Aloo paratha is a bread dish originating from the Punjab region of the subcontinent. It is a breakfast dish that is popular in the subcontinent. The recipe for Aloo Paratha is one of the most popular breakfast dishes in western, central, and northern India and also in the eastern regions of Pakistan.
Ingredients for Aloo Paratha
For Potato Stuffing
- 3 to 4 medium potatoes – boiled and mashed
- 1 to 2 green chilies – chopped finely
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder or cayenne pepper or paprika, optional
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander leaves – optional
- salt as desired
- oil or ghee, as desired 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 is required for kneading
For Serving
- Butter or yogurt with Pudina Chatni (Mint)
- Pickle
Method for Making Aloo Paratha
- First, boil the potatoes and peel them. You can boil or steam potatoes in a pressure cooker, steamer, or electric cooker.
- Cut the potatoes and then mash them with a potato masher.
- Potatoes should be mashed very well. There should be no lumps or small pieces in it.
- Now add chopped green chilies, garam masala powder, red chili powder, dry mango, and salt.
- Mix the spice powder and green chilies well with the mashed potatoes. Check the taste and add more salt, or red chili powder or dried mango according to your taste.
Kneading the dough
- Put whole wheat flour (atta) in another bowl or pan.
- Make a well in the middle. Add salt, oil, and about half of the water.
- Mix the mixture and make a smooth soft dough.
- Cover and let the dough rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
Stuffing And Rolling
Method 1
- Cut two small balls from the dough. Flatten them and dust them with wholemeal flour.
- Using a rolling pin, roll them into rounds about 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Try to make both wheels the same size.
- On one of the circles of rolled dough, place the potato filling in the center, leaving about 1 inch of space on the sides.
- Gently place the second circle on top.
- Press and seal the edges of the fingertips.
- Dust the filled paratha with a little flour and roll it into a circle about 7 to 8 inches in diameter or the size of a normal roti or chapati.
Method 2
- Make a medium ball of dough. Roll up and flatten. Dust with a little flour and roll into a circle about 5 to 5.5 inches in diameter.
- Place the potato filling in the center, leaving about 2 to 2.5 inches of space on the sides.
- Take the edge and start pleating as well as put the pleats in the center.
- Bring the folds together. The folds must come together well, otherwise there will be gaps during rolling and the filling will leak out.
- In case you can see the filling, take a small piece of dough and cover the gap. Roll to smooth out a small piece of dough.
- Press the folds from the center.
- Sprinkle some flour and roll this version of aloo paratha to about the same size as a chapati or roti.
Roasting
- Place the rolled paratha on a hot tava (tawa or griddle or griddle).
- Tawa or pan must be hot and not on low temperature. Cooking the parathas on low flame hardens them. Parathas are ideally crispy and also soft.
- When the base is partially cooked, flip the alu paratha using a spatula or tongs.
- Spread a little ghee on the partially cooked portion.
- Turn again and this time this side must be cooked more than the previous side. You will see brown spots on the paratha.
- Spread some ghee on this side as well. A well made and well fried aloo ka paratha puffs up.
- Turn once or twice again until both sides of the aloo paratha are properly cooked. You should see crisp brown spots on the paratha.
- You can also press the edges of the paratha with a spatula or a spoon to get it cooked well. Sometimes the edges of the paratha are not well cooked so keep this point in mind.
- Make all the aloo ke paratha like this and stack them in a roti basket or casserole.
- You can also serve aloo paratha directly from the tawa (pan) directly on the serving plate. Serve with a little extra butter, along with mango pickle or lemon pickle or garlic pickle or some yogurt.
- If you are serving them as an evening snack, you can also serve Aloo Paratha with a cup of hot tea or lassi.
