North Indian cuisine is very well known for its flatbreads. These include the roti/ chappathi, deep fried pooris, , leavened naans and pan fried parathas. These flatbreads were originally brought in to India by traders and invaders from Persia and thereabouts. With time, they have evolved becoming truly Indian in flavour. They can now be found in restaurants and little eateries across the country. Today’s recipe is for Aloo Parathas or Potato Stuffed Flatbreads. This is perhaps the most well known of Indian stuffed flatbreads.
Parathas are made with whole wheat flour, a little salt and mixed into a pliable dough with water. Balls of this dough are rolled out thin and cooked on a griddle with a little oil. Parathas can be made either plain or stuffed with a variety of fillings. The plain parathas are usually layered with fat while folding and rolling them out. This makes them soft and very flaky. Another kind of paratha is where vegetables are grated and mixed directly into the dough with spices and then rolled out and cooked.
Stuffed parathas come in a variety of fillings. Most fillings are spicy and savoury but some are sweet and filled with mawa/ khoya (milk solids) and nut. More popular varieties of stuffed parathas include Gobhi Paratha (cauliflower), Paneer Parathas (soft Indian cheese), Mooli Paratha (Daikon radish), MMethi Paratha (fenugreek greens) and Mixed Vegetable Paratha.
Aloo Parathas or Potato Stuffed Flatbreads are a favourite here and have gone to school in my daughter’s lunchbox a lot. They are reasonably easy to make but the process for making them can be broken into smaller steps if need be. When I make them for my daughter’s lunchbox, I make the potato filling the previous night and refrigerate it. I also knead the dough and refrigerate it to make things easier for myself. Then I just put the filling into the dough next morning, roll them out and cook them.
These Parathas are usually served with plain or seasoned yogurt or Raita, raw onion rings and pickles. Plain parathas are served with these and a curry of some sort. You can refrigerate the leftovers if any, but not for more than a day. They keep longer if you freeze them. To refrigerate parathas, just wrap them well in foil. Reheat them on a griddle with a little oil. Freeze them by stacking them with parchment paper or aluminium foil squares between each, and put them in a Ziploc bag. Pull out as many as you need and re-heat them on a skillet.
This post has been updated with text and images since it was first published in February, 2010.
Aloo Parathas or Potato Stuffed Flatbreads
Ingredients
For the Paratha Dough:
- 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tbsp oil
- to taste salt
- 1 cup water (or a little more if required)
For the Filling:
- 1 big onion finely chopped
- 8 medium sized potatoes (approx. 2 cup mashed )
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste
- 4 green chillies (deseeded and finely chopped0
- 1/4 tsp chilli powder (adjust to taste)
- xbc tsp turmeric powder
- 1 1/2 tsps coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- to taste salt
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsps fresh coriander finely chopped
- oil or ghee to cook the parathas
Instructions
- First prepare the filling. Peel and cook the potatoes till they're very soft. Mash them very well so there are no lumps left and it is smooth.
- Heat the oil in a pan and add the ginger, garlic pastes and chopped onion. Saute everything till the onions soft and translucent. Add the spice powders and saute, over medium heat, for a minute. Then add the green chillies, potatoes, salt and chopped coriander.
- Mix everything well and then take off the heat. Allow to cool and divide the mixture into 12 equal portions. Roll the portions into balls.
- Then make the dough. Put the whole wheat flour, salt and oil in a deep bowl and whisk together. Add the water about 1/4 cup at a time and knead until your dough is soft (but not sticky) and elastic. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll each into a ball.
- Now make the parathas. Take ball of dough and roll it out into a 3" circle lightly dusting with whole wheat flour if necessary.
- Place a ball of mashed potato in the centre of the dough circle. Bring up the sides of the dough circle around the potato ball and enclose it completely, pinching dough on top to close and seal the filling.
- Flatten it slightly, dust lightly with whole wheat flour, and roll out into a 1/4 u201cthick circle. Make sure that the filling doesnu2019t come out while rolling. Use the rolling pin lightly when rolling the paratha out.
- Cook the paratha on a hot tawa/ skillet over medium heat till light brown spots appear on side. Cook similarly on the other side. Brush lightly with oil and again cook the paratha on both sides till the brown spots deepen a bit one. Repeat with remaining dough balls and potato filling.
- Serve hot with fresh thick plain or seasoned yogurt (home made, if possible), thin slices of raw onion and pickles.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
They look so perfect.. i am never able to make them so round and perfect.
wow love this can i have one!
I am an aloo paratha novice… I always end up making a mess as the filling oozes out when I try to roll it 🙁 . your parathas look so perfect!
I love these…Just made them yesterday and just can’t get enough!
These parathas look absolutely delicious.
WOW! your parathas are so perfect! every one of them looks just like the other!! scary !! :PP gorgeous, actually :))
Aparna, love aloo parathas with a passion and as a kid whenever my mom asked me what I wanted to eat Aloo Paratha was my pat answer. Adding garam masala is new to me though I love crushed fennel seeds in them. I will try GM if you try fennel the next time round. (just kidding) Will try the GM for sure.
Luv this anytime…looks absolutely tasty!
wow! looks so perfect ..http://ruchibhedangal.blogspot…
Love this anytime…they r the king of paratha’s I can say…
Parathas would be my next endeavor after pita bread from DB Cooks Challenge: Mezze! I believe you would have enjoyed the Mezze Challenge!!! This flatbread looks wonderfully appetizing.Sawadee from Bangkok,Kris
These are so perfect…feel like grabbing them and eating them right away! Luvly click!
