What's cooking? Parathas!

My relationship with parathas dates back to the time when my teeth got fully developed, precisely, when I was 4-5 years old, as told to me by my mother. Parathas are a common breakfast item for Sindhis and Punjabis. Being born in a Sindhi household, I have had the privilege to eat these delicious varieties of parathas. My mother never had to think twice about what to give me in my school tiffin box. Five days of school meant five different parathas. In school, everyone was a big fan of my mother’s parathas. She used to give me only one paratha; out of which, I would only get a little more than a quarter to eat. My friends devoured the rest of it. It was my story every single day. Aloo (potatoes) paratha, onion paratha, moong paratha, methi (fenugreek) paratha, mix vegetables paratha, patta gobi (cabbage) paratha, mooli (radish) paratha are a few that are made at home regularly. Sometimes, other varieties like paneer (cottage cheese) paratha, matar (peas) paratha and dal (lentils) paratha are prepared as well.

You cannot serve a paratha without a huge dollop of butter. It tastes delicious with a bowl of curd or a sunny side up egg. As kids, we even ate them with Kissan Mixed Fruit Jam or Kissan Tomato Ketchup. I know it is a strange combination but it did taste amazing. You can be creative with your sides; cheese, mayonnaise, garlic chutney, coriander chutney, pickles are few of the many sides that you can enjoy your parathas with.

I was curious to know the etymology of this word that I have been using since my childhood. So a quick google search told me that paratha is a combination of two words, ‘parat’ which means layers and ‘atta’ which translates to the dough. So, parathas can be layered, stuffed and flavored - there are innumerable possibilities. With the advent of fusion food, there have been many more experiments. Parathas are a great way to incorporate certain vegetables which otherwise taste horrible, like radishes and bottle gourds.

As I wish to continue making these tasty parathas in the future as well, I decided to document these recipes. Of course, they are my family recipes, so I take great pride in presenting them to you. I thought just a written recipe with few photographs would not be enough. Therefore, I made videos of the recipes as well. I hope you enjoy watching these recipes and they are tempting enough for you to try making them yourself at home!

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Aloo (Potato) Paratha

Aloo Parathas are stuffed parathas with a potato filling. They taste delicious with curd/raita or a glass of buttermilk.

Ingredients (3 medium aloo parathas):

2 boiled potatoes

1 small onion

½ teaspoon red chili powder

½ teaspoon cumin powder

½ teaspoon coriander powder

Salt as per taste

½ teaspoon dry mango powder

A handful of fresh coriander

Wheat dough

Recipe

Potato Filling

1. Peel the potatoes and transfer them in a big bowl.

2. Add the chopped onions, masalas, salt and coriander to the bowl.

3. Mash and mix everything together to form the potato filling.

Aloo (Potato) Paratha

1. Take a small ball of dough and flatten in with your fingers or the rolling pin.

2. Place some potato filling in the center and seal the dough into a ball.

3. Lightly dust it with plain flour and flatten it into a paratha.

4. Cook the paratha on both the sides on the tawa. When the paratha is 90% cooked, use some oil to fry it.

5. Top it with lots of butter and serve hot with your favored dip!

Watch the video on the aloo paratha recipe below!

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Onion Paratha

Ingredients (4 parathas)

1 cup wheat flour (250 gms)

1 small onion, finely chopped

A handful of fresh coriander

2 green chillies

Salt as per taste

1 teaspoon cumin (jeera)

½ teaspoon red chilli powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

3 tablespoons oil/ fresh cream for shortening

Water

Recipe

Onion paratha dough

1. Add all the ingredients, i.e. onion, coriander, masalas, salt to the dry wheat flour.

2. Nicely dry mix everything together using your hand.

3. Add 3 tablespoons of oil for shortening and mix it again.

4. Start adding water little by little and keep kneading the dough until it comes together.

5. Add some oil in the end and smoothen the dough further.

Onion Paratha

1. Take a small piece of your onion paratha dough and flatten it using your rolling pin.

2. Then apply some oil and fold it.

3. Dip it in plain flour once again and flatten it into a nice round paratha.

4. Put it on the hot tawa and cook on both sides. When the paratha is 90% cooked, use some oil to fry it.

5. Top it with ghee or butter and serve it hot!

Watch the video on the onion paratha recipe below!

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Mooli (Radish) Paratha

Ingredients (6 parathas)

1 cup wheat flour (250 gms)

Salt as per taste

½ teaspoon red chili powder

1 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)

1 teaspoon chaat masala

1 green chilli, chopped

A handful of fresh coriander

1 medium radish, grated

2 tablespoon oil for shortening

Water

Recipe

Mooli (Radish) paratha dough

1. Add all the ingredients, i.e. masalas, salt, coriander, grated radish and 2 tablespoons oil to the dry wheat flour.

2. Dry mix everything well with your hand.

3. Add water little by little until the dough comes together. Don't add too much water as radish releases its own water too.

4. Lastly, put little oil to smoothen the dough further.

Mooli Paratha

1. Take a small piece of mooli paratha dough, dust it with plain flour and flatten it a bit.

2. Apply some oil and fold it.

3. Dip it in flour once again and flatten it into a nice round paratha.

4. Put it on the hot tawa to cook it on both sides.

5. Put some oil after it is 90% cooked and fry it.

6. Your mooli paratha is ready to be served hot with your favorite sides.

Watch the video on the mooli paratha recipe below!

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These parathas are easy to make, delicious and very filling. These were just 3 of the many more parathas that my mom makes. I will document the other paratha recipes soon!

PS: A big thank you to my mom for helping me document the recipes!

Vaibhavi