Aloo Paratha
Aloo paratha has become such a staple for me- not only as a side dish when I’m stuffing myself with Indian take-out, but as a snack as well. You can freeze these and cook them on a pizza stone [at 425F for about 10 minutes] even months after you’ve made them! No defrosting, no potato mashing—- just baking.
For anyone unfamiliar with Indian cooking, paratha is a wheat flatbread that has been stuffed with various fillings– usually a potato mash or other vegetable medley. I filled mine with a mixture that is similar to the kofta mixture. It contains mashed potatoes, paneer, cilantro, and peppers. I decided to add in some fennel and chili pepper, to make the piratha stuffing a little more savory. Honestly, the filling is a place to really get creative. You can create whatever mixture you like and stuff it in there, and it’s going to be delicious!
One note before we begin cooking: you really do need a rolling pin for this. I am in love with a French rolling pin that I bought very cheaply off of Amazon. When rolling out this dough it’s important to get a thin, yet solid layer, and that is difficult to do without a rolling pin!
Aloo Paratha
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 cup AP flour
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the filling
- 10 butter ball potatoes boiled in salt water and mashed
- 5 tablespoons cilantro, minced
- 1 poblano pepper, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 teaspoons fennel
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili pepper, ground
Instructions
Make the dough
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Combine the flours and salt, mixing them thoroughly in a medium bowl.
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Add in just UNDER one cup of room temperature water and mix together to form a dry dough.
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Shape into a ball and set aside to rest.
Make the filling
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In a bowl, coming the mashed potatoes with the cilantro, minced pepper, cumin, salt, fennel, and chili.
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Taste the filling and adjust any seasonings to your preference.
Assemble
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Lay out a piece of parchment paper and flour it.
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With floured hands, divide the dough into golf ball sized portions. Roll each into a sphere.
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You need an even number, so if you prefer you can divide the large dough ball into 4 and divide each of those into 4 for a total of 16 equal portions.
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Using a well floured rolling pin, roll out every dough ball to a paper thin, or 1/8″ thickness, one at a time.
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Fill a small dish with water.
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Take one circle and spoon about 1/4 cup of filling into the middle. Flatten it with your fingers to create a smaller circle of filling within the larger circle of dough.
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Dip your finger in the water and lightly wet the dough around the edges of the circle. Place another circle of dough on top.
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Pull the wetted dough around and over the top dough and press to create a seal around the filling [see pictures].
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Finally, roll out the filled paratha again lightly with the rolling pin.
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Repeat with remaining circles to create 8-10 flatbreads.
Cook
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Prepare a skillet with butter or ghee.
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Cook them over medium heat in butter, flipping until both sides are brown.
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You may keep them warm in the oven until ready to serve.
Recipe Notes
These can be frozen for up to 6 months and then baked on a pizza stone at 425F for 10 minutes.
