Recipe for Aloo Achari Paratha
Recipe for Aloo Achari Paratha
Aloo Achari Paratha is Potato stuffed Flatbread. 'Aloo' is the Hindi word for Potatoes, 'Achari' is the Hindi word for Pickled and Paratha is a Pan roasted flatbread of Indian origin.As a kid, I used to enjoy simple Aloo Parathas out of my friends' tiffin boxes when we all used to sit together and share our tiffins during break time.As a family, we became huge fans of Aloo Parathas when we shifted to the Mumbai Suburbs. In our Church, we have a group of Women who make and sell fresh ready to eat food items every Sunday Morning! And one of the ladies' named 'Savitri' makes the Yummiest Heart Winning Aloo Parathas and we were regulars at her stall whenever we went for Sunday morning mass!This how my Mum and I got inspired to learn how to make Aloo Parathas at home where 'Aunty Josephine' a sweet lady who used to come to help us with the cooking, taught us how to make her version of Aloo Parathas.The best part about Aloo Parathas is that you can add whatever additional ingredient you like, the base and techniques remain the same. In this recipe, I've added Pickle, hence the name 'Aloo Achari'. I also love to add Cheese, Chopped Methi leaves, Chopped Garlic, Boiled Corn, Shezwan Chutney, etc. to my Aloo Parathas! They taste Delish! I wish I can treat Savitri and Aunty Josephine, to my version of Aloo Parathas, some day soon😊
Servings 8 pcs
Ingredients
For the Outer Covering
- 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 1/2 Cup Room temperature Water
- 1/2 Tspn Salt
- 1 Tbspn Ghee or Oil(I prefer using Ghee)
For the Stuffing
- 2 medium sized potatoes
- 1 medium sized onion(chopped fine)
- 2 Tbspn ghee
- 1-2 Spicy green chillies(chopped fine)
- 1/2 Tspn cumin seeds
- 1/2 Tspn Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1/4 Tspn Asafoetida -Hing (optional)
- 1/2 Tspn Dry Mango powder(amchur)
- 1/2 Tspn Garam masala powder(optional)
- 1 Tspn Pickle of your choice(if the vegetable pieces are too big, cut them fine)
- 4-5 sprigs fresh coriander (chopped fine
- Salt as per taste
Instructions
For the outer covering
- Add the Wheat Flour, Ghee and salt in a Wide bowl
- Add water little by little and bring all the ingredients together to form a dough
- Knead the Dough for about 5 minutes till smooth and softNote: For 1 cup Flour I use exactly half cup water
- Cover the dough and keep it aside
Follow these steps to make the stuffing
- Peel the Potatoes, cut them into quarters, transfer them into a pressure cooker and wash them till the water runs clear
- Add a 1 tspn Salt and 1/2 cup water into the pressure cooker and mix it well with the potatoes
- Close the cooker with it's lid, allow the potatoes to cook on medium flame until 2-3 whistles are released and turn off the gas flame.
- Keep the pressure cooker aside until all the steam is released. Once all the steam is released, open the cooker, drain off all the waterTip:- Do not let the potatoes rest in the water, once the cooker is open. This may lead to the potatoes turning sticky due to the starch. You have to immediately drain off the water
- Immediately with the help of a Potato masher or the back of a Fork, mash the potatoes and keep asideTip:- I prefer mashing potatoes when they are Hot. It not only makes it easier to mash but also avoids it from turning sticky
- In a skillet, heat 2 tbspn ghee and once the Ghee turns Hot, add the Cumin seeds and Asafoetida
- Once the Cumin Seeds sputter, add the onions and chillies
- Once the onions turn translucent, add the mashed potatoes, chilly powder, amchur powder, Garam masala(if using), and fresh coriander
- Mix all this well until the mashed potato is coated well with all the spices
- Add the Pickle and mix well
- Check for salt(since the potatoes were boiled with salt and Pickles contain salt too) if required you can add it at this stage
- Mix well and Turn the flame off and allow the stuffing to cool completely, at room temperature! Note:- If you use the stuffing when it's still Hot, the parathas will tear open as the heat will make the dough soft and tacky.
Follow these steps to make the Aloo Achari Parathas
- Make medium size balls of the dough(Slightly bigger than what u make for chapatis)
- With the help of a rolling pin, flatten each ball into a disc of approximately 5-6 inches in diameter
- Add about 1.5 tbspn of the stuffing in the centre of the disc
- Bring all the edges of the disc together in the centre and wrap and seal it like a pouch
- Now, on a lightly floured surface, very gently roll each pouch into a thick flat disc of around 7-8 inches in diameter with 1 inch thicknessNote:- Do Not be in a hurry to roll the pouches. Also, do not put too much pressure on the rolling pin, while rolling out the pouches or else all the stuffing will start oozing out
- Heat a pan on medium flame
- Once it turns hot, transfer one Paratha on the PanNote:- Do Not be in a hurry. Wait until the pan turns hot because only then will the parathas puff up
- When you see bubbles forming on the other side, flip the paratha
- When you see bubbles forming on the other side, flip it again and lightly brush it with ghee.
- You will notice as soon as you brush it with ghee, it will puff up
- After 30 seconds or so, flip it again and brush the other side with ghee
- Flip it every 30 seconds until it's brown and doneNote:- ensure not to leave it unattended or else it will get burnt. I'd suggest you roll out all the parathas first and then only concentrate on frying them. Or if you have help, get someone to fry, while you roll them.
- Once done, transfer the parathas into a Hot case and put the lid
- Follow steps 7-13 for all the Parathas & Let the Parathas rest in the Hot case for around 5 minutes or so
- You can then enjoy these Hot & Yummy Aloo Achari Parathas with a bowl of Unsweetened Yogurt and some Spicy Fried Chicken or Tdoori Chicken! Yum!
