I make parathas often – they are a delicious, substantial meal and you can fill them with lots of different things. I usually make the traditional paneer parathas or aloo (potato) filled parathas. But lately I’ve been experimenting with different types of fillings. These broccoli parathas are a recent favorite.

Broccoli Paratha Recipe – a Step by Step

Makes 8 parathas

Ingredients for the dough
2 cups whole wheat flour (atta)
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water. You wont need all of it.
¼ teaspoon oil

Ingredients for the filling
1 lb broccoli crowns (without stalks)
¾ cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
½ teaspoon scant garam masala
1/8 teaspoon ajwain (carom) seeds. Substitute with jeera (cumin) seeds
1 green chili, finely minced. Use more or less according to taste.
Salt

More flour for rolling
Oil for frying the parathas

Method

1. Place the flour and salt on a clean surface
2. Make a well in the middle of the flour
3. Sprinkle water in the well a little at a time, mixing the dough with your fingers after each sprinkle. Soon the dough will start to come together and look somewhat like scrambled eggs.
4. At this point start kneading using the base of your palm.

5. If the dough is too tight, sprinkle more water while kneading. Gather all the loose flour around while kneading.

6. When the dough forms a slightly soft, elastic, non-sticky ball, stop kneading
7.  Drizzle ¼ teaspoon of oil over the surface of the dough and spread it evenly
8. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel, and let it rest for about 30 minutes. Remember – flours differ in their elasticity, and some doughs may need to be rested more than others

9. While the dough is resting, working on the filling. Grate the broccoli using the finest side of a box grater. You need about 2 cups of grated broccoli. Do not grate the stems. If your broccoli is wet, make sure to dry it very well before grating.

10. Place the broccoli in a bowl, and add the cilantro, garam masala and ajwain. Mix gently. Add salt to the broccoli filling only in the last minute, otherwise the filling will become soggy.

Note: There are several recipes that recommend you salt the grated broccoli first and then squeeze out the excess water, before proceeding with adding the spices. I’ve tried this method, and there wasn’t much moisture to squeeze out of the broccoli, so I skip this step in this recipe.

However, if you are not experienced with making parathas, it may get a little tricky to roll out these parathas. This is where salting and squeezing the broccoli will help. The salt pulls out the moisture in the broccoli. When you’ve squeeze out all the water, the filling becomes easier to work with.

But I didn’t salt the broccoli. Instead, I added salt in the last minute, so that the broccoli didn’t have much of a chance to let out water. I also worked quickly while filling and rolling.

11. When the dough has rested, knead it gently once more

12. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Roll each one into balls. Keep them covered with a damp towel
13. Pour out about ½ cup flour for dipping and rolling. Take one dough ball, and flatten it with your fingers. Then dip it into the flour
14. Gently roll out the dough into a 3 ½ inch round

15. Add salt to the broccoli filling, and mix well. Taste the filling and adjust salt if needed. Place 2 tablespoons of the broccoli filling in the center of the dough. If you haven’t made parathas before, use less filling, it will make it easier to seal and roll

16. Using both your hands, gently bring up the edges of the dough
17. Then gather the edges over the filling. Compact the filling down with your fingers if you need to
18. Now pinch the edges together to seal

19. Gently flatten the parathas using your fingers

20. Dip it in some flour
21. Using a gentle touch, roll out the parathas, sprinkling more flour if it sticks
22. Roll out the paratha into about a 5 inch round

23. Heat a heavy bottom pan on medium heat. Place the rolled out parathas on the pan. Cook till light brown spots appear on one side. Flip the parathas and let brown spots appear on the other side. Then increase heat to medium-high, drizzle about ¼ teaspoon oil over the parathas and cook till golden, about 30 seconds.

Serve hot with yogurt or raita and pickles.

Need more paratha making tips? See this post.

