Aloo Matar Paratha

Aloo Matar Paratha - Potato and green peas stuffed pancakes

Makes 14-16 parathas

Ingredients

For the stuffing:

4 medium sized potatoes (boiled and mashed)

1 ¾ cups green peas (thawed if using frozen and steamed or cooked if using fresh)

1 cup onion (julienned)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 ½ tsp coriander powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red pepper flakes (you can also use cayenne pepper or chopped green chili)

1 ½ tsp lemon juice

1 ½ tbsp. oil

Salt

For the dough:

2 ½ cups of whole wheat flour

Water (approximately 1 cup. But I have experienced that different brands of flour ask for different quantity of water depending on the quality. So I usually eye ball the amount of water used.)

1 ½ tsp salt

Ghee or oil for pan frying the parathas

Method

For the dough:

The process of kneading the dough for parathas is very much like doing that for making rotis. Please refer to my detailed post on how to make a roti to find out how you can make dough for parathas. Process is simple, just add water and salt to the flour and knead but can sometimes be tricky. I hope the post on making roti helps you make your dough.

For the stuffing:

Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. Once cumin starts to pop add onion.

Cook onion until light golden in color. Add turmeric, coriander and red pepper flakes.

Mix well. Add mashed potatoes and green peas. Add salt.

Mix everything together and mash it all well.

Set aside and let it cool.

Stuffing and making parathas:

Divide the dough and filling into equal parts. 

Dust the working area where you will be rolling the dough.

Roll out dough about 2 inches in diameter. 

Place a ball of filling in the middle and bring all the edges together sealing the filling in the center of the bag.

Press the bag gently on the sealed side, flattening it a little.  Dust and roll out the dough flat.Tip- Try to be light handed while rolling out the dough. Dust frequently if the dough is softer and the filling is coming out.

Repeat the same for the rest of the filling and dough. Tip- If you plan to roll out all the dough before starting to pan fry them then cover it with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out in the air.

Heat a skillet and place the rolled out dough on it. Tip- To check whether the skillet is hot enough sprinkle some water in it. If it sizzles out right away then its ready.

Let it cook for a few seconds and when you see the surface of paratha getting darker, flip to the other side. If you see some small brown spots on it then that’s good!

Brush ghee/oil on the cooked side and then flip again. Gently pressing with a spatula and rotating cook it for a minute. Repeat the same for the other side as well.

A perfect paratha should be golden brown with some dark spots on it.

Serve hot with yogurt, pickles or chutney.