Aalu Paratha

The first food item that comes to mind when talking of Punjabi food is Paratha. Parathas are stuffed breads, available in different flavours, depending on the ingredients of the stuffing, most famous being the Aalu Paratha. Aalu Paratha is stuffed bread with stuffing prepared from boiled potatoes. Back in Pune, one of the most famous joint for lajawaab(tasty) parathe is "Chaitanya Paratha" on FC Road. Lately they started another branch in Kothrud which is gaining even more popularity. The parathas served here are priced at Rs. 25-30 and are pretty affordable as one paratha serves as a meal. These paratahs are served with dahi(yoghurt), pyaaz(onion), achaar(pickles) and a yummy dollop of makkhan(Indian butter) which melts on these hot paratahs.. No wonder its always crowded on weekdays and noon time as well! Another famous joint is "Nandu's" on Dhole Patil road,but I had been there just once and always prefer Chaitanya for locality and some other reasons (my friends know better ;) )

Aalu Parathas serve a heavy breakfast as well as filling one-dish meals. Quick and easy to prepare, here's aalu paratha for RCI Punjabi Cuisine.

Aalu Paratha

Makes:

6 parathas

What you need:

For the cover:
2 cup Wheat flour (Atta)
2 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Oil
Water

For the filling:
4 Potatoes boiled
4-5 Green Chillies
1 inch Ginger
3-4 cloves of Garlic
2-3 tsp Ajwain seeds
1 tsp Corriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
2-3 strands of Corriander, finely chopped
Salt

How to proceed:

For the cover:
1) Mix all ingredients and knead into soft dough
2) Keep aside for 15-20 mins

For the filling:
1) Mash potatoes
2) Put chillies, ginger and garlic in blender and blend to a paste, add this to mashed potatoes
3) Add the remaining ingredients and mix well
4) Divide the filling into 4-5 parts as desired [these should be of size same as dough]

Putting it all together:
1)Divide the dough into 4-5 parts. [the size of each part should be nearly same to size of part of each filling]
2) Roll the dough to diameter of approx 4 inches
3) Put the stuffing/filling in the middle and get the ends of dough together and close so that the filling does not come out
4) Roll the parathas to size 7-8 inch in diameter using wheat flour
5) Roast on hot girdle on both sides till brown using oil/ghee/butter
6) Serve hot wit raitas, curd or pickles!

I served aalo parathas with koshimbir/raita and tomato sabji