Aloo Paratha

I have got to say that making paratha's was really difficult and because I love making roti or chapati (Indian bread), I thought this would come naturally as well. My roti's don't come out round either, but atleast they are not as hard to prepare as these were. I was covered in flour from head to toe! I think this one of those Indian dishes that should be taught "visually" rather than read on a blog/recipe book. It requires some technique that should be shown under the guidance of someone who has had a lot of experience making them. I had to even throw out one or two of the little aloo balls before I attempted to flatten them. But I am still glad I made this dish. Its been one of my favorite things to eat since I was a little girl. My mom tends to make methi (spinach) paratha's more often than she does the aloo (potato). Since this is mainly a north Indian dish, it wasn't part of our everyday meals, but it was certainly a treat for breakfast. I will continue to make this and eventually hope to perfect it. Then, I can teach it my children one day. If you have a lot of time and don't mind getting your hands dirty- try this dish. Even thought it is difficult, it's delicious when prepared right.

Aloo Paratha:

adapted from http://veggiecookbook.wordpress.com

Stuffing
4-5 potatoes
1 tbs. cooking oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
1/4th tsp turmeric powder
2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
Handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
1/2 tsp. amchoor or dry mango powder (optional)
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a small frying pan and add cumin seeds allow them to crackle and remove from heat. Boil potatoes, cool, peel and mash the potatoes (You can pressure cook or microwave potatoes). Add all the ingredients for stuffing along with the fried seasoning and mix well. The mix should be dry, free of water. Otherwise, it will be difficult to roll out parathas. Keep the stuffing mixture aside.

Dough
2 cups wheat flour
1/4th cup wheat flour for dusting
1 tbs. ghee / butter / oil
Salt to taste
2 tbsp curd/ yogurt
Enough water to make dough
2-3 tsp ghee or butter for frying paratha’s

As the potatoes are boiling. Sieve flour. Add salt, oil or ghee, curd and Add water a little at a time. Knead into medium soft dough. Knead well for 5-6 minutes. This process can be done quickly in a food processor. Cover with a wet cloth and let the dough sit for 20-30 minutes. Knead the dough again

Creating the Paratha: Flattening the dough

Divide the dough and stuffing into balls of equal portions, now roll one ball at a time in the form of a cup. Now put a small quantity of above stuffing (potato filling) over it, close it from all sides.Gently pat the stuffed "cup" in the palms, apply some flour on both sides and roll it gently into a paratha.Now cook on a frying pan, allow one side to cook when the color changes into light brown color.Turn repeat for other side. Drizzle some butter or ghee on each side and flip. Serve hot with Yogurt or Indian pickle.