Punjabi Aloo Paratha
A thin paratha with crisp brown ghee spots, torn open to soft spiced potato inside, eaten with cold white butter sliding off the top and thick curd on the side.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 2 cups (250 g) whole wheat atta, plus extra for dusting
- ½ tsp salt, for the dough
- 1 tbsp Gir Cow's A2 Ghee, for the dough
- ¾ cup (180 ml) water, roughly, added little by little
- 4 medium potatoes (about 450 g), boiled, cooled and peeled
- 1 small onion, chopped very fine, optional
- 1 inch ginger, grated fine
- 2 green chillies, chopped fine
- 1 tsp Stone Ground Red Chilli Powder
- 1 tsp amchur (dry mango powder)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds), crushed in your palm
- 1 tsp salt, for the filling, or to taste
- 3 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped fine
- 6 tbsp Gir Cow's A2 Ghee, for cooking the parathas
- White butter, thick curd and mango pickle, to serve
Quantities are scaled up. Taste as you go and adjust the salt and spice.
Shop this recipe
Everything you need, from our press house
Seven in the morning in a Punjabi house and the tawa has been hot for a while. The dough was kneaded and rested before anyone else got up. The parathas come off one at a time, straight onto the plate, pressed with a folded cloth so they puff. A cube of cold white butter goes on the hot surface and slides off the edge. Thick curd in a steel bowl, a spoon of mango pickle, and nobody wants anything until lunch.
Gir Cow's A2 Ghee does two separate jobs here. A spoon rubbed into the dough keeps it soft, so the paratha is still tender in a dabba four hours later. On the tawa it browns the surface into small dark gold spots instead of drying it out, the way a plain oil does, and it gives the smell you can catch from the next room. Ours is bilona ghee from Gir cow milk, so a little is enough. Our Stone Ground Red Chilli Powder goes into the filling for warmth and colour without any harsh bite.
The one thing that decides this paratha is the filling. It must be dry, completely cool and mashed with no lumps left. Warm potato turns to steam inside the dough and blows a hole in it on the tawa. Boil the potatoes early, drain them properly and let them sit while you rest the dough.
How to make it
- Mix the atta, ½ tsp salt and 1 tbsp ghee in a wide bowl. Add water in small splashes and knead for 8 minutes into a soft, smooth dough, a little softer than roti dough. Cover with a damp cloth and rest 30 minutes.
- Boil the potatoes till a knife goes through with no resistance, drain them properly and let them cool fully. Peel and grate them, or mash with a masher till there is not one lump left. Lumps are what tear the paratha.
- Mix the potato with the onion, ginger, green chillies, red chilli powder, amchur, garam masala, ajwain, salt and coriander. Taste it. The filling should be slightly saltier than you expect, because the plain dough will carry it. Divide into 8 balls.
- Divide the dough into 8 balls too. Roll one into a 5 inch disc, keeping the middle slightly thicker than the edges. Put a potato ball in the centre.
- Bring the edges of the dough up over the filling and pleat them together at the top. Pinch off the extra knot of dough, press the parcel flat with your palm and dust it with dry atta.
- Roll out gently to about 7 inches, pressing evenly and turning as you go. If the ball pushes back, let it rest a minute. Never force it thin in one direction, that is where it splits.
- Cook on a hot tawa on medium-high. After 40 seconds, when small bubbles rise, flip it. Spread 1 tsp ghee on top, flip again, and spread ghee on the other side.
- Press the paratha lightly with a folded cloth, working from the middle outwards, so it puffs. Cook 2 to 3 minutes in all, flipping twice more, till both sides carry golden brown spots.
- Stack the cooked parathas in a cloth-lined box so the steam keeps them soft. Serve hot with white butter, curd and pickle.
Tips
- Make ahead: the filling keeps in the fridge for 2 days. Take it out 20 minutes before rolling, cold filling cracks the dough. Cooked parathas stay soft in a hot case for 4 hours and pack well for a tiffin.
- Boil the potatoes the night before if you can. Cold, dry, day-old potato is far easier to work with than warm potato.
- Filling coming out at the sides? Use less of it, not more dough. Two heaped tablespoons per paratha is plenty for a 7 inch paratha.
- Skip the onion if you are packing these for later. Onion leaves water and the paratha goes soggy by lunch.
- Keep the tawa on medium-high, not low. A slow tawa dries the paratha out and it turns leathery instead of soft.
