Aloo Paratha/Porotta
These make a great breakfast or snack with or without yogurt/raita, lime wedges, raw red onion and fresh green chilis. Add vegetables and dal for a tasty lunch or dinner.
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For the filling you are going to need about 2/3c mashed potato mixture (this is the aloo). You can use leftover boiled or mashed potatoes: mince some peeled ginger and some hot chili pepper and add to leftover potatoes with a sprinkle of turmeric and other spices. Or you can add spices by tempering: heat some oil (coconut or neutral, like sunflower, or ghee), when hot add: mustard seeds, cumin and coriander. When the mustard seeds start to pop, take off the heat and pour over the potato mixture. Mash thoroughly - if you have lumps or pieces of onions or anything with sharp edges, it will poke through the dough. Cool to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe. |
- 2/3 cups cooked potato (no skin, mashed to break up any chunks)
- various aromatics like garlic, ginger, chopped cilantro, sliced chilis and/or spices like cumin, coriander and turmeric (see note in the recipe description)
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt (kosher or sea salt)
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (we use sunflower)
- 1/2 cup water (start with about 1/3c of water and add a little at a time)
- 1-2 tablespoon neutral oil or ghee (for brushing on the paratha)
- optional yogurt/raita, lime wedges, raw red onion and fresh green chilis to serve
Mix the whole wheat flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in oil and about 1/3c of water - you may need more water, it depends on the flour you are using. I ended up using about 1/2c + 2T because my whole wheat flour was very absorbent. You want all the flour to be moistened and the whole thing to become a cohesive dough but you don't want it to be sticky or wet.
Knead the dough either in the bowl or on a counter for about 8-10 minutes. You can use a stand mixer with a kneading hook if you have one, but it's not necessary. You want the dough to be smooth.
Shape the dough into a ball and cover with a tea towel for about 30 minutes to rest.
Cut the dough into 10 approximately equal portions and roll each portion into a ball. While you are working with one ball of dough, keep the others covered with that tea towel.
Take one ball and roll it into something resembling a circle. There is no need for flour on your counter and it doesn't matter if your circle is perfect or not. It is more important that the dough is a uniform thickness than a perfect circle.
Hold the dough circle in one hand and scoop a tablespoon (maybe a touch more) of spiced potatoes mixture into the centre of it. Using your other hand, pinch the outside dough in a circular motion joining at the top (look at the video if this doesn't make sense to you) to create what looks like a Chinese bao or a little purse.
Turn the filled dough seam-side down and give it a slight press to flatten it a bit. Be delicate here, it's easy to push too hard and have the filling break through the dough. Roll the paratha gently to try to get a uniform thickness. If you have small leaks of potato on the edge, that's okay, but it may mean that you reached the maximum thinness. It will not be as large around as it was without the filling.
Put the one you just rolled under the tea towel and fill and roll the next one until they are all the same and all under the tea towel to keep from drying out.
Heat a pan over medium-high heat. When the pan gets hot, put a paratha in the pan without oil. Cook it for about a minute or 2 until it start to brown, flip it over and paint the browned bit that was the bottom and is now the top with a little bit of neutral oil or ghee. Cook for another minute and flip it back to the first side. Brush the top with a bit more oil/ghee. Each side should be cooked once without fat followed by once with the fat. While they're cooking you can gently press down on the paratha with your spatula to help with both the browning and a little puffing.
Take the paratha out of the frying pan and keep it warm while you continue to cook the rest of them.
Serve as a part of a larger meal or with yogurt, lime wedges and pieces of raw red onion.
