Aloo Paratha
The carb-on-carb goodness that is an aloo paratha is something to be devoured while still hot off the pan. There’s no waiting that can happen, otherwise, they turn floppy and cold. Although, even in their floppy coldness, they’re still delicious. I fondly remember eating these growing up. My mom learned how to make them from my grandmother who most likely learned from her mother.
Rolling any kind of paratha perfectly round is an art that only a skilled Indian woman with years of practice knows how to do. Since I’m not one of them, I can live with my oblong, sometimes misshapen ones.
Mumma would reserve some of the dough to make shakar ka paratha, a version of paratha with the same dough but instead of a potato filling, she’d add a healthy amount of sugar on the inside. She’d roll these to be square instead of round in order to identify them from the potato ones. Not that anyone would mistake them because as they fried on the tawwa, the sugar would melt into a gooey syrup and ooze out the sides making them hot and sticky like the temperature in the kitchen would always became when my mother made parathas. Rolling any kind of paratha perfectly round is an art that only a skilled Indian woman with years of practice knows how to do. Since I’m not one of them, I can live with my oblong, sometimes misshapen ones that look like “countries on the map” as my mother says my grandmother would say. There’s always magic in working with your hands and turning flour into a dough, but add a spicy potato filling and it turns into a blissfully soft stuffed flatbread that’s a meal on its own.
Aloo Paratha
Makes: Approx. 8-10 parathas
Calories: About 250 each
Time: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
Dough
2 cups atta (wholemeal wheat flour like Sujata Gold Atta) plus more for rolling
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 Tbs. oil
1 cup hot water
Filling
3 potatoes
2 Tbsp. canola oil plus more for frying
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. nigella seeds
1 Tbsp. garlic & ginger paste
2 small green chilis, chopped
6 curry leaves
1/16 tsp. turmeric
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. chaat masala
1 tsp. lemon juice
Ghee (optional)
METHOD
Step 1
In a large bowl, mix atta, salt, and sugar until combined. Add the oil to the flour mixture and mix with your hands until well incorporated. Add hot water a little at a time until you form a dough that just comes together. Knead for 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, make the filling by boiling 3 potatoes in a large pot of water for about 20-25 minutes. Drain, cool slightly, and peel while still warm. Mash the potatoes and set aside.
Step 3
In a large saucepan, heat 2 Tbsp. canola oil then fry the chopped onions until brown, about 8-10 minutes. Add nigella seeds and fry for 1 minute. Add garlic & ginger paste and green chilis and fry for 1 more minute. Then add curry leaves and fry for another minute. Turn off heat, add mashed potatoes, and mix to combine. Add turmeric, salt, chaat masala, and lemon juice. Combine well and adjust for salt and seasonings if necessary. Roll into 65 gram balls and set aside.
Step 4
Uncover dough and roll into 65 gram balls as well. Cover with a towel so they don’t dry out. Take each dough ball one at a time and squish out into a round disk (about 7 inches in diameter) with your hands. Take one potato ball and place in the middle of the dough. Carefully wrap the potato with the dough sealing all sides with your hands and make it into a disc again. Coat in flour and set aside.
Step 5
Carefully roll out each disk into a 7 inch circle using some of the reserved flour making sure the filling is evenly distributed and doesn’t peek through as you are rolling. Heat a pan on medium high, add about 1 tsp. canola oil and fry the parathas for about 2-3 minutes on one side, flip, add another 1 tsp. oil and fry for another 2-3 minutes or until mottled brown. Repeat with the remaining disks. Brush with ghee and enjoy alone or with raita, chutney, and achaar.
What’s the Difference Between Parathas, Rotis, and Naans?
Parathas and rotis are made from the same dough but parathas are rolled slightly thicker and fried with more oil. Naans are baked by sticking the dough to the side of a clay oven and then brushing them with butter and optionally garlic. With so many different kinds of stuffed parathas throughout India, you could experiment with lentils, cheese, leafy greens like spinach or mustard greens, cauliflower, and peas.
Source: My mom.
