Potato-Stuff Parathas

Yesterday, I told you about our Olympics Party featuring food from different countries. Matt chose to be India since we had gotten two great South Asian cookbooks for Christmas. The dish he decided to make was paratha, the most popular flatbread in Indian. Here it is stuffed with spiced potato for an amazing tasting snack.

(I wish I had taken a better picture of these)
Paratha is made with atta flour because its high gluten content makes it easier to roll it thin. We didn't have atta readily available so we used regular whole wheat flour. Matt didn't have any problem rolling these thin at all so it seemed like a fine substitution.

Served with some mango chutney & our green tomato jam these were a huge hit at the party. I made the filling & dough earlier in the day then Matt assembled & fried them just as people were arriving. They were equally tasty hot & at room temperature.

Potato Stuffed Parathas
(adapted slightly from Mangoes & Curry Leaves)

Flatbread Dough

2 c whole wheat flour
1 t salt
1 c lukewarm water

Mix the flour & salt together in a bowl. Add the water & stir until a soft dough is formed. Turn out to a floured board & knead until smooth, about 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed.

Wrap in plastic wrap & let sit for at least 30 minutes up to 2 hours. The longer it sits the easier it is to work with.

Potato Filling

3 russet potatoes just over a pound, peeled & quartered
2 T canola oil
1/2 t mustard seeds
1/2 turmeric
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion about 1 cup, finely chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded & finely chopped
1/8 t cayenne
1 t salt

Put the potatoes in a large pot of water & bring to a boil. Boil for 15 - 20 minutes until tender. Drain & return to pot. Let sit for 15 - 30 minutes to dryl. Mash.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a wok or skillet. Add the mustard seeds & cook for a few seconds (careful they might pop out of the pan all over your kitchen). Add the turmeric & garlic then fry quickly for a few seconds more. Add the onion & cook while stirring until the onion starts to brown. Add the jalapenos, cayenne & potato & stir together. Cook stirring until the jalapenos are soft, mashing out any large pieces of potato. Cool to room temperature.

Making the parathas

canola oil
chutney

Divide the dough into 8 even pieces. Flatten each pieces into a disc with your hand then roll out on a floured board until about 8-inches. Use a light tough & do not turn the dough over.

Spread about 3 -4 tablespoons of the potato mixture on half of each round. Fold the dough in half over the stuffing, making a half circle. Then fold in half again making a quarter circle. Use your rolling pin to roll out again to an 8 - 9 inch circle (or best shape you can get). Don't worry some of the filling will ooze out.


Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium-high heat.

Grease well with the oil. Place one of the filled discs on the hot pan & cook until just turning brown, 45 - 60 seconds. Turn over & cook the second side for 90 seconds. Brush the top with a little oil & turn again cooking for 30 seconds. It should be well browned. Re-oil the pan between batches.

Serve warm or a room temperature with chutney (it was also good with our Green Tomato Jam).

Makes 8 breads

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.

© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski