Aloo Paratha

Aloo Paratha is another extremely popular Indian flat-bread. Anything that is stuffed with spiced potatoes is an instant hit (next to paneer, of course). The potato stuffing is simple to prepare ahead of time and store for a few days in the fridge. All that's required to make dinner is to knead and roll out the wheat flour dough, wrap it up with stuffing, roll and cook on a skillet. Simple and delicious meal. 

 Ingredients (serves 2-4):

1. 2 cups whole wheat flour / aata
2. 1 teaspoon ajwain / omam / oregano 
3. 1.5 teaspoons salt
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. water/ diluted yogurt/buttermilk/whey - at room temperature as needed to make a smooth dough. It's hard to give an exact measurement, because it really depends on the flour, the temperature & the humidity of the place and the quality of liquid used. Usually, it is 1 cup of liquid for 2 cups of flour (half the volume of flour)

Stuffing:

1. 2 potatoes, boiled, peeled, and gently mashed. Make sure the potatoes are as dry as possible so that it's easier to roll out the dough with the stuffing.
2. 1 onion, finely chopped
3. 1.5 tablespoons oil
4. 1 teaspoon jeera / cumin seeds
5. 2 green chillies, chopped
6. 1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
7. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
8. 1.5 teaspoons vegetable sabzi masala / paav bhaaji masala
9. 1 teaspoon salt
10. 1/4 cup coriander leaves / cilantro, chopped (I didn't add any coriander leaves to the batch shown below)

Preparing the filling:

1. Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add jeera. When jeera begins to sizzle, add ginger, green chillies, and onion and saute until onion begins to brown slightly. 
2. Add turmeric powder and the crumbled potatoes and mix well. Fry for 5 minutes. 
3. Add garam masala and give a mix
4. Throw in coriander leaves and mix. Let filling cool.

Preparing the parathas:

1. Knead the dough: This is a deceptively "simple" step. In my experience, this is what makes or breaks the texture and overall success of Indian flat breads.
• In a flat, wide rimmed plate (or a wide bowl), mix wheat flour / aata, salt and ajwain/omam seeds. Drizzle sesame oil and mix. Slowly add whey (left over from drained paneer/ricotta or homemade yogurt), or diluted yogurt or buttermilk or just water and start kneading the dough. Do not dump all the liquid at once. Slowly add as needed and knead. The wide/flat base of the plate helps to properly knead the dough by stretching it with the heel of your palm. I usually add as much diluted yogurt/whey as possible in the beginning of kneading the dough, and then sprinkle some water as needed to moisten and bring the dough together towards the end. In my experience, the protein in the whey/yogurt/buttermilk makes the parathas and rotis quite soft even if they are had the next day. Just make sure the yogurt or whey or buttermilk or water is at room temperature or is slightly warm. Cold liquid dries out the dough. If you are wary of using just whey/yogurt/buttermilk, just use water.
• Knead the dough well until it is smooth and pliable without any cracks. The dough should feel like play-doh. If the dough is sticky, just sprinkle some more flour and knead. If it is dry, sprinkle some water and knead. The more you knead, the better. After the dough comes together,  knead for at least 5-10 more minutes by stretching and pulling the dough.This helps to develop the gluten in the flour, which in turn makes the parathas soft. A great work out for the arm muscles.
• Now, rest the dough for about 20-30 minutes. Drizzle half a teaspoon of oil on top of the kneaded dough, cover it with a damp cloth/paper towel and place a lid on top.You want to give some time for the gluten to develop while making sure the dough stays soft and moist.
2. Heat a flat skillet on medium heat. I recommend using a cast-iron skillet, if possible. It retains heat much better and evenly cooks parathas and rotis. 
3. While the skillet is heating, take out the resting dough and knead again for a minute. Pinch out a big lime-sized ball (of about 2.5-3 inches diameter) of the dough and roll it into a circle of about 4-5 inches in diameter. If it's rolled out too thin, the stuffing will spill and the dough will tear easily. Sprinkle some wheat flour on the dough being rolled out, if it sticks to the board. Do not over flour the dough, because the excess flour sticking to the parathas will burn and make the parathas a little dry when cooked. Take 2 heaping tablespoons (or a little more) of the potato filling and place it in the center of the circle. Lift the sides of the circle, bring them together and twist the top to cover the filling and make a sort of purse. Pinch out any excess dough on the top and pat the filled ball of dough to make a disc. 
4. Flour the disc (if and as needed) and roll it out gently until you make an even circle or any other shape. Gently keep rolling into a bigger circle until the filling and dough can be stretched without too much tearing or spilling. Some tears in the dough are common, so don't worry. Plus the exposed filling cooks and crisps beautifully. Parathas will be slightly thicker than rotis.
5. When the skillet is hot (but not too hot), transfer the parantha onto it and gently press down so that it cooks evenly. Cook both sides with a smidgen of oil (up to 1/4 to one teaspoon) until golden brown spots form and the dough looks cooked. I'm sorry you can't get away from using any oil in parathas. It is needed to cook the inside and outside without burning the paratha. If using a cast-iron skillet, reduce the heat to low after it is heated, because otherwise the outside of the parathas will burn and the insides will remain raw. Also, make sure to gently keep pressing down on the parathas as they cook.
6. When cooked, transfer paratha to a hot pack or serve immediately. Make all parathas using the above steps.

Serve with yogurt whisked with cumin powder and salt, or just pickle.