Spicy Aloo Paratha( Potato Stuffed Indian Whole Wheat Bread )

Chapathi, by itself is very delicious and healthy. But you might get bored of eating the same plain chapathi everyday. Chapathi / roti can be used as a base to create wonderful variations. You can stuff chapathis with an array of fillings. One such popular stuffing is with Potato( Aloo / Alu ). These aloo parathas are so filling and plain yogurt would be good enough as a compliment. These parathas are bursting with potatoes, spices and full of flavor. My aloo paratha was born from my husbands memories and thoughts. Though he is not a good cook he could explain me about the ingredients and the taste of the food he had(even from years).

Stack of hot and fresh aloo parathas

For making 10-12 parathas you require:

• 2 cups fine whole wheat flour( atta )
• 3/4 - 1 cup warm water or milk
• 2-3 tbsp oil or ghee
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Some extra flour for dusting rotis when rolling

How to make dough:

• Use food processor if you have one.
• Warm water or milk in a microwave.
• In a mixing bowl add flour, salt, sugar, oil or ghee and mix together.
• Slowly add warm water or milk and knead it into a soft dough.
• Knead the dough with milk/water for 10 minutes and cover it with a damp cloth.
• Let it rest for atleast 20 min.
• Divide dough into 12 equal portions and coat them with flour.

For potato filling you need:

• 2 large red potatoes
• 1 small onion
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
  
• 1/2 tsp amchur ( dried mango) powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander
• salt to taste

How to make potato filling:

• Cook the potatoes in microwave for 5 min with little water covered
• Peel off the skin chop them and keep it aside
• Chop onions very fine
  
• In a kadai or pan add jeera and fry it till golden brown. Add onions and saute well
• Once the onions are browned add peas and cook for a min
• Add the powders, red chilli powder, garam masala, amchur powder and blend well
• Add the chopped potato and mash it to become a paste
• Add cilantro and adjust salt and spice to taste
• Let this filling come to room temperature

How to make aloo parathas:

• Roll out the dough into small palm sized rotis
  
• Fill it with potato filling and wrap it as shown in the picture
• Now roll out the potato filled dough ball just like a regular chapathi.
  
• Heat tawa or griddle and cook these paraths with little ghee or oil
  

These aloo parathas taste great when hot along with plain yogurt and some freshly sliced onions with lemon, jeera powder and black salt. A simple sumptuous and heart filling meal is also a great feast to the eyes!!!

Hot from the griddle: aloo parathas with beets curry, homemade yogurt and sliced onions

Problem with leftovers? heres a tip:
Freeze aloo parathas in batches by placing parchment paper between each paratha and freeze in ziploc bags or aluminium foil. These come very handy in the eleventh hour. To reheat, take from the freezer and cook in medium flame until done using little ghee or oil( I myself didnt need it ). I usually wrap them in aluminium foil( without parchment paper in between ) and heat in oven without unpacking the foil for 15 min, and they come out hot and fresh!

Tags:Aloo paratha, Alu paratha, Potato filled indian whole wheat bread, Spicy potato paratha, bangala dumpa paratha