Growing-up in a North Indian family, Parathas were the order of the day.At mealtimes Mom often served us hot Parathas with a dry vegetable or meat dish.Parathas are very common in the Indian sub-continent.They’re made by kneading whole wheat flour with some water to form a dough.You then roll out the dough, shape it and pan fry on a tava or pan.I use a non stick pan because it uses less oil.Traditionally in India they’re made using ghee, but I use canola oil to cut out the fat content.Parathas are packed with energy and perfect for a filling meal for either breakfast, lunch or dinner!
There are many variations of Parathas in the Indian sub-continent.You can make them plain like I’ve done here or you can make stuffed parathas using potatoes,cauliflower,paneer or even ground chicken or lamb.Stuffed parathas can be eaten on their own with a knob of butter and some yoghurt.Plain parathas require some dry vegetable or meat dish.They can be round, triangular, or square.
Nothing feels better than a nice hot paratha with a steaming hot vegetable or meat on a cold winter day to warm you and fill you up.
Parathas (Pan fried Indian flatbread)
Print this Recipe
Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Flour-2 cups (easily available at your Indian Grocer’s)
Some water
Oil-2-3 tbsps
Process
You start by taking about 2-3 cups of flour in a deep vessel.Make a hole in the center and fill it about 3/4 of a cup of water.Start mixing it with your hands, add more water little-by-little until it starts coming together and forms a dough.The dough should not be too wet or too dry.It should be soft to touch.Once done cover it and put in the refrigerator for about 30 mins.
When you’re ready, take it out and flour your surface.Take a small amount of the dough in your palms and make into a ball.Flour it on both sides, flatten it a bit and start rolling it on the surface to get a circular shape.
Spread some oil evenly all over and fold it from the middle.Spread some oil all over and fold once again to make a triangle.This is the shape we need since we’re making the staple parathas in my house that are triangular. Start rolling the dough until you get a decent size triangle.Don’t forget to flour your dough after every fold and as you’re rolling.
The paratha is ready to go into the tava or pan.Heat the pan to medium high and place the paratha. Oil the side that’s up first and flip it over.It should now puff up.Oil the other side as well and just cook until you get nice golden spots telling you that its cooked.Press it all over with a spatula so that its cooked evenly.Your paratha is ready!Serve it hot with my Aloo Gobhi (which was also my first blog post,so please excuse the pics!)or any vegetable of your choice!
Thanks Ping!They’re really easy to make and freeze well 🙂
Hiya Soni!
Really? It’s that easy to make a paratha?! I love these things and have never really bothered to make them as there’s a good indian restaurant close by. But my husband prefers homemade stuff as he reacts quite badly to bad oil and we get that sometimes. So this is really good for us. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks!!You have a great collection of recipes!
Hola Soni gracias por unirte a mi blog
un saludo
pepe
Thanks Loveforfood!Thanks Shaheen, firealarm can be a problem, moving near mom’s sounds like a great idea then 🙂
I miss making these so much as it sets of the fire alarm in my tiny flat. I am lookign forward to moving closer to my mothers so she can spoil me and make some.
The colors and textures in your photos make it look so tempting.
Thanks Ridwan, good luck with your surgery.
This is sound simple but great recipe,i have this paratha before @ indian cuisine i really like it,maybe after I feel much better after surgery i will try this recipe,thanks for comments on my blog and your wishes 🙂
Ridwan
Thanks Christy!
Simple, healthy and yummy!:) The paratha sounds good 😉
Thanks so much Ruth!My first award, yay!!!!
Thanks Kim!You could substitute white flour but the texture will be elastic or rubbery.Thanks Uru for your sweet comment!
I love all kinds of Indian breads, they are so yummy! I gave you a Liebster Blog Award! Email me for details 😉
I cannot wait to try this – it looks absolutely exquisite!
I can just imagine eating this with delicious curries 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
This is fabulous. Can it be done with white flour? I can’t do whole wheat.
Thanks MJ,Cucina and Elpiniki!!MJ let me know how it turns out!
Cucina I also love the stuffed ones a lot!I will be adding those as well very soon 🙂
Looks great!
I adore Indian flatbreads, and yours looks just perfect, with great texture. I particularly love the flatbread filled with potatoes and peas.
This paratha looks delicious and yes, a definite companion to palak paneer! Thanks for your instructions. It sounds quite easy and doable. I might just have to surprise the husband with these. He’ll love them – we’ll both them! 🙂
Thanks Liz!!The bread sure is yummy 🙂
Soni, your bread looks so yummy! Beautiful tutorial!
Thanks so much Carmen!You’re ever so sweet 🙂
Your photos are so beautiful and the flat bread looks so yummy! I love how you have the whole process photographed step by step! It makes it so much easier! I will definitely try out this recipe soon! I know my husband will love it! Thank you so much for sharing
Thanks Nava!This triangular shape is very easy to make, I’m sure you’ll do a great job 🙂
I try to go away with ghee but at times, cannot just because ghee bring an aroma esp when added into cooking. I am learning to control and least usage of it now.
My hubby loves parathas for dinner and its very healthy compared to the rice we eat for lunch. I tried making the round ones but seems like the the shape goes into the map of Malaysia and India. With you sharing another easier shape, I will try because the flour I bought the last time is still sitting in my fridge.
Palak paneer with chappati we so call this parathas are perfect pairing.