Aloo Paratha (Potato Stuffed Flatbread)
- Serves: 4 People
- Prepare Time: 40 minutes
- Cooking Time: 25 minutes
- Calories: 320
- Difficulty: Medium
Aloo paratha is the Sunday breakfast of Pakistan: a whole-wheat flatbread stuffed with spiced mashed potato, rolled thin and cooked on a hot griddle (tawa) with ghee or butter until crisp and golden. It is eaten hot with plain yoghurt, a knob of butter, mango or mixed pickle (achar) and a cup of strong chai.
The filling is simple: boiled potatoes, onion, green chilli, fresh coriander and a few spices, including crushed pomegranate seeds (anardana) for a little sourness. What makes or breaks a paratha is the texture of that filling and the dough. The potatoes must be dry and fully mashed with no lumps, and the dough soft enough to stretch around the filling without tearing.
This recipe uses atta, the fine whole-wheat flour sold as chapati flour in the UK and in South Asian shops in the US and the Gulf. You can make the dough and filling the night before, and cooked parathas freeze well, so this works on busy mornings too.
Ingredients tap to tick off
Directions tap a step when done
- Mix the flour, salt and oil in a bowl. Add the water gradually and knead for 5 minutes into a soft, smooth dough. Cover and rest for at least 20 minutes.
- Grate or mash the cooled potatoes until completely smooth with no lumps. Mix in the onion, green chillies, coriander, salt and all the spices. Divide into 6 balls.
- Divide the dough into 6 balls slightly larger than the filling balls.
- On a floured surface, roll a dough ball into a 10 cm (4 inch) circle. Place a filling ball in the centre, bring the edges up around it and pinch them together to seal. Flatten gently.
- Dust with flour and roll out evenly, pressing lightly, into an 18 to 20 cm (7 to 8 inch) circle. If the filling shows through, patch it with a little flour.
- Heat a tawa or heavy frying pan on medium-high heat. Cook the paratha for about 1 minute until small bubbles appear, then flip and cook for another minute.
- Spread 1 teaspoon of ghee on top, flip and press the edges with a spatula. Add more ghee to the other side, flip again and cook until both sides are golden and crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes in total.
- Keep warm wrapped in a clean cloth while you cook the rest.
- Serve hot with yoghurt, a little butter and pickle, or with chai.
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Frequently asked questions
Why does my aloo paratha tear when rolling?
The filling is lumpy or wet, or the dough is too stiff. Use cooled, dry potatoes mashed completely smooth, add the onion only just before filling, and make the dough soft. Roll gently from the centre outwards.
Which flour is best for aloo paratha?
Fine whole-wheat chapati flour (atta). In the UK look for chapati flour; in the US, Indian or Pakistani grocers sell atta. A mix of half plain flour and half wholemeal also works.
Can I freeze aloo parathas?
Cook them until just set but not browned, cool, stack with baking paper between them and freeze for up to 2 months. Cook from frozen on a hot tawa with ghee.
Can I make the filling ahead?
Yes, up to a day ahead in the fridge. Add the chopped onion and coriander just before filling so the mix does not turn watery.
Aloo Paratha (Potato Stuffed Flatbread)
- Serves: 4 People
- Prepare Time: 40 minutes
- Cooking Time: 25 minutes
- Calories: 320
- Difficulty: Medium
Aloo paratha is the Sunday breakfast of Pakistan: a whole-wheat flatbread stuffed with spiced mashed potato, rolled thin and cooked on a hot griddle (tawa) with ghee or butter until crisp and golden. It is eaten hot with plain yoghurt, a knob of butter, mango or mixed pickle (achar) and a cup of strong chai.
The filling is simple: boiled potatoes, onion, green chilli, fresh coriander and a few spices, including crushed pomegranate seeds (anardana) for a little sourness. What makes or breaks a paratha is the texture of that filling and the dough. The potatoes must be dry and fully mashed with no lumps, and the dough soft enough to stretch around the filling without tearing.
This recipe uses atta, the fine whole-wheat flour sold as chapati flour in the UK and in South Asian shops in the US and the Gulf. You can make the dough and filling the night before, and cooked parathas freeze well, so this works on busy mornings too.
Ingredients
Directions
- Mix the flour, salt and oil in a bowl. Add the water gradually and knead for 5 minutes into a soft, smooth dough. Cover and rest for at least 20 minutes.
- Grate or mash the cooled potatoes until completely smooth with no lumps. Mix in the onion, green chillies, coriander, salt and all the spices. Divide into 6 balls.
- Divide the dough into 6 balls slightly larger than the filling balls.
- On a floured surface, roll a dough ball into a 10 cm (4 inch) circle. Place a filling ball in the centre, bring the edges up around it and pinch them together to seal. Flatten gently.
- Dust with flour and roll out evenly, pressing lightly, into an 18 to 20 cm (7 to 8 inch) circle. If the filling shows through, patch it with a little flour.
- Heat a tawa or heavy frying pan on medium-high heat. Cook the paratha for about 1 minute until small bubbles appear, then flip and cook for another minute.
- Spread 1 teaspoon of ghee on top, flip and press the edges with a spatula. Add more ghee to the other side, flip again and cook until both sides are golden and crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes in total.
- Keep warm wrapped in a clean cloth while you cook the rest.
- Serve hot with yoghurt, a little butter and pickle, or with chai.
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I learned to cook beside my mother and grandmother. After years in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where friends kept asking me for a proper karahi or biryani, I started PakistanRecipes.com to share authentic Pakistani home cooking, written for kitchens anywhere in the world.
