How to Make Perfect Paratha: A Step-by-Step Guide
Learning how to make paratha, like learning anything else, requires practice and patience, so don’t expect this dish to be perfect on your first try. But with the help of these step-by-step instructions and tips on how to make perfect paratha, you’ll have delicious flatbread in no time at all!
The Basic Ingredients
The four main ingredients you’ll need for parathas are plain flour, oil or ghee, salt and water. To prepare a panful of parathas, start with 2 cups (300g) of flour. Choose a flour that has at least 11% protein content; those made from 100% wheat will have more than enough gluten.
If your favorite brand doesn’t list its protein content, check out online forums home bakers discuss what woworksrks best for different recipes. How much fat you add is up to you but it should be cold-pressed (i.e., no flavourings or preservatives), as hot vegetable oils tend to burn when used in cooking at high temperatures. Add 1 tsp (5ml) of salt per cup of flour.
For every cup of flour, mix in 3⁄4 cup (180ml) water until you get a dough that’s soft but not sticky. Knead well on a floured surface until smooth and elastic—this usually takes about 10 minutes. You can also do it by hand using a rolling pin if you don't have an electric mixer.
How to Prepare the Dough
The dough for parathas is typically made with whole wheat flour, water and a pinch of salt. The ratio of these ingredients varies depending on how thick you want your dough, but in general it should be similar to pancake batter.
To prepare your dough, mix together 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1⁄4 teaspoon salt until smooth. Slowly add water while stirring with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth mixture that easily pulls away from the sides of your bowl (you may not need all of it). It should be slightly thicker than pancake batter.
Cover your dough with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. This will allow time for gluten strands to form, which will help give your paratha its structure.
If you're using whole wheat pastry flour instead of regular whole wheat flour, don't let it sit out as long because there's less gluten in pastry flour. You can also make an eggless version by replacing 1 egg with 2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter.
However, egg helps bind everything together so I recommend using eggs if possible! After kneading, divide into 5 balls. Rest each ball under a moist cloth for 10–15 minutes before rolling them out. Letting them rest allows more gluten to develop.
While Dough Rests, Prepare Filling: Preparing your filling ahead of time ensures that once you begin making your parathas, they'll come together quickly.
You can choose whatever fillings you like, but I usually go with vegetables like potatoes or cauliflower and spices like cumin seeds and ginger. Try something new every week!
For now though, we'll stick with something simple—potatoes—to show you how easy it is to roll up delicious flatbreads. Start by cooking 1 pound diced potatoes in boiling water until soft enough to mash (about 15 minutes). Drain any excess liquid from potatoes then transfer them back into a large pot over medium heat along with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
Cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Add 2 teaspoons ground cumin seeds and 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger to potatoes and cook for another minute or two before removing from heat. Mash your potatoes well using a potato masher or fork so there are no lumps remaining. Set aside while you prepare your dough.
Filling Options
What’s your favorite food filling?
Some parathas are filled with potatoes, others with paneer, and still others with vegetables. If you’re still experimenting, start off simple by mixing together a few spices and finely chopped vegetables like onions or eggplant.
You can even mix two or three different fillings at once! To prevent your paratha from sticking to itself and falling apart, sprinkle just a bit of dry flour onto your rolling surface before rolling out each ball of dough.
This will also help keep things from getting too wet as you go along.
It might seem counterintuitive, but using less water in your dough makes for better parathas in general. It gives them a firmer texture that won’t collapse on itself when it cooks and it allows you to cook them more quickly without burning them.
Keep in mind that water content varies depending on what kind of flour you use (whole wheat vs all purpose) so don't be afraid to adjust accordingly. In general though, less is more here!
We have finally made it folks; we now know how to make an amazing platter of Indian food that would be perfect for any occasion. So what are you waiting for?
Go ahead and try these out! I promise you won’t regret it.
Cooking Option 1 – Oven
Preheat oven at 400°F. After forming parathas, place them on a greased cookie sheet in order for them to cook evenly.
You’ll want to bake them for 15 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides. When you see that they are done cooking, allow them to cool on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature with your favorite topping (sauce or melted butter).
This is my personal favorite method for making parathas since I can make several of them at once (and store some) while only taking up a small amount of time in my busy day.
They also taste great reheated in an oven or microwave if you have leftovers! The downside? Cleaning up after yourself.
Cooking Option 2 – Stovetop
Cooking parathas on a stovetop requires a little more patience than using an electric skillet, but it's still relatively easy. To make perfect parathas in about 40 minutes, you'll need:
- • 1 cup of whole wheat flour • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- • 1⁄2 cup water
- • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- • Oil for frying - First thing’s first, preheat your pan over medium heat and let it get really hot. In other words, that means don’t be like me and put it on a high flame—it takes much longer to cook! -
When you can hold your hand above the pan for just one second before pulling away, add three tablespoons of oil and swirl around to coat evenly. - Next, pour out any excess oil and add in your dry ingredients (flour, salt, turmeric).
Mix together with a spoon until there are no clumps. - Add in your water slowly while stirring with a fork or spoon until all of the dry ingredients have been mixed into a dough ball.
You may not need all of it depending on how wet or dry your flour is. Just keep adding small amounts until everything is incorporated into one big ball. If you find yourself adding too much water at once and having trouble mixing everything together, simply remove some with a spoon until everything comes together nicely as shown below.
Also note that if you're making larger parathas (which I highly recommend), use less water since they'll take longer to cook through completely otherwise! - Once you've got your dough ball ready, transfer it onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes.
This step is crucial because it gives your dough time to develop gluten which will help prevent cracking later on when cooking. Don't skip it! - After kneading, roll out the dough into a long oval shape and cut off both ends so that you have two equal sized rectangles.
Cut each rectangle in half lengthwise so that you end up with four long strips of dough. Cut each strip in half lengthwise again so that you end up with eight smaller rectangles which should look something like what's shown below. Here's where things start getting fun!
Roll each piece of dough into a small ⭕🔴 and then fold them in half along their horizontal axis. The trick here is to stretch them slightly so that they become very thin without breaking apart. Remember, even if you do break one, it doesn't matter since you're going to fry them anyway! - Heat up your pan over medium heat again and add in enough oil to cover its entire surface area (about 3 tablespoons).
Wait until it gets nice and hot before placing down your rolled out paratha pieces. Cook on both sides for about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown spots appear on both sides. Enjoy warm with butter, chutney, pickles, yogurt...whatever sounds good! Tips & Tricks:
- • Feel free to experiment with the amount of water you add. Sometimes, a drier dough ball is easier to work with and results in a lighter paratha.
- • It's best to use a non-stick pan for this recipe so that your parathas won't stick to the bottom.
- • Feel free to substitute oil for ghee or butter if you prefer.
- • Whole wheat pastry flour works well in place of regular whole wheat flour for this recipe.
- • While you could probably make this reciperecipe with all-purpose flour, it'll likely result in a denser paratha.
- • For extra flavor, add in 1⁄2 teaspoon of ground cumin and 1⁄2 teaspoon of black pepper to your dough ball before rolling out the parathas.
- • you have a small family or if you'd like to freeze some for later, feel free to halve the ingredients so that you only need one cup of flour instead of two.
- • If you're planning on eating these for dinner, it's a good idea to prepare the dough in the morning and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes before rolling out.
- • These parathas are great hot or cold so if you have leftovers, store them in the fridge and enjoy them later!
- • Store-bought roti (Indian flatbread) also makes a great substitute for homemade paratha.
- • If you're using a stovetop, it's a good idea to turn the heat up to medium-high after adding in the oil so that it heats up faster.
