Aloo paratha - Potato stuffed flat breads

Punjabi aloo paratha or Alu paratha - Indian flat bread stuffed with potato, herbs and spices. A detailed recipe with step by step photos and videos

Parathas are one of the most popular delicacies of North India, generally prepared by stuffing wheat or plain flour dough with vegetables along with some spices and herbs. Among the various types of parathas, aloo paratha is the most popular one. This tasty ghee fried flat bread is usually served with lots of butter, curd, pickle and green chilies. But for me, this paratha really does not need any accompaniments. Aloo paratha can be served at any time, as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is an ideal lunch box recipe as this stay fresh for a long time.

When I start preparing aloo paratha, one of the main problem I faced was the breaking of the outer dough layer and the oozing out of the inner filling. Once I have stopped making this parathas as I continuously fail in this attempt and felt this as a rocket science. Today, I will share some of the tricks and tips to make a perfect stuffed aloo paratha. We have an another variety of stuffed paratha in this post, Mooli paratha, if you are interested please have a look.

You should be careful while cooking the potatoes which is called aloo in Hindi, as they should not be overcooked or soggy. You can cook them in any method of your choice, such as in microwave, pressure cooker, pan or in steamer. But I generally prefer the steaming  and microwave method because the least amount of moisture is retained in potatoes during this method. Always, make sure that the potatoes are not watery, but should be well - cooked and should be able to mash easily.

Another most important thing is that, do not leave any big pieces of potatoes in the filling, mash them thoroughly with your hands or using a potato masher or forks. If using onion, green chillies etc., do chop them finely as this should not break the dough while rolling the paratha.

There are so many variations of aloo paratha, you can make them nutritious using some cooked mashed vegetables, you can also play with the spices, like coriander, cumin seeds, chili powder, amchoor etc. Amchoor is the dried mango powder which is available in the market very easily, If you don't have, you can sun dry thinly sliced mango pieces and then grind them into fine powder. This is just to give a sourness to the filling, you can replace this with lemon juice or a few drops of vinegar. But you know, all these things will make the filling again watery and will create problems while rolling parathas. So I recommend you to use the amchoor powder for this dish.

The addition of one or two tablespoons of wheat flour in the filling will also help to reduce moisture. The dough, which we prepare with the wheat flour is also should be little bit hard, but not too hard as poori or not too soft as chapathi. Prepare smaller potato balls compared to the dough balls. This will help to roll them perfectly and will prevent it from breaking. If you are looking for a puffed parathas, then avoid chopped veggies or sauté them till they turn soft. Then fry them in lots of ghee, then you will get beautifully puffed parathas.

So friends, please go through this lovely, tasty potato stuffed flat bread, aloo paratha recipe.

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Aloo Paratha recipe | How to make aloo paratha easily | How to make potato stuffed Indian flat bread

Indian flat bread with sour and spicy potato filling

Preparation time: 30 minutes| Cooking time: 15 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients

For dough

• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil
• Water as needed

For filling

• 3 medium sized potatoes 
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 small green chilies, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp grated ginger
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp dried mango powder (amchur or amchoor) or lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 small bunch of coriander leaves finely chopped or 1 springs of curry leaves finely chopped

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How to make aloo paratha recipe - video

Aloo paratha recipe with step by step preparation

• To prepare the dough

1. Take one cup of wheat flour in a wide pan. Put salt to taste and a pinch of sugar. Mix well 
   
2. Pour water little by little, mix by rubbing the flour between your fingers. Continue this process untill you get a soft dough. The dough should be little bit harder than the chapathi dough.
   
3. Pour a spoon full of oil and spread all over the dough. Cover and keep this aside for the next ten minutes.
   

• To prepare the filling

1. Cook the potatoes in a steamer till soft. You can check the cooking point of the potatoes with a fork. If the fork passes easily, it is ready. Wait till the potatoes cool down completely, peel off the skin. You can cook them in pressure cooker, steamer, microwave oven or in a pan. But make sure that the potatoes are cooked well, but not soggy.
   
2. Mash potatoes with your hands or using a potato masher. If the potatoes are too watery, then keep them in the refrigerator for some time.
   
3. Put finely chopped onion, green chilies, grated ginger, coriander leaves and the spice powder like turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, and garam masala. You can add amchur powder or lemon juice for sourness. 
   
4. Add salt to taste and mix well. If you feel too much moisture in the stuffing, then put one or two tablespoons of wheat flour and mix again.
   
5. Then make small gooseberry sized balls and set aside.
   

• To make the paratha

1. Take one small dough ball, dust enough flour, and roll into small round disc by pressing the sides with your hands,  Always try to make thin edges, but thick center. Because if you make roties with the same thickness, it will be difficult to roll. Place the potato filling in the center. Note: The dough ball should be larger than the potato filling, it should hold the filling while rolling.
   

   
2. Then, gently make small fleets with your hand and close the dough tightly just like in the figure.
   
   
3. Slightly press and flatten them, just like we do for parathas.
   
   
4. Gently press with your hands so that the filling spread all over inside the paratha. 
   
5. Then roll with the help of a roller till you get a flat round dish. Make sure that the dough does not break and the filling does not ooze out. If it oozes out, the filling will be moist, put some more wheat flour and mix well for the next batch.
   
6. Heat a griddle, grease it with some ghee and then put the parathas. 
   
7. Flip it once it cooked and cook the other side also. spread some ghee or oil. Repeat this two to three times, till both sides are brown and crisp.
   
8. Once done, transfer to a plate and serve with curd and pickle.
   

Aloo Paratha - Tips and Tricks

1. Making aloo paratha is not as easy as other stuffed parathas, the filling and the dough should not be too moist.
2. There should not be any big pieces in the filling. Mash potatoes thoroughly and chop onion, coriander and green chilies finely. 
3. If you want puffed parathas, I will suggest you not put the chopped raw veggies, just sauté them till they soft. A single hole will not allow the parathas to puff.
4. Aloo ke parathe is usually made and served with lots of ghee, but you can also make them in regular oil-free methods.
5. The spices used in this paratha are variable, you can add coriander powder, chat masala, dried pomegranate seeds, etc. The presence of pomegranate seeds will give a nice crunch in the paratha.
6. If you feel the potatoes are overcooked, you can refrigerate them overnight so that the excess water leaves and will get a little bit dry. Another way is to incorporate one or two spoons of wheat flour or maida. This also helps to reduce the excess moisture content in the dough.

Happy cooking

Anju