The Making Of The Humble 'Aloo Parantha'

  

''Aloo Parantha ! Its too simple'', my husband exclaimed when i told him about my next post idea. ''We must post something that is exotic ,different and easy to make . Anybody can make aloo parantha''- was his explanation. So the poor humble aloo parantha remained silent inside my punjabi gut until yesterday when i had it at my mother's place.

I don't know what it is about ''Ma ke haath ka khaana''. It is always divine . For that matter i am so lucky to savour mouthwatering dishes from my mother's kitchen in kolkata and from my mother's (in-law) kitchen in allahabad . Lucky me !! I get to learn the best from them not just in cooking but in learning how to be a 'great mother '.

Well coming back to the fate of the aloo parantha, i decided to share the post as
a) it is utterly butterly delicious ,and
b) the parantha is full of the aloo filling ,reaching even the corners ,
 something which i have not seen anywhere else .That reminds me of my hostel days when the aloo in the parantha was concentrated only in the middle with bare roti on all sides ! And yes, we had no choice but to tear off the sides and eat the small middle part.
Sounds familiar ?? Well here is the recipe for that perfect Punjabi Aloo Parantha

Recipe Source - Dear Mother

Ingredients - ( For 2 people )
                     2-3 boiled potatoes (If smaller in size use 4)
                     1 tbsp finely chopped onion
                     1 tsp grated ginger
                     1-2 chopped green chillies
                     1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
                     1/2 tsp jeera
                     1/2 tsp salt
                     1/4 tsp garam masala
                     1/4 tsp amchur powder
                      Prepared atta dough

Procedure - In a bowl mash the boiled potatoes and add onion, ginger, green chillies, coriander leaves, jeera, salt, garam masala and amchur powder. Mix them well.
Now take a handful of the atta dough and make a small round roti.Take a handful of the potato mixture (equal to the quantity of atta dough taken ) and put in the center of the roti.

                 

                
   Fold the edges to cover the filling .

 Now cover it with flour on both sides and make a round shaped roti again . Note: everytime it sticks to your working surface ,use more flour before rolling it.Now add a good helping of ghee on the roti and spread it with your fingers.( My mother does this generously and i am very poor at it and thus the difference in our paranthas)
               

    Fold the dough from the edges to the center into a square shape .

  Now add more flour and roll it into a parantha.

       
 This double rolling of the dough (first round shape and then square) ensures that the filling has reached all the corners well.
Note: while lifting the parantha if it still sticks to your working surface , do not pull it. Instead use a knife to clear  it off the surface to avoid tearing.    
 Now put it on a preheated tawa and put some more ghee on at least one surface.

 Once you see the parantha browned well enough ,take it off the tawa.

  

 

 Serve while its still hot with fresh homemade curd and home churned butter !!

Enjoy !!            
Amrita