brown spots on the topside. After a few seconds, spread 1 teaspoon of oil on the paratha. Again, flip the paratha and lightly press the puffed areas with a spatula.
- Flip again and press with the spatula making sure the paratha is golden-brown on both sides.
- Cool the parathas on a wire rack so they don’t get soggy.
- Parathas can be kept outside for up to 2 days wrapped in aluminum foil or in a covered container. For later use, parathas can be refrigerated for 5-6 days or freezed (wrapped in aluminum foil) for a month. Re-heat on a skillet or toaster oven.
Variations
Try substituting chopped cilantro with a 1/4 cup of finely chopped mint leaves. You can use a variety of herbs in this recipe. Make sure to remove
all excess water when adding your choice of fresh herbs.
Serving Suggestions
- Parathas can be served with tomato chutney, plain yogurt, any gravy subji, or spicy pickle.
- Make it like a Mexican Quesadilla by topping it with cheese and sliced tomatoes, then folding it in half.
Hi aunty,
I tried this out the other day . It tasted really good . Only problem is that when I started rolling it out (after ptting the stuffing in) the outer cover started tearing away and by the time I finished rolling I could see most of the inner stuf out. Do you have a remedy to this aunty?
Asha,
I think potatoes were over boiled.
I used to have this problem, before I learned Manjula’s method.
What I was doing differently was not letting the filled- paratha’s REST before rolling out. Also Manjula kneaded the potato to get it smooth first which means no lumps to break through the dough. (a potato ricer should be great for this too, I want one). I like to microwave the potatoes, then they get no water added to them.
Hello Aunty,
Thank you so much for your detailed instructions. This is the first time that my parathas have come out well, and I have been trying for many years. Thank you so much.
Hi Aunty,
I am from Bangalore and I tried your recipe for aloo paratha…..it came out just great….one question, does the size of the dough need to be same as that of the aloo balls?
Thanks for sharing your recipes,
Have a great time!
Brindha.
Dear Aunty,
This is a great recipe and video.
Thank you!
Very tasty!
Hi Auntie,
I’m a typical indian man living in England who has always relied on my mum when it came to these types of meals and not bother learning myself, now my mum spends most her time in India, i can finally make the meals i enjoy the most when she is on holiday and maybe even start making meals for my parents and my children. I find this site excellent and informative.
How do you get your dough to clump in the blender like that?? mine spreads it out so it’s all over the place.
Too much water =)
it will clump together if you get the consistency right.
Try it by hand, and keep drizzling water into the flour slowly and gently until the dough comes together, and then knead until it’s no longer sticky and it forms an elastic ball. Then let it rest. Once you know how the dough should feel in your hands, you’ll be able to cheat with the food processor more confidently.
Dear Manjula,
I plan to try this recipe this week. In the video the flour looked more like white flour than whole wheat. What type and brand of flour did you use? Thanks.
Dear Aunty,
This is a fabulous recipe. The aloo parathaa came out thin and yummy. The idea of resting the dough stuffed with aloo makes perfect sense as it increases the gluten content and makes it easier to roll out!
Thank you for a great karma free food site.
We are brahmins as we prefer not to have onions and garlic in our receipes. Your website is a blessing for people like us.
thank u.
Hi Aunty,
These parathas came out really well. Your video is really detailed and cool.
thanks a lot.