Aloo Paratha

Introduction & History

Winters are here and it's time to indulge in a delicious and crispy Aloo Paratha recipe filled with spicy potato stuffing made with spices and herbs. Paratha is one of the most loved North Indian delicacy, which is prepared in almost every Indian household.

Aloo means “potato” and paratha means “flatbread” in Hindi, so the name is quite telling: aloo paratha is an unleavened whole wheat flatbread stuffed with a savoury, spiced, mashed potato filling. In Punjabi families, parathas are made with lots of love and affection, not to mention lots of ghee and homemade butter (makhan). If you lean towards a healthier lifestyle, you can easily opt to roast aloo paratha in oil and serve them with curd (plain yogurt) instead of butter.

Summarised Preparation

Before you can make these delicious stuffed parathas, you need to prepare the potato stuffing and make the whole wheat dough.

Make Potato Stuffing

First, boil or steam 4 medium-sized potatoes in a pressure cooker, steamer or electric cooker. Add enough water in a 2-litre pressure cooker or pan to just barely cover the potatoes.

For cooking in a pressure cooker – On a medium heat, cook the potatoes in water for 3 to 4 whistles. When the pressure settles down naturally, remove the lid and drain the water very well. Allow the potatoes to cool enough to handle and then peel them.

If you haven’t done so yet, peel and chop the warm potatoes. Then mash the potatoes with a potato masher.

If you don’t have a potato masher, use a box grater to grate them and then mash the potatoes with a fork. The potatoes should be mashed very well, with no lumps, chunks or bits. Any lumps in the mix will cause the stuffing to leak out of the dough when rolling.

Now add the following ingredients, feeling free to vary the spices as you like.

½ to 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chillies (1 to 2 green chilies) or serrano peppers

¼ to ½ teaspoon Punjabi garam masala powder or Garam Masala Powder

¼ to ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder or cayenne pepper or paprika (optional)

½ to 1 teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur powder) – or use lemon juice instead

salt according to your taste

With a spoon, thoroughly mix the ground spices and green chilies into the mashed potatoes to get an even mixture. Set the prepared aloo stuffing aside.

Do check the taste of the spiced mashed potato stuffing, adjusting the salt, red chilli powder, or dry mango powder if needed.

Make The Dough

In a separate bowl, add 2 cups whole wheat flour (atta). Make a well in the center. Add ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste), 1 tablespoon oil or ghee, and roughly ⅓ to ½ cup water.

Bring the mixture together and knead into a smooth, soft dough for 8 to 10 minutes. Add more water if needed. Cover and keep the dough aside, letting it rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

Pinch two small balls from the dough. Flatten them and dust with whole wheat flour.

With a rolling pin, roll them into rounds roughly 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Try making both the discs the same size. On one of the discs, place the potato stuffing in the center, keeping about 1 inch empty space from the sides Gently place the second circle on top.

Press and seal the edges with your fingertips. If you are not able to seal the edges, then brush or spread some water on the edges and then seal. Dust some flour on the stuffed aloo ka paratha and start rolling.

Roll the paratha into a round about 7 to 8 inches in diameter, or about the size of a normal roti or chapati. rolled aloo paratha on board ready to be roasted.

Pinch off a medium ball of dough. Roll it between your palms and lightly flatten it. Dust with some flour and roll to a circle about 5 to 5.5 inches diameter. Place the potato stuffing in the center, keeping about 2 to 2.5 inches of space from the sides. placing stuffing on a single round of paratha dough. Take the edge and start pleating, joining the pleats in the center.

folding and pleating the paratha dough to shut it around the aloo filling.

When all of the pleats are joined together, it should look like a Chinese dumpling. Be sure to pinch the pleats together very well so the filling doesn’t leak out while rolling. after joining all the pleats, the unrolled aloo paratha looks like a soup dumpling. Press the joined top portion slightly downward to flatten it a bit.

press the pointy top of the paratha dough down with a palm to flatten it slightly. Sprinkle some flour and roll this version of stuffed paratha to about the same size as that of a chapati or roti. If some of the filling comes out, then just take a small piece of dough and cover the gap. Roll, trying to create the same thickness throughout, as you would a pie dough. Avoid keeping the edges thick. rolling aloo paratha with a rolling pin.

Roast Alu Paratha

On a hot tawa (skillet or griddle), place the rolled paratha. The tawa should be quite hot; cooking parathas at a low flame will harden them. Ideally, the finished parathas are crisp as well as soft. roasting aloo paratha on skillet.

When the base is partly cooked, flip the paratha using a spatula. You will see some air pockets on this side. frying aloo paratha after flipping the first time - there are very faint bubbles beginning to appear. Spread some ghee or a neutral flavored oil (e.g. sunflower) on the partly cooked part. the aloo paratha has been brushed with oil and is beginning to puff up.

Flip again and you will see nice golden blisters on the second side. To clarify, the side which has been spread with ghee will be on the bottom. This side has to be cooked more than the previous side. second side of cooked aloo paratha is still dry, but has a few golden spots on it like a tortilla.

Spread some ghee on the second side facing you. A well-made and well-roasted aloo paratha will always puff up when roasting. the second side of the aloo paratha has been brushed with oil and the whole paratha is puffed up in the centre. Flip again once or twice till both sides are cooked properly, with crisp brown spots. You should also press the aloo paratha edges down with a spatula or spoon so that they are fried well. Repeat, making all parathas this way.

I usually stuff and make aloo ke paratha side by side because I love multitasking :-). After they roast, I keep on stacking them in a roti basket or casserole lined with a towel to help keep them warm. I also add a bit of Homemade Butter on top of each paratha when I serve them.

cooked aloo paratha on skillet.

If your family is ready to eat NOW, you can also serve the aloo ka paratha directly from the tawa (skillet) to the serving plate. Serve some extra butter on the side, along with Mango Pickle, Lemon Pickle, Dal Makhani or some fresh curd (yogurt)

Ingredients

For Potato Stuffing

3 to 4 medium potatoes – boiled and mashed

1 to 2 green chilies – chopped finely

¼ to ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder or cayenne pepper or paprika, optional

¼ to ½ teaspoon Garam Masala

½ to 1 teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur powder)

1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander leaves – optional

salt as required

oil or ghee, as required for roasting paratha

For Paratha Dough

2 cups whole wheat flour

½ teaspoon salt or add as required

1 tablespoon oil or ghee (clarified butter)

water as required for kneading

For Serving

White Butter or yogurt to serve with the aloo paratha

mango pickle or lemon pickle – as required