Love the snap. My recipe is also almost the same and It tastes so yummy…din’t make it for a while now!!…feel like having some now:(..love these…
Nice pic. I like your idea of keeping the balls of stuffed dough ready in the fridge. Makes things so much easier in the morning, doesn’t it?
they look amazing… i need to venture into trying some paratha making soon…
You know I never knew these were north indian? My flatmate told me about them last week (she’s south indian) and we’re gonna make these some time soon! They look so very delicious and I love all sorts of Indian flatbread so definitely something that’s up my street 🙂 Just wondering, are these similar to pratas you can find in Southeast Asia? x
My kids fav, I too used to send them in their lunch boxes in India, not anymore they like their sanchwiches now!!!, This they prefer to eat at home right from the tawa!!, lovely click aparna
My all time favourite, just love it..
I’m craving these now! Just perfect. I always enjoy your offerings.
I like this at breakfast.
Wow warm comforting parathas… They look wholesome!!!http://memoryarchieved.blogspo…
aloo paranthas are pure indulgence… yummy to the last bite… yours look so perfect
love pranthas and my mum made me paneer ones! but this is great aparna i have to give these a go!
I’d love to make these someday. Great pictures too, Aparna!
I love the way all ur parathas are round and shaped well. Mine is always in different shapes!
I haven’t made parathas myself in some time… I must change that soon!
I spent about two weeks, almost 2 ago, making parathas. I LOVE THEM! From kheema paratha (I think that’s the correct word) to paratha aloo, although my paratha aloo didn’t look anywhere near as lovely and deliciouc as yours 🙂
I miss roti! This is very common in my home country, love it with dhal or kaya.
Wow, these sound and look absolutely delicious! I just may have to branch out from my usual cooking and give this recipe a shot!
Yummo!!! Perfection for sure – reminds of the standing family joke that one could take a measuring tape to your chapathis and they would measure a perfect circle every single time….
hi aparna! yummy aloo parathas my favourite! ya even i have wondered about freezing parathas, but i chicken out at the last minute- like many indians i am wary of ready to eats. but i think its a convinient option if consumed soon i guess. my mum puts ginger – no garlic, and garam masala. my m-i-l puts no ginger but some garlic. i have tried both and when i miss my mum i put ginger :)you’re online check out – http://food.femina.in/featured…
This looks like so much fun..I have to try it! Thanks so much for posting the video, it is excellent!
When you mention ginger paste in the recipes, I wonder if you can substitute very finely chopped ginger to get the same effect. I have space problems as I live in a small studio apartment and am trying to limit what I keep on hand to what I will use all the time and I am not sure just how often I would use ginger paste.The recipe looks easy and delicious. This is one I am definitely going to make.
Just made the HB in 5 version… glad to be introduced to the original! Thanks… I look forward to trying this soon!
Thank you for taking the time to visit and leave comments. This is what makes me want to blog even more! :)Yes you can, Rebecca. :)Indhu, practise makes perfect. If you put the filling in and ensure it is properly covered with dough, your parathas should be okay.I shall try fennel, Jaya. I do add to some of my dals and my stir fried tomato chutney.So now you have to use GM in your parathas! LOLI think I would have, Kris. Db takes a lot of my time so I’m keeping away from DC for now. :)It does, Jayashree.I didn’t know what a prata was, Diva, so I looked it up. While its not the excat same thing, it definitely seems to have originated here.Cynthia, this is breakfast fare traditionally. And on cold winter mornings, hot parathas for breakfast………….Love those paneer ones too, Meeta.You should, and thanks Mark. Always feel good when someone appreciates my pics. :)Yes, Lisa. Kheema is correct but not for us as we’re vegetarian. :)Veena, just saw this. Yes, I am kind a famous in the family for my round chappathis! LOLRajani, as long as the aloo is in the parathas, one can always add or subtract other stuff to suit one’s tastes.I have frozen these a couple of times, but prefer them made fresh.Thanks for featuring me on Femina. :)My pleasure, Michelle.Dick, you can use finely chopped ginger, no problems at all. In fact, its great that you buy only stuff you would use.No waste too.Hope you enjoy the parathas.Bridgit, I can assure these will be as good.
Thank you for a great post. I am inspire to creat my own. I’ll not bother with the HBinfive now. I can’t wait to try my hand at these.
Will this keep? I mean, can I make this a few hours before bringing to a party at a friend’s house?
Yes it will keep for that time.You can stack them on a clean kitchen towel as you make them and then loosely wrap them in it, so that the towel absosrbs any condensation from the steam when they’re hot.This will keep them from getting soggy.Warm them up a bit before serving.
One day one of my coworkers shoved a piece of paratha in my hand after I walked to her desk to ask her a question. I was on my way out the door and tried to refuse. I insisted on only taking a quarter of the paratha. By the time I reached the door of the office, I was cursing myself for not taking a whole one! I begged her the next day for the recipe which, of course, consisted of the ingredients but no idea of amounts! Thank you so much for this recipe! I plan to make it soon.
Michelle, I’m glad you discovered tha paratha. 🙂 There are are many idfferent types of parathas we make in India, both plain and stuffed. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t like one.Yes, do try them at home and I’ll be happy to help with any questions.