Bet some of you are probably thinking – Is MJ taking on Indian Cuisine?. NO! I’m going to leave that to the experts, and the expert that made these beautiful parathas (Indian flatbread) is the lovely Swathi of the Zesty South Indian Kitchen. I first introduced Swathi to you about a year ago when she asked me to share my Southwestern Pileup on her site. Now she is doing me the great favor of sharing one of her authentic Indian recipes on my site. Swathi is from Trivandrum Kerala, India, and currently living in Texas. Her Ph.D. studies in Microbiology allowed her to work in Japan, Sweden and the United States. As a result of this worldwide exposure, she has a love of ALL foods and her site is full of delicious recipes from all around the world. For this post I asked her to share a traditional Indian recipe and I was so thrilled when I saw these gorgeous pictures of paratha!!! I love paratha and am thrilled that she is sharing this recipe you. I hope you enjoy.
It’s all yours Swathi!
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This is Swathi who blogs at Zesty South Indian Kitchen, and I am a stay at home mom of two beautiful kids and love to cook from scratch and also love fresh homemade bread.
Aloo paratha/Aloo Ka paratha is one of the famous North Indian flatbread recipes you can find in any Indian restaurant menu card next to Naan. My first encounter with aloo paratha/Aloo ka paratha happened during my Master’s study tour trip to Goa. I fell in love with it at that time. However my mom was not in a mood to make it for us. So my contact with aloo partha happened only during restaurant visits.
This time when I went to Mumbai, India, I was able to learn from the cook who comes to cook at my in-laws’ house. Even though she didn’t give me exact measures of each ingredient, I was able to pick up from what she cooked in front me. Every evening when she came, I would stand near the corner of kitchen window with a camera and notebook. Like an obedient student I would take notes while she was cooking.
Paratha/parantha is one of the most popular unleavened Indian flat breads from the northern part of the Indian subcontinent and is made by with whole wheat flour in a griddle/skillet. Paratha is usually stuffed with boiled potatoes (as in aloo ka paratha), leaf vegetables, radishes, cauliflower, and/or paneer (Cottage-cheese). Paratha is usually eaten with dollop of butter or spicy condiments like pickles or some time elaborate meat or vegetable curries. Paratha is thought to have originated in Peshawar (currently a region in Pakistan) and then spread to all over the former northern parts of India. It began as a wholesome meal often eaten at breakfast. It is really filling so you can have it for your lunch and dinner. We had it as our dinner. In the Chandini chowk area of Delhi, there is a short section of shops entirely dedicated to selling these paratha. Even the place is called Paranthe wali Gali meaning “paratha selling Food Street”.
I can say that Norwegin Lefse and Finnish potato flat bread – Perunarieska can be distant cousin of this aloo paratha. The main difference between them is, in the former, two potatoes are mixed with flour to make flat bread,where as in aloo paratha, potato is filled as stuffing.
For this aloo ka paratha or parantha you need to make two things: first the dough and then the stuffing. Make a dough with little oil, salt, water and whole wheat. While dough is resting make the potato filing. First boil the potatoes then mash them and add spices and knead well to form dough. Make balls out for dough as well as the potato filling. Slightly flatten the whole wheat dough into thick rounds then place the filling and cover it. Press again to make a 6 inch diameter circle. Fry on a hot griddle or skillet, brushing with ghee on both sides as it cooks.
Here comes the recipe.
Aloo Paratha / Aloo ka Paratha: Potato Stuffed Indian Flatbread Recipe
Recipe by Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen
Yields: 9 Flatbreads
Ingredients & Instructions
For the dough
2 cup whole wheat flour + ¼ cup extra for rolling
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup to 1 cup Hot water
2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon olive oil
3 tablespoon of homemade ghee for brushing the paratha (Recipe for homemade ghee)
- In a bowl of kitchen aid stand mixer attached with paddle attachment, add whole wheat flour, salt 2 tablespoon olive oil and water and combine well to form dough.
- Change paddle attachment and with dough hook knead the dough for about 5 minutes or until they become smooth.
- Set aside in lightly greased bowl rolling the dough so that dough get coat with 1 teaspoon oil , this will prevent dough from drying. Keep aside for 15-20 minutes. Make 9 equal sized balls and set aside.
