ALOO PARATHA

Aloo paratha is one of the most famous paratha recipes from Punjab in India. This flavourful Punjabi aloo paratha is one of the most cherished breakfast at my place. Quite hot fresh wheat flatbreads loaded down with spiced, faintly sharp pureed potatoes stuffing and savored with some tart acrid mango pickle.

In Punjabi families, parathas are made with lots of love and affection. Most of the time parathas are roasted with lots of ghee and then served with white butter or Makhan as we call them in Punjabi.

INGREDIENTS

FOR DOUGH:

• 2 cup wheat flour/atta
• 1 tbsp oil
• ? tsp salt
• ? to 1 cup water, to knead

FOR ALOO STUFFING:

• 2-4 potato, boiled & mashed
• 1-2 chili, finely chopped
• ? to ? tsp garam masala powder
• ? to ? tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
• ? tsp turmeric
• ? tsp amchur / dry mango powder
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
• ? tsp salt or as per taste
• 1-2 onions, finely chopped (optional)

METHOD

DOUGH:

1.   Take a bowl and add 2 cups of whole wheat flour. Make a well in the center. Add ? tsp salt or as required, 1 tbsp oil or ghee and some water (roughly ? to ? cup).

2.   Mix it well to bring the mixture together and knead into a smooth soft dough for 8-10 minutes. Add more water if required while kneading.

3.   Now cover and keep the dough aside for 20-30 minutes.

ALOO STUFFING:

1.  First, boil 4 medium-sized potatoes in a pressure cooker. On a medium flame cook the potatoes in the water for 3 to 4 whistles. Remove the lid when the pressure relaxes down on its own in the cooker. Boil the potatoes.

2.  Once the potatoes come to the room temperature, peel & chop the boiled warm potatoes. Then mash the potatoes with a potato masher. The potatoes should be mashed very well. Completely avoid tiny bits of unmeshed potatoes.

3.  Now add 1-2 finely chopped green chilies, ? to ? tsp garam masala powder, ? to ? tsp Kashmiri red chili powder, ? tsp turmeric, ? to 1 tsp of dry mango powder.

4.  Add salt as per your taste.

5.  With the mashed potatoes, mix the green chilies and spices. Also, add 2 tbsp of finely chopped coriander leaves.

6.  You can also add finely chopped 2-3 medium-sized onions according to your preference. The onions should be finely chopped or else they may pop out when rolling the parathas. Give everything a final mix.

7.  Now Keep the prepared aloo stuffing aside.

HOW TO PREPARE ALOO PARATHA:

1.   Divide the prepared dough into small balls. Roll and flatten them into a circular shape. Also, dust with whole wheat flour when it becomes sticky.

2.   On one of the rolled dough circle, place the potato stuffing in the center and keep about 1-inch empty space from the sides.

3.   Now place the second rolled dough circle on top and start pressing and sealing the edges with the help of your fingertips.

4.   Then dust some flour on the stuffed paratha and start rolling the aloo paratha to the size of a normal roti or chapati

5.   Hereafter place the rolled paratha on a warm tawa. Keep the flame to medium-high or high for a thick bottomed and heavy tawa.

6.   When the base is partly cooked, flip the paratha and spread some ghee or oil on the partly cooked part.

7.   Cook the paratha until golden brown adding oil/ghee whenever required.

8.   Finally, serve hot aloo paratha with butter/sauce/raita or pickle.