Aloo Paratha or Potato Paratha is a cult favorite north Indian breakfast recipe where flatbread is stuffed with a spicy potato filling and then roasted on a hot tawa or griddle. This aalu ka paratha is our family favourite which is a slight spin-off from the classic Punjabi aloo paratha. It is filling, wholesome, and an absolute comfort food, often served as the breakfast aloo paratha with curd or spiced yogurt.

In this blog post I have shared the spiced tadka style aalu ka paratha recipe that comes with lots of garlic and red chilli. Keep reading for a step-by-step guide on how to make stuffed paratha along with a bunch of variations to this aloo ka paratha recipe, including the classic way of making aloo ka paratha.

Pro Tips & Tricks for perfect Aalu ka Paratha recipe

The best aloo paratha recipe calls for just a couple of mindful tricks to get the perfectly made parathas that won’t break off during rolling or frying. For perfectly made aloo ka parathas, there are four stages that we need to take care of. To help you through these, I have divided them and listed them stage-wise:

• Atta for Paratha & Dough for Paratha
  1. The dough for stuffed paratha has to be semi-stiff so that when you put in the mashed potato stuffing, it can be easily rolled without cracking or breaking off at the edges. If the dough is too soft then it will get sticky and the potato filling will start coming out while rolling.
  2. Also to get the perfectly crispy tawa aloo paratha, rub some oil or ghee into the flour before adding water to knead the dough. To enhance the flavour, add some salt and ajwain (carrom seeds) as well.

• Preparing Aloo Stuffing
  1. There are several ways of preparing the aloo paratha stuffing but my favorite way is gently frying some garlic and chopped green chilies in mustard oil and then adding it to the boiled & mashed potatoes seasoned with other spices.
  2. Make sure that there is a minimum amount of moisture in the mashed potato stuffing otherwise it will moisten the dough while rolling the parathas and cause the edges to break. To avoid this, leave the boiled potatoes in a sieve for 10-15 minutes to cool. This also helps dry out the potatoes
  3. Make the aloo paratha stuffing a bit spicier for tasty aloo paratha. Once it is stuffed inside the dough and rolled flat, the taste is reduced
  
• Preparing Aloo Paratha
  1. Making aloo paratha perfectly round with neat edges can be daunting but with practice, it can be achieved by anyone. Once the dough and stuffing are made right, then all it’s left to do is pinch off a big ball of dough and stuff it with a generous helping of the aloo ka paratha stuffing.
  2. Roll the parathas as thin and uniform as you can using flour sprinkled on your rolling surface. Keep turning them over to avoid sticking to the surface. Once it is rolled thin, gently lift it and place it on a hot tawa
• Cooking the Paratha
  1. The Paratha needs to be cooked on gentle heat on both sides so that it cooks properly and becomes crispy without burning
  2. Try to use ghee to fry the parathas for the best flavour. There is simply no substitute for this.

How to make Aloo Paratha – Ingredients

• Potatoes – boiled and peeled
• Whole Wheat Flour
• Mustard Oil
• Ghee – alternate would be any neutral-flavoured oil
• Garlic – finely chopped
• Green Chilies – finely chopped
• Powdered Spices – Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder, Dry Mango Powder (Amchur), Garam Masala Powder, etc
• Whole Spices – Carrom Seeds (Ajwain), Dry Fenugreek Leaves (Kasoori Methi), etc

Punjabi Aloo Paratha recipe instructions

• Paratha Dough – Start by rubbing the flour with ghee or oil, salt and a pinch of carrom seeds (ajwain). Then gradually add water and knead it into a soft dough. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and keep it aside
• Paratha Stuffing – Heat a tadka pan or a small kadhai with some mustard oil. Add the finely chopped garlic and green chilies, and fry them till they turn golden and release the aroma.
• In a mixing bowl, add the boiled potatoes and mash them. Now add the fried garlic along with the oil to this along with the powdered spices mentioned. Mix everything into a lump-free smooth stuffing. Add salt in the end and give everything a good mix
• Making the Parathas – Pinch off a big dough ball and flatten it on a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin. Once it is around 3 inches in diameter, lift it and flatten the edges a bit more using your fingers. Place a generous helping of potato stuffing at the center and start gathering the edges of the dough together while sealing the stuffing inside.
• Sprinkle some more flour on the surface and start rolling the dough ball into a thin disc. Apply uniform pressure while rolling so that it spreads out evenly
• Heat a thick bottom tawa or griddle and place the rolled paratha on it. Let it cook on both sides before applying ghee and frying. Once it turns golden on both sides, take it off the tawa and serve it with achaar and dahi. The aloo paratha is ready to eat.

Aalu Paratha recipe variations

• simple aloo paratha where powdered spices, chopped onion and green chilies are directly added to the mashed potato for stuffing. Rest is the same where it is stuffed into the dough and rolled into parathas before frying
• aloo paratha without stuffing is also very popular where the boiled and mashed potatoes along with the spices are directly added to the flour and kneaded into a dough. Then portions of this dough are rolled and fried into a simple aloo ka paratha without stuffing
• aloo onion paratha or aloo pyaz paratha is quite popular on dhaba menus where the quantity of onion is slightly higher in the stuffing. It gives a bite to it and makes the aloo paratha much tastier
• aloo paneer paratha where the potato is mixed with grated panner for the stuffing for the paratha
• aloo cheese paratha is another interesting idea where grated cheese, especially mozzarella is added to the stuffing of the paratha for extra flavour and cheesy goodness
• veg aloo paratha where the stuffing is made without onion and garlic. In most Indian dhabas, you will find this variation served as dhaba-style aloo paratha

Serving suggestions for Aloo Paratha

Homemade aloo paratha goes best with a bowl of spiced yogurt or thick curd, spicy green chutney and some pickles. A trendy way of serving aalu ka paratha is with a big dollop of unsalted white butter! That loads it up with a ton of flavour, that comes along with a serious helping of calories.

Some people like to have aloo ka paratha with some gravy-based side dish like chole or chana masala to make it into a complete meal.

Meal plan ideas

Often I make an extra batch of dough keep it in a glass container and refrigerate it for later. The potato stuffing can also be saved for later in a glass container in a similar way. It is best to use it up the next day.

Another possible way is to dry roast the parathas and keep them in an air-tight container or ziplock bags and freeze them for later. Place a small sheet of butter paper between the parathas so that they do not stick to each other. Before serving, thaw them and fry them on a hot tawa till they turn crispy. I have frozen aloo parathas like this and kept them for a week in my freezer. They have always turned out to be perfectly delicious upon frying.

More easy paratha recipes

• methi paratha
• palak paratha
• cheese paratha
• sattu paratha
• keema paratha
• egg paratha
• plain paratha
• dal paratha
• paneer paratha
• gobi paratha
• spring onion paratha

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