I am vacationing in India right now and enjoying some fabulous home cooked food. Every time I visit India, I ask my mother’s friend Veena aunty to teach me her amazing recipes. Veena aunty has such a love for cooking, you can taste the passion in her food. This time she showed me how to make her paneer paratha recipe. Paneer parathas are Indian flat bread stuffed with cottage cheese. You wont be disappointed with this paneer paratha recipe!

Paneer Paratha Recipe (Cottage Cheese Stuffed Flat bread)

makes 6-8 parathas

for the paratha dough

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour (atta)
1/3 cup all purpose flour (maida)
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup water (you may not need all of it)

Method

1. Combine the wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt and oil in a large bowl

2. Sprinkle a little water at a time till the dough binds together

3. Knead the dough, sprinkling water, until it forms a soft, elastic ball

4. Make sure the dough isn’t too wet. If it gets too wet or sticky, add more flour

5. Knead the dough till it is smooth and elastic (think pizza dough)

6. Drizzle a few drops of oil over the dough ball, and spread it all over the surface

7. Cover the dough with a damp towel

8. Let it rest for 15 minutes. In the meanwhile, make the paneer filling

for the paneer filling

Ingredients
7 oz paneer, finely grated (about 1 1/2 cups when grated)
1 small onion, minced
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, optional
1 green chili finely chopped or according to taste
salt

Method

1. Combine all paneer filling ingredients in a bowl

2. Taste the filling and adjust salt and seasonings if needed. If you like it spicier, you can add more minced chilis or garam masala at this point

Make the paneer parathas

1. Keep a small bowl of wheat flour near you

2. Remove the dough from the bowl, and knead it a few times

3. Divide the dough into 6 equal parts. If you don’t have much experience making parathas, divide the dough into 8 parts, so each paratha is smaller, and therefore easier to make.

4. Take one piece of the divided dough and form it into a ball

5. Dip the dough ball in wheat flour

6. Place it on a clean, flat surface for rolling

7. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a round using a light touch

8. Turn the paratha 1/4ths of a turn each time you roll it. This will keep it round.

9. Sprinkle a little flour as and when needed.

10. When the paratha is thin and even (see picture above), stop rolling, and spread 6 drops of oil

11. Sprinkle a little flour on the oiled side, dust off the excess flour

12. Place 2 tablespoons of the paneer filling in the center

13. Gather the edges of the paratha and bring them up, and pleat them over the filling, to form a parcel. If you feel the parcel can hold more paneer filling, add a little more now

14. Pinch the top to seal the paratha

15. Dip it in flour, flatten it a little, and gently roll it using a rolling pin

16. Roll gently till the paratha is about 1/4 inch thick

17. Heat a tava, or cast iron skillet on medium heat

18. Place the paratha on the skillet. Cook on medium heat till pale brown spots appear on the under side

19. Then flip the paratha and let pale brown spots appear on the other side

20. Then increase heat to medium-high and drizzle about 1/4th teaspoon of vegetable oil (you can use less oil or oil spray)

21. Cook paratha on both sides till the dough is cooked and lightly browned (but not too dark)

Serve paneer parathas with yogurt or my grandmother’s multi colored raita and my apple pickle.

Paratha making tips

- add enough water to the dough so that it is soft (but not sticky)

- sprinkle wateron the flour a little at a time, this way you are more in control of the final result

- a hard dough will make your parathas stiff

- when kneading, aim for a soft, smooth, elastic dough that is not sticky

- it important to cover and rest the paratha dough for atleast 15 minutes before rolling

- when rolling parathas use a gentle touch

- make sure you chop the filling ingredients very fine. For paneer parathas, the paneer must be grated finely, and the onions and cilantro must be minced. For aloo parathas, the potato must be mashed with no lumps. If you leave large pieces in your filling, it will tear the dough when you are rolling out the parathas.

- when stuffing parathas, you need to use about equal amounts of dough and filling. So if you are using a lime size ball of dough, use about a lime sized mound of filling. However, if you are new to paratha making, lesser amounts of filling may be easier to deal with it, but you will compromise on taste.

- the more you practice making parathas, the better you will get!