Check out how to make paneer paratha, a popular Indian flatbread stuffed with paneer, aka Indian cottage cheese. A perfect breakfast, brunch, and lunch dish.
I prepared my dough in the Nutril mill artiste. You can prepare it any stand mixer or knead it hand also.
In a mixing bowl, add the whole wheat flour, oil, and salt. First, mix it and then slowly add water little by little and knead into the soft dough.
If you are using the stand mixer, follow the instructions accordingly. I first add all the dry ingredients in my artiste, including wheat flour, salt, and oil, and mix it in pulse mode. This time, I used 1.5 cups of flour, and I used about ¾ cup of water.
I first added a ½ cup of water and mixed it using pulse mode. Then I added ¼ more cup of water and kneaded the dough at speed 3 or 4 for 5 to 7 minutes.
After kneading, let the dough rest for 20 minutes. Make sure you cover the dough.
Divide the prepared dough into equal parts and roll them into smooth balls. I divided my dough into 6 balls.
Prepare the paneer paratha filling-
In a mixing bowl, add the grated paneer, carom seeds, dried fenugreek leaves, methi leaves, salt, red chili powder, and cilantro. Mix well and set it aside.
Stuff and roll the paneer paratha-
On a dusted surface, take one ball and roll it out into a small circle, 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Do not roll it too thin. Now place 1 to 2 tbsps of the paneer stuffing in the middle. Add the filling according to your dough size. It will be difficult to roll if you overfill. The paratha might tear.
Bring all the edges in a pleated/folded fashion towards the center. Usually, all the recipes call to pinch off the excess dough as we fold and bring the edges to the center. But I don't do that. I just press the excess dough and flatten it.
Now using the rolling pin, evenly roll the paratha into your favorite shape. As you can see, this time I tried square and triangle and not-so-perfect circles. Roll it gently and apply equal pressure when rolling. Shake off the excess flour.
Similarly, make all the parathas and keep them ready. If you are getting started with parathas, roll all the parathas first. As you become a pro, you can roll and cook simultaneously.
Cook the paratha-
Heat an iron tawa and make sure it is hot. Make sure the heat is at medium to medium-high. Tawa should always be hot.
Place the rolled paratha on the hot tawa. Let it cook for 30 seconds or so, spread ¼ to ½ tsp of oil around the edges, and cook for 30 seconds.
Now flip the parathas and spread some oil (¼ tsp) on top of the paratha. Gently press the paratha with the spatula and cook until you see the brown spots like below. Parathas will puff up too, and that's a good sign. :-)
Note - Make sure you press the edges so that it cooks well. Add oil as required and flip the parathas as required. Basically, we need to cook until the parathas are crisp, and brown spots appear.
Place the prepared paratha separately and apply a small layer of butter. This step is optional. Skip it if you want to keep the paratha vegan. I did not add any butter this time; also, I used minimal oil.
Notes
Adjust the salt and spices for the filling according to your preference.
Check out the filling variations on the blog posts.
Do not overfill the stuffing and press evenly for soft and crisp parathas.
Make sure your tawa is hot while cooking the paratha.
This time I went with minimal oil and did not use any butter. So the paratha might look dry in the picture, but it was soft and delicious, even if say so myself.