Growing up in North India, this was one of the staple food items that everyone loved! It works well for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Of course I do not make it for breakfast. It is usually a weekend brunch/lunch or dinner kind of menu for us. Because this involves a bit more work and time that I can manage on busy weeknights. But even with this I have found my shortcuts as always and use some of my kitchen tools to assist me.
Aloo Paratha can be made vegan or vegetarian. You could choose to use oil or ghee depending on your diet preferences.
You will need:
Potato filling:
4 medium sized potatoes (boiled and peeled)
2 green chillies chopped (optional)
1 shallot chopped (optional)
cilantro chopped
Seasonings for potato filling:
1 tsp caraway seeds/ajwain
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp amchur/dry mango powder
salt per taste
Dough:
2 cups whole wheat flour/atta
1 cup water
salt per taste
Cooking parathas:
oil/ghee/butter
Method:
For boiling potatoes I use my favorite Instant Pot (IP). Add potatoes to the IP base with water. Place the lid and set valve to sealed position. Based on the size of potatoes the cooking time can vary. For the medium sized potatoes that I used today cook at manual high pressure mode for 10 minutes. Wait for natural pressure release. Then take the potatoes out and peel them.
TIP:
If I choose to make this on a weeknight, I usually do this step of cooking my potatoes in IP in the morning itself. So that I just need to do rest of the steps in the evening.
Mash the peeled potatoes with a potato masher (makes your life much easier). Add rest of the veggies for the filling along with the seasonings. Mix well and your potato filling is ready.
For the dough, I use my food processor with its dough attachment/blade. Add the ingredients for the dough and knead it in the food processor. Your dough is ready in minutes! I LOVE my Ninja!
Now time to assemble and make the parathas.
Divide the dough and potato filling in 6 parts. Roll them into balls. Take a dough ball and dust it with flour. Roll it thick and add in the filling. Close it like a pouch and dust it again with flour. Roll it again into somewhat thick parathas (need not be too thin like rotis). Place the paratha on a hot pan. Apply oil/ghee on it. Flip it when one side is cooked. Add oil/ghee again on this side and cook again. Repeat this process with rest of the dough and filling.
You can have this aloo paratha as it is or with yoghurt or even with an Indian pickle.
ENJOY!
