Aloo paratha
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Stuffed Parathas are generally served on their own as they make a very filling snack. The stuffing can consist of virtually anything. Often it can be simply a mixture of minced meat and peas or a concoction of vegetables.
This particular recipe is a rypical filling, consisting of potato, chopped coriander and parsley, plus, quite naturally enough, a few spices. Use the basic paratha dough method. This recipe makes approximately six parathas.
350 g/12 oz paratha dough mixture
500 g/1 lb potatoes (4 medium potatoes)
1 tsp salt (I suggest half as much)
0.5 tsp black pepper
1 small onion
50 g/2 ox ghee or 120ml/4 fl oz cooking oil
0.5 tsp ground ginger
0.5 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tb chopped parsley
ghee for frying
Make the dough in the paratha mixture and divide it up into pieces 9cm/3.5 inches in diameter. Roll out each piece three or four times, coating with melted ghee to make discs as for parathas.
Roll out the discs quite thinly and rather larger than you would normally do to make ordinary parathas, to 30-35 cm/12-14 inches across, and place them to one side. (I found them easier to manage when I made them the normal 8 inches across.)
Boil the potatoes in a little water until they are soft. Drain and mash them, adding the salt and the black pepper. Peel the onion and chop it very finely. Heat the ghee or cooking oil in a frying pan and fry the onion until soft. Add the remaining ingredients with the exception of the coriander and parsley. Mix the ingredients together in the frying pan over a gentle heat and cook for about 2 minutes.
Now add the mashed potato, stir it in well ensuring that the onion and spice mixture is well distributed throughout the potato. Sprinkl;e in the coriander and parsley and stir in well. Put spoonfuls of the mixture on one side of each circle of paratha. Fold the parathas over and seal the edges to make a kind of patty. Heat a little ghee in a frying pan and fry the parathas gently for about 2-3 minutes on each side until brown on all sides. Serve immediately.
