Aloo paratha is an Indian spiced potato stuffed flat bread. And it may just be the ultimate flat bread.
This is another one from my recent trip to India. You can order aloo paratha in pretty much any restaurant, and it is also a common breakfast food eaten together with raita.
Me telling you how good it is won’t do it justice. You must try, it and I’m telling you that you will love it! That is if you like the flavours of Indian food. And if you do, then you should not miss this one.
The dough is made with atta which is a type of whole wheat flour. If you cannot get a hold of it, then you could use regular whole wheat flour. I would suggest sifting it to remove some of the bran.
It is the potato stuffing that brings the flavour. Boiled potatoes are crushed with spices and stuffed inside the dough. It is quite a fun project and it’s surprisingly simple.
Choosing the right potatoes is important for the success of this recipe. You need a ‘waxy’ potato. A potato with a yellow interior is the best thing to look out for. One that makes great mashed potato will work well here too.
You can prepare the dough balls and filling a day ahead of time and keep them in the fridge. These breads are cooked in a pan and take no more than 3 – 4 minutes.
You will get 8 good sized flatbreads from this recipe. To make more simply multiply the amount of ingredients.
Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.
Ingredients
For the dough –
250g (8.8oz) atta flour
5g (0.17oz) salt
180g (6.35oz) water
For the filling –
400g (14.1oz) potatoes
5g (0.17oz) fresh chilli, chopped
5g (0.17oz) fresh ginger, chopped
7g (0.25oz) fresh coriander, chopped
3g (0.1oz) salt
5g (0.17oz) garam masala
3g (0.1oz) ground coriander
3g (0.1oz) fenugreek
3g (0.1oz) ground fennel
Ghee (clarified butter) or oil for cooking
For the raita –
250g (8.8oz) yogurt
10g (0.35oz) onions, chopped
2g (0.07oz) salt
6g (0.21oz) fresh coriander, chopped
6g (0.21oz) ground cumin
6g (0.21oz) fresh chilli, chopped
To serve –
Pickle
Sliced onions
Fresh whole chillies to be fried
You can adjust all spices and amounts to your liking.
Method
- To save time boil the potatoes whilst you prepare everything else. Cook them in their skins. Mine took around 30 minutes.
- Make the dough. In a bowl combine the water and salt. Mix to dissolve. Add the flour and mix to a dough.
- Tip the dough out on the table and knead for 3 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape into balls. Refrigerate until later.
- Make the raita. Mix all ingredients until well combined and refrigerate until later.
- Once the potatoes have cooked leave them to cool down until you can handle them. Peel the potatoes and crush them with a fork. Try and break them down as much as possible to not leave any big chunks.
- Add the seasonings and spices to the potato mix and combine.
- Weigh the potato mix and divide into 8 equal pieces. Shape into balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cooling everything down makes it easier to handle.
- Stuff the dough balls with the potato filling. Stretch a dough ball to around 10cm (4in) in diameter. Place a potato ball on to the dough ball. Gradually wrap the dough around the potato whilst pressing the potato filling down with you thumb. Once the dough has come together around the potato pinch it shut. Repeat with the other 7.
- Dust the dough patty with flour and roll it thin using a rolling pin. You can make the breads thicker or thinner to your liking. I prefer a thin paratha.
- Place in a dry pan on high heat and cook for 1 minute. Flip the bread and brush it with ghee immediately. Cook for 1 minute whilst pressing it down into the pan using a spatula.
- Flip the bread again and brush the other side with ghee. Cook for 1 more minute.
- Flip again and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Stack the breads up on top of each other.
- Fry the chillies for a couple of minutes in 180C (340F) oil. Be aware that there will be a lot of oil splashing around! You may want to use a lid.
- Enjoy your aloo paratha with raita, pickle, fresh sliced onions, and fried chillies.
Watch the video here
