Aloo Matar Paratha

No blog is complete without a post for Aloo Paratha! Well, in my case it is 'Aloo-Matar-Paratha' - unleavened Indian whole wheat bread stuffed with spicy potato & green peas filling. 

Parathas were very filling and tasted really good with tomato thokku on the side. If you like your filling to be on the spicier side, just follow my measurements for the ingredients, else cut down on chillies/chilli powder according to your spice level.

Basic Info

Complexity - difficult
Prep time - 30-45 mins
Cook time - 1 hr
Serves - 10 parathas

Ingredients

For dough

Atta - 2 cups (I used pillsbury chakki fresh atta)

Oil - 1 tsp

Salt - about 1/2 tsp (or) to taste

Water - a little more than 1 cup (or) as needed
Ghee - to smear on top of parathas (substitute with vegetable oil, if you are not a fan of ghee)

For Filling

Russet potatoes - 2 nos (large, boiled & mashed about 1.5 cups, you could use other potatoes also)

Peas - 1 cup (I used frozen peas)

Onion - 1/2 no (Medium sized)

Green chillies - 2 nos (finely chopped)

Ginger - 1 inch (grated)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Hing - a pinch

Cilantro - 1-2 tbsp (finely chopped)

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Pav bhaji masala - 1 tsp (I used MTR brand, substitute it with garam masala)

Amchur powder - 1/2 tsp (for the tangy touch, optional)

Oil - 1 tbsp

Method

How to make dough
Mix all the ingredients under "For dough", except water. Add water little by little and knead the dry ingredients into a soft but firm dough. Cover the bowl and let it rest for atleast 20 - 30 mins.

How to make filling

Heat oil in a wide pan. When hot, add cumin seeds, hing and let them splutter. Add green chillies, grated ginger and saute for a min. To this, add in onion and cook until onion turns soft & translucent.

Add peas and cook until peas are soft. Sprinkle little water, if required. Mash peas with the back of a spoon/ladle. Now, add boiled & mashed potatoes, dry masala powders, salt and give it a good mix. Let it cook for about 3-4 mins or until the raw smell of masala powders are gone.

Finally add cilantro and remove from heat. Let the filling cool down to room temperature.

How to make Parathas

Divide the dough into 10 equal sized balls. Divide the filling into 10 equal sized balls.

Roll the dough for about 3-4 inches wide. Brush it with a little ghee / oil and place a ball of filling in the center.

Now cover the filling from all sides with the dough.

Flatten it slightly with your palm and carefully roll out this stuffed ball into thin disc of about 6-7 inches wide.

Heat a tawa/griddle on medium heat. Make sure that the griddle is hot enough and place a paratha in centre of the pan. When color of the paratha is slightly changed, flip it to the other side and brush it with a dash of ghee on top. When it starts to bubble up, flip it to the other side and brush it again with a dash of ghee. Wait for paratha to completely bubble up and then, remove from heat.

Keep them covered in an insulated container.

Serve hot with raitha, pickle or any curry of your choice.

Note

- I used russet potatoes for the filling and I must say that the russet potatoes added a rich & creamy flavor to the filling.
- When stuffing the parathas, make about equal size of balls of dough & filling.
- Chop all the ingredients very finely, potatoes & peas must be mashed without any lumps, onions & cilantro should be finely minced. If you have lumps/big pieces, it will tear the dough when rolling out.
- Make sure you add enough water for the dough to be soft but not sticky, so that when rolling out the parathas you can use negligent amount of atta for dusting.
- Sticky dough will be difficult to handle whereas hard dough will result in stiff parathas.
- With practice, you too can make perfect parathas.

Events

Linking this to the event "What's with my cuppa" hosted by Nivedhanams & UK-Rasoi