Potato Parantha (Indian Flat bread stuffed with spicy potato filling)

Now, this is another form of carbohydrates that we Indians just love to have. One can safely assume that Parantha is prepared/eaten in every Indian household. Aloo Parantha is one such variation to the simple Parantha, and comes with a spiced-up potato filling. For all my friends/readers, Aloo is the Hindi term for Potato. North of India is famous for churning out a lot of such variations of Parantha – Aloo Parantha, Gobhi (Cauliflower) Parantha, Palak (Spinach) Parantha, Paneer (Cottage Cheese) Parantha, Muli (Radish) Parantha, and so on.

Aloo Parantha is the simplest stuffed Indian Parantha (in simple English terms – a shallow fried, potato stuffed flat bread). This is perhaps a common menu item for breakfast in North India at least once a week (speaking conservatively 😉 ) My darling husband is very much a North Indian in this matter – whenever I will ask him about preparing parantha, he quickly zero-ins’ on the Aloo Parantha.

Needless to say, our beloved Aloo Parantha is packed with carbohydrates and is meant to make you fuller for a good 3-4 hours. Uusually it comes with a multi-spice filling and is thus packed with good flavours.

The ingredients for making dough for the Aloo Parantha are :
1. Whole wheat flour : 2 cup
2. Oil : 1 tsp
3. Salt : 1/2 tsp
4. Water : as needed

The ingredients for the potato stuffing are :
1. Potato : 4 big
2. Onion : 1 (chopped)
3. Green chilli : 3 (chopped)
4. Ginger : 1 tsp
5. Red Chilli Powder : 1 1/2 tsp
6. Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
7. Coriander Powder : 1/2 tsp
8. Dried Pomegranate Powder (Anardana) : 1/4 tsp
9. Dried Mango Powder (Amchur) : 1/2 tsp
10. Garam Masala: 1 tsp
11. Roasted Cumin powder: ½ tsp

Method :

Take whole wheat flour, oil, and salt in a big bowl and mix them well. Gradually add water and knead a soft, smooth dough. Keep it covered and let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes.

Wash and boil/steam the potatoes. Peel off the skins and mash them well. Take the mashed potatoes in a big bowl; then add onion, green chillies, salt, red chilli powder,coriander powder, turmeric powder, dried mango powder, dried pomegranate powder, roasted cumin seeds powder and garam masala. Mix all ingredients properly with hands. Note that there should not be any lump formation. The stuffing for Aloo Parantha is now ready.
Pinch out a lemon size ball from the dough. Coat it with flour on both sides and then roll out into a small circle.

Place 1 Tbsp of potato stuffing in the centre of this rolled out dough, gather all the edges together and seal the dough with the stuffing inside. Then press it down gently to flatten it.

Dust some wheat flour on this stuffed dough ball, and gently roll the stuffed dough with a rolling pin into a size of a normal parantha. Do not apply too much pressure as the stuffing might come out.

Heat a skillet / griddle (tawa) and place the rolled out dough raw parantha on it. When you will see small bubbles forming on the surface, flip it over and spread oil evenly on it. Shallow fry both the sides and cook well until brown spots appear on both the sides.

Your yummy Aloo Parantha is ready to be enjoyed. Serve this yummy delicacy with pickle, yogurt, chutney or simply enjoy with tea / coffee !

Insider Tips / Finer Points :

• You may cook the stuffing before making the parantha – heat 1 tsp oil in a wok; do tempering with cumin seeds. Add onion and sauté till it becomes translucent. Then add green chilli and again sauté for a minute. Now add all the spices and mix well for 3-4 minutes. The stuffing is ready.

• You may adjust spices according to your taste buds.

• You can also add coriander leaves to the stuffing.

• You can make variations to the stuffing by adding peas, cauliflower, cheese etc., and enjoy your choice of the Indian parantha.

• You may make these paranthas with clarified butter (ghee) instead of oil, when you want a bit more indulgence 🙂