For stuffing
2 medium potato cooked and mashed ( 1 cup)
1/2tablespoon coriander powder/ dhaniya powder/malli podi
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder/haldi / manjal powder
1/4 teaspoon dry mango powder/ aamchur powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon chili powder ( reduce the amount if you want less spiciness)
1 thai green chili chopped finely
1 inch ginger chopped finely
1 tablespoon cilantro/ coriander leaves
½ tablespoon dry fenugreek leaves/ Kasturi methi
¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
For filling
- First pressure cook and mash the potato and then add spices, green chili, ginger chopped, kasturi methi, salt, and cilantro leaves and mix well to form a smooth dough.
- Then divide the dough into 9 equal sized balls and set aside.
- Assembly and cooking the paratha.
- First with whole wheat dough balls make thick flat disc of about 3 inch and then place potato filling ball in the center and cover the potato filling with whole dough so it get covered fully .
- Then again flatten into a 6 inch disc with roller using whole wheat flour liberally to prevent them from sticking.
- Heat skillet and transfer the spread dough into skillet carefully. Cook the one side until you see bubbles on the top, brush with ghee
- Flip the other side and cook for another minute. When paratha is done, you will see brown spots all over. Brush them with ghee on both sides once again.
- Continue to make the paratha until you finish the entire dough. You will able to make 9 paratha from this recipe.
- Serve them with spicy pickle or curry or your choice. I served with cauliflower curry.
Thanks so much Swathi for sharing your recipe for
Aloo ka Paratha or Potato Stuffed Indian Flatbread!
thanks for sharing. i love aalu ka paratha.
Wow, these look fantastic. I have always wanted to make these. Great guest post by Swathi. 🙂
I love stuffed bread, and honestly this is one of my favorite!
Great job, MJ
One of my all time favorite Indian foods. Can eat these anytime of the day!
Fantastic guest post!
That looks fab! An Indian restaurant near my old place in France used to serve great versions of this… and not so great ones with meat and some weird tomatoey sauce inside which I didn’t enjoy. Thanks for sharing this MJ – looks lovely!
A fabulous guest post with a great recipe. Of course I love Indian foods but never made these. They look so thin to be stuffed. Looks so yummy.
Thanks Evelyne! I thought the same thing – so thin to be stuffed.
Of all the cuisines I think Indian is the one I need to learn on, I see and ate lot of Indian dishes but I dont know how to make them like this one. A good curry is a must with flat breads like this
Thanks Raymund for stopping by! I can’t wait to make them and from all of the comments and Swathi’s suggestions, I’m definitely going to have to make a curry to go with them.
Hi MJ and Swathi! Indian food is one of our favourites. Thanks for sharing the paratha recipe — it’s one I’ld love to try out sometime. Looks delicious!
Hi Swathi! We love Aloo Paratha! Our neighbor used to make extra and deliver to our home because they know how much we love this. Now they moved away, and we haven’t had it for a while (except for those premade ones from Indian store). I’d love to make it from scratch one day… so much better. Thanks for the recipe, Swathi, and thank you MJ for introducing her and her blog!
Hi Swathi! I’m thrilled to meet such an excellent Indian cook! I love Indian cuisine and even though I do cook from my Indian cookery books regularly, I have never dared making parathas… Yours look so gorgeous and perfect, I wish I could grab one through the screen 🙂
Thank you, MJ, for introducing Swathi!
And I’m SO happy to be able to introduce you to Swathi!!! You’re going to love browsing through her recipes! Thanks as always for your comments Sissi!
I love the idea of ‘loose measurements’ always a sign of authentic cooking in my books ;-). Thank you Swathi for this beautiful presentation of Indian flat bread. The ingredients in the stuffing are truly extraordinary — each one more mouthwatering than the next. The bread looks so beautiful too with the green herbs poking through. This is the first time I’ve come across mango powder; how great, must investigate that one further. Do you eat this potato bread as an appetizer before or alongside a meal (much like we would in North America) or is there a different custom with Aloo paratha/Aloo Ka paratha? I must try this; thank you!
Great comments as always Kelly!! Thanks!
So good to see Swati guest posting for you MJ! I love Swati’s blog and I am especially a fan of her baked goodies. The aloo paranthas are a favorite and I can never tired of eating them. Delicious guest post 🙂
Thanks so much!!! It’s good to see how many people already follow Swathi. She such an amazing cook! I’m thrilled that she shared some of her culture and flavors here.
Hi MJ,
Glad to land on this blog via Swathi’s.Just glanced thru some of ur posts u have some awesome recipes. Will come back soon 🙂
Swathi, as usual u have done a wonderful job, those parathas look awesome.
Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comments Meena K! Swathi does cook up a mean paratha, doesn’t she?! 🙂
Just discovered your blog through your visit at my FB page.
