Aloo Parantha/ Alu Parontha/ Indian flatbread stuffed with a delicious potato filling

Love made simple. 

Most of the times it really is.. Love. It is simple. 

One rarely thinks of things when falling in love. In fact one hardly thinks.. 

If I was to talk about me and P, I would say it was a typical case of "fools rush in where angels far to tread" ;) 

The food that I am going to share with you today is just that. Simple. And Love on a platter. 

For me aloo parathas are a way of life. I used to love them as a chld..early morning breakfast before going to school used to be this simple stuffed parathas..and that's everything I needed. 

It is also the memory of my mother doling out these amazing stuffed parathas for the family, with some home churned white butter and curd ..

"Its the feeing of coming home after a 

long and rather tiring day, its the feeling of being comfortable in one's own skin, the joy of biting into its spiced filling and knowing that somethings don't need to be changed , that even though change is the only constant in life, these Aloo Parathas, and our love for them has remained constant too". 

Over the years, inspite of the health fads and dabbling in so many different cuisines,this particular dish has retained its importance in my life. Thankfully baby D loves it just as much as I did , which mean more aloo parathas for us!! Yay!! Win win for all at home :) 

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Contrary to popular belief, its not really tough at all. In this post I have tried to show you a step by step on How To make the perfect aloo paranthas (and that too by someone who would have them as their dying wish)!!

Let's get started then, shall we?? 

The usual cast of characters include whole wheat flour or atta, boiled potatoes, onions/shallot, ginger, green chillies and coriander. 

The parathas are not too thick which ensures that the filling is spread out even to the edges of the circle,and it doesn't taste doughy. The potato filling is simply delicious. I add just a couple of extra spices to zing it up..Its got that hint of heat from the chillies, tang from lemon juice and aamchoor powder (dry mango powder) and freshness from ginger and coriander. Clarified butter or ghee is used to shallow fry these parathas till they are golden brown on both sides..And its the ghee that is the deal cincher. It takes things to a completely different dimension and you have to trust me when I saw, PLEASE try to get hold of some ghee for this, if you want it the completely authentic way!!

Serving Suggestions:  One can have these paranthas by themselves with just some ketchup or pickle as a side. However, I love serving it with the whole gamut of condiments like coriander-mint dip (hari chutney), mango pickle, curd with jaggery , onion and chilled mango juice! Perfect breakfast. 

PS: I have it for lunch and dinner too...and I promise not to judge if you do too ;) 

We will call ourselves the "Sisterhood of the aloo paratha lovers" !!

Love,

S :) 

Time Taken : 20 minutes.
Servings :6

RECIPE

Ingredients: 

• Whole wheat flour (atta) - 2 cups
• Boiled Potatoes , mashed totally- 4 
• Onion - 1 , chopped finely
• Green Chillie - 2, chopped fine
• Ginger, minced - 1 inch
• Coriander leaves, chopped fine - 4 tbsp 
• Salt - as per taste
• Lemon Juice- of 1/2 lemon
• Dry Mango Powder / Aamchoor powder - 2 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Kashmiri Red Chili Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fennel seeds/ Saunf- 1 teaspoon
• Dried Fenugreek leaves/ kasuri methi - 1 tablespoon, crushed.
• Clarified Butter/ Ghee - 6 tablespoon.
• Water- to bind the flour.

Condiments for serving:

• Coriander mint dip
• Fresh curd - with sugar/jaggery
• Spicy mango pickle

Method: 

• Start by boiling the potatoes. I use a pressure cooker (which is fairly common and essential in all Indian households. We ue it to cook our lentils and potatoes on a daily basis) It takes 5 minutes. 
• Chop the above listen ingredients finely. 
• Take a mixing bow, add the mashed potatoes, add all the above ingredients excluding the wholewheat flour and ghee.
• Mash everything well so that there are no major lumps. Taste and adjust seasoning as per taste, I typically need to add a little salt or chili or lemon juice at this point. 
• Next, while the potatoes were cooking, make the dough. 
• Simply form a medium soft dough by kneading the flour and water with a pinch of salt. 
• Knead it for about 5 minutes till it comes together as a smooth ball.The dough should spring back if pressed, Cover with a damp towel till needed. 
• When ready to make the parathas,break off small pieces of the dough and toll it out to 3 inches circle. Flour it lightly. 
• put a small ball of the potato filling in the centre of the rolled out roti. 
• starting from one one ,crimp the dough on the top so that the filling doesn't fall out. 
• lightly flatten it and roll it out till its 6 inch even circle.
• Heat a girdle or tawa. 
• Place the paratha on it. Once it starts to get colored on the bottom side, turn it over carefully.
• Now drizzle some ghee at the edges of the paratha, it should puff up. 
• Slowly and carefully turn it over, spread some more (hald teaspoon at a time)ghee and shallow fry on that side.
• Cook till both the sides are golden brown in color.
• Remove and serve hot with the suggested condiments.

Enjoy!!