A Paratha, hot off the tava with ghee glistening over its crisp, mottled surface, is moreish perfection.
There are so many ways to make a paratha… layered, triangular like my dadi made and none of us quite learned how, stuffed, plain, with leftovers, even sweet. Eat them with ghee or butter smeared over the top, melting into the paratha, with a little yogurt on the side, with sugar sprinkled over the top, with a little sabzi, or even some achar. Once you have a paratha on your plate, you can’t go wrong in how you eat it.
For a basic paratha dough, here’s the recipe. And below that, find recipes for a few of our favourite parathas.
Paratha Dough
Ingredients
2 cups Wheat flour
1-2 tsp Ghee or oil
1 cup Water
Salt to taste
Directions
Mix the salt and wheat flour well. Add the oil and mix well. Now slowly add some water and begin kneading the dough. It might appear flaky so add a little water and keep working the dough. The dough needs to be soft and shouldn’t appear gooey or wet.
Matar Ka Paratha
Ingredients
Use the basic dough recipe from above and for the stuffing:
500 g Peas
2 Green chilis
1 inch Ginger
2-3 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
Salt to taste
Directions
Boil the peas for a few mins till they turn tender. Drain the water and let the peas cool. Grind the peas coarsely. Grind the green chilis, ginger, garlic. Add this mix to the peas with salt and cumin seeds.
You can add this mix to the dough while kneading it or fill it and roll parathas. To fill and roll parathas, split the prepared dough into medium sized balls. Take one of the balls of dough and roll it out about the size of a puri. Place the pea filling at the center. Fold in the edges and press in the center and press down to form a disc. Sprinkle some flour on this disc and roll it out to your desired size and thickness. Heat a tawa or griddle and place the paratha on it. When one of the sides is cooked a little flip the paratha. Ad ghee or butter on the side facing up. After a few minutes flip the paratha again, the buttered side down. Apply ghee or butter on the side facing up. The Paratha should be cooked by now. Serve hot.
Gobi ka Paratha
Ingredients
Use the basic dough recipe from above and for the filling:
250 g Cauliflower
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
1/4 tsp amchoor powder
Salt to taste
Directions
Grate the cauliflower. Add the dry masalas and mix well. To fill and roll parathas, use the same method described above.
Ajwain ka paratha
This tastes lovely when made with Ajwain leaves. If you do not have Ajwain leaves you can use the seeds (Carom seeds).
Ingredients
4 or 5 Ajwain leaves
or
1 tsp Carom or Ajwain seed
salt to taste
1-2 green chilies
For the dough:
2 cups wheat flour
1-2 tsp ghee or oil
1 cup Water
Salt to taste
Directions
Mix the salt and wheat flour well. Add the oil and mix well. Now slowly add some water and begin kneading the dough. It might appear flaky so add a little water and keep working the dough. The dough needs to be soft and shouldn’t appear gooey or wet, so go easy on the water.
If using Ajwain leaves grind the Ajwain leaves and chilis. When the dough looks nearly done add the mix and and continue kneading. The dough should be soft and smooth. Now take medium size ball and roll into a round shape or square or triangle. Heat a griddle or a tawa and place the Paratha on it. When one of the sides is cooked a little flip the paratha. Ad ghee or butter on the side facing up. After a few minutes flip the Paratha now, the buttered side in down. Apply ghee or butter on the side facing up. The Paratha should be cooked by now. Serve hot.
Keema Paratha
Crispy, moreish Parathas stuffed with flavorful mince, served with a bowl of raita on the side… Heaven
Ingredients
Use the basic dough recipe from above and for the filling:
250 g Keema ( we use chicken, but you could use mutton and vegetarians do not despair you can use minced soy nuggets)
2 medium sized onions chopped fine
2-3 green chilli
5-6 cloves of garlic
1 inch ginger
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
A little amchoor powder
1-2 tsp oil
Directions
Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions and fry till they turn translucent. Grind the garlic, ginger and chili. Add this to the onion and fry for a few minutes. Now add all the dry masala powders except the amchoor. Add the amchoor powder when the keema is partially cooked. Cook the keema till its dry.
Wait for the Keema to cool. To fill and roll parathas, use the same method described above.
Gud and til ka paratha
This one is a childhood favourite, the nuttiness of the sesame seed and the sweetness of the jaggery are gorgeous together.
Ingredients
Use the basic dough recipe from above and for the filling:
1/2 cup grated Jaggery
3-4 tbsp roasted Sesame seeds
1/2 tsp Aniseed (Saunf)
Directions
Mix the grated jaggery, sesame seeds and saunf. To fill and roll parathas, use the same method described above.