Great recipes and beautiful pics. congrats, will be back for sure.
The Parathas look amazing!
Thanks so much Daniela!! I’m so glad you found my blog and hope to see you again soon.
Hi MJ,
Thank you for sharing with us Swathi and her delicious bread. That plate of bread looks very delicious. It was nice meeting you Swathi and again, thank you MJ for sharing this post with a wonderful guest like Swathi. Have a nice weekend ladies. 🙂
Thank YOU Ray for your comment and you are most welcome! Please be sure to check out Swathi’s blog. She has some fabulous recipes!!!! Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!
Peach Lady I had this once and I loved it! Thank you for this recipe. I confess I tried to make it a few times, I didn’t know it was called paratha. Mine was OK, but not nearly as good as the one the Indian lady made. I should give this recipe a try. I can’t eat hot things so flat-breads are the one thing I like to make from Indian cuisine.
Thanks Zsuzsa! Swathi sure makes this recipe sound easy doesn’t she, and of course, the outcome is perfection! I wish I could get her to ship me some because I know that mine would never come out as beautiful as hers.
Paratha look so perfect and inviting…I can have few of those…. 🙂 Nice post
What a delicious guest post! I am always looking for more potato recipes. This looks so good!
These do look delicious, don’t they?! Thanks for stopping by!
These look fabulous, Swathi!
So nice to find our friend, Swathi, guest posting for you! This flat bread looks outstanding! So tempting!
Wow what interesting woman and an interesting post. I am going to bounce over and read her blog. Because I am very fond of Indian food. Our Indian restaurant closed up. So now I have to travel 2 hrs to Seattle to get my ‘hit’. I was completely taken by surprise by how simple this recipe is. I love flat breads. Guess what—I am not intimidated. Yay!
I agree Carol! Swathi is an interesting woman. I would have never thought of these parathas being made by a PhD microbiologist. 🙂 She’s smart, a real sweetheart and a great cook!! I can tell she’s a great mother as well.
Hi MJ,
I came thru Swathi’s blog and this is my first time in here. I loved here but what I loved most is how you take time to acknowledge and reply to all comments. Simply wow.
Keep up the good work and have a wonderful day.
Love
Surya.
Thanks so much for your nice comments Surya and for stopping by! I hope you have wonderful day as well. Hugs, MJ
Thank you so much for presenting to us some of the Indian customs and also the preparation of this delicious flat bread. Great guest post! Thank you both!
I agree! I was glad that Swathi include her story along with the recipe. I love how she got the recipe. 🙂
WOW.u have a lovely space here. Came from Swathis space. Aloo paratha is our all time fav..
Thanks so much for stopping by and saying hello Suhaina!! Very nice to meet you.
Hi MJ,
Just hop over from Swathi’s blog. Her aloo paratha looks delicious. I know that Swathi’s blog is one of the best with comprehensive range of fantastic Indian and many other cuisine.
This is a great post!
Zoe
Thanks so much for your comment Zoe and for stopping by!!
This looks like a perfect guest post MJ .I am from india and i know how indians love their parathas .Nice to know more about you swathi .
Thanks so much Sathya! Thanks for stopping by!
wow one of my favs nice to meet you and love Swathis blog
Nice to meet you too Rebecca! Thanks for stopping by!
I’ve eaten this before but I always figured you had to have something special in your DNA to make these successfully at home. I’m going to give it a try. Lovely guest post!
I have always thought the same thing Maureen. But since Swathi makes it looks so easy, I want to give them a try myself. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks MJ for giving the wonderful opportunity.
You are most welcome and thanks for such a fabulous recipe Swathi!! I’m so excited to have it here.
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What a lovely looking paratha, my favourite part of eating Indian with many curries 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks Uru! I have this recipe and a curry on my meal list for next week. Paratha and curry sounds wonderful!
Looks perfect for dinner.
Thanks Lady Lilith!
What a terrific guest post! I’ve had aloo paratha often in restaurants, and although I do make some Indian breads, have never tried this one. I should — Swathi makes it so easy! Really like this, a lot. Thanks.
Glad you liked the recipe of aloo paratha. John thanks.
Thanks so much John! Swathi does make it look so easy and so good, doesn’t she! I’m so pleased to have this recipe on my site!
Wow!!! The aloo parathas look simply delicious.. I’m drooling over the pics.. Great post by you both..
Thanks Gloria! Swathi makes a mean paratha doesn’t she? 🙂