Recipe: How to Make Aloo Paratha?

Aloo paratha is a delicacy from North India and its taste has spread throughout the Indian states. The dish is a spicy potato stuffing made from boiled potatoes with a variety of spices stuffed in whole wheat dough balls and fried on a hot griddle. Aloo paratha is famous in the homes of Punjab, where early morning breakfast is meant to be heavy. The stuffed paratha can be enjoyed with butter, yogurt, or pickle. Almost all the small restaurants or road-side ‘dhabas’ on the Indian highways serve this yummy and filling paratha. It is a dish loved by all kids and elders.

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. oil
• water to knead the dough

For the Stuffing

•  4 – 5 medium size potatoes
• 1 green chilli chopped
• 1 medium onion chopped finely
• 3 tsp. chopped coriander leaves
• 1 tsp. chopped mint leaves
• ½ tsp. red chilli powder
• ½ tsp. dried mango powder
• salt to taste
• oil to roast the parathas

Serving Suggestions

Serve hot aloo parathas with a blob of butter, yogurt, or any pickle.

Instructions

Preparation of the Dough

1. In a bowl, take the wheat flour and sprinkle salt and oil on it. Mix and remove lumps caused by oil.
2. Add water slowly and knead the flour into a smooth dough. Cover and set the dough aside for 20 minutes. Resting the dough will give you a soft and smooth dough which will be easy to roll.

Preparation of the Stuffing

1. Boil the potatoes, peel, and mash them. Make sure to leave no lumps while mashing the potatoes; you will have no difficulty in rolling your parathas if they have been mashed smoothly.
2. Add chopped onion, green chillies, coriander leaves, mint leaves, red chilli powder, dried mango powder, salt, and mix evenly and set aside.

Making the Aloo Paratha

1. Divide the dough into 8 equal sized balls.
2. Take a rolling pin and dust the surface with dry flour, then take one ball and roll it on the powdered surface to about 4 to 5 inches.
3. Take some potato stuffing and place it in the center of the rolled dough. Make sure you leave some gap on the sides.
4. Gather all the edges to the center and seal tight. Ensure the stuffing is sealed completely and then flatten the stuffed dough lightly with your hands.
5. Dust some more flour on the surface and roll the paratha to about 6 inches. Sprinkle more flour if required while rolling.
6. On a heated griddle, put the rolled paratha.
7. Flip when bubbles show up and it is half-cooked.
8. Spread some oil on this cooked part and when the lower portion of the paratha is half-cooked, flip the paratha once again and apply oil to this side too.
9. Cook the paratha by flipping once or twice while pressing slowly it with a spatula. Once the paratha gets a nice brown colour and is crispy, remove it from the griddle.
10. Repeat for all of the rolls.
11. Serve the parathas hot with butter, pickle, and yogurt, or simply enjoy an aloo paratha without any condiments.