Recipe card
What is Paratha?
Paratha is an unleavened flatbread, popular in Indian cuisine from the Punjab region, prepared mainly using atta (whole wheat flour), salt, and oil. No yeast, baking soda, or baking powder is used while making parathas. These are so tasty that they can be served alone or with a dollop of butter, pickle, chutney, yogurt, or Indian curry like hariyali paneer. Do you know the difference between paratha, roti, naan, and kulcha? If interested, you can find it in my aloo paratha recipe. If you want to know exciting variations to parathas, go through my recipe for stuffed potato flatbread and Greek-style flatbread, Avocado paratha. What is allowed and not allowed to eat during fasting, upvas, vrat days varies from region to region. I know in my hometown, people don’t eat non-vegetarian food (including eggs), onion, garlic, and rice items, or any store-bought goodies or snacks. So, recipes like aloo parathas, paneer parathas, and chapatis are preferred as they are filling, easy to make, and no onion or garlic is used. Also, check out some of the best Indian flatbread recipes.
Ingredients
For the dough, Wheat flour (atta), salt, oil, and water are used. Paneer: Use homemade paneer or store-bought paneer to make these parathas. Herbs: Mint(pudina) and coriander leaves(dhania) are added, which enhances the flavor. For Punjabi dhaba style paratha, add ajwain (carom seeds) to the dough and anardana (dry pomegranate seeds) to the filling.
Step-by-step instructions
Paneer paratha dough
In a large bowl, add flour, salt, oil, and mix. Now add water little by little as needed and knead to form a soft and smooth dough. Cover it and keep it aside for 30 minutes.
Make paneer pudina filling for parathas
Add crumbled paneer, finely chopped mint leaves, coriander leaves, salt to taste, garam masala powder, green chile and mix in another bowl. Keep this aside.
Roll the paratha
Once the dough has rested, divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Keep these dough balls covered until you are ready to use them. Covering the dough balls prevents them from drying out. Take each dough ball and flatten it using your hands. Roll it using a rolling pin to a 5-inch diameter circle. Add the prepared paneer filling, i.e., around 1 or 2 tbsp, at the center. Bring all the edges together and pinch to seal it. If you have filled excess, it will come out while rolling. So make sure not to overfill. Then, roll this again evenly into a paratha of around 7 or 8 inches diameter.
How to cook parathas correctly?
Heat the tava or skillet on medium heat when rolling the first dough ball. The skillet should be hot, and you should cook parathas on high flame to remain soft and crispy. If cooked on a low flame, it will harden up. Place the rolled paratha on the skillet. Once you see the bubbles on the top surface, flip and cook on the other side for a minute. Apply ghee or oil on the partly-cooked or half-cooked side. Flip again and cook the partly cooked side again, this time till you see golden brown spots. Flip again once or twice, apply ghee or oil on both sides and cook till you see golden brown spots on both sides. Repeat this for all the parathas.
Tips
Instead of paneer, you can use cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, or feta cheese in the recipe. To make it vegan, substitute paneer with tofu. If making it for kids, skip the green chilies. Since it has no onion or garlic, South Indians, especially from coastal Karnataka, eat this during fasting, upvas, and vrat days. To make Punjabi Dhaba style parathas, add ½ teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds) to the dough and ½ teaspoon anardana (dry pomegranate seeds) to the filling.
Store and Make Ahead
If there are any leftovers or you want to make parathas ahead of time for weekday or weeknight meals and store them for the next couple of days, then stack them by placing butter paper or parchment paper between each cooked paratha. Next, place them in the freezer within Ziploc bags. Parathas remain fresh for about 8 hours at room temperature.
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