‘Parathas‘ are Indian flatbreads, often with some kind of stuffing. Regular wheat flour dough is kneaded, rolled out and then stuffed with various kinds of fillings as per mood, taste, or availability. Made the right way with well-balanced spices & generous amounts of stuffing, they’re irresistible. Depending on the type of Paratha, they can be served with any combination of sides such as Black Dal, Chhole, Raita, Dahi, Onion, Pickle (Achaar), Papad etc.
Top 15 Different Types of Parathas
1. Aloo Paratha
Rightly at the number one position, Aloo Paratha is a highly satisfying meal in itself. Boiled potatoes, mashed, seasoned with salt & red chilly powder; green chillies and lots of fresh coriander leaves: The classic Aloo Paratha stuffing. Stuffed in dough balls, rolled, flattened and cooked with clarified butter on both sides. It has a crisp layer on the outside, with the soft scrumptious potato stuffing inside. Amazingly delicious, and immensely comforting. Ideally served with some fresh curd and Papad.
2. Paneer Paratha
Another lip-smacking delight is cottage cheese or Paneer Paratha. Shredding or crumbling some fresh Paneer, with some nice seasoning gets the stuffing ready. At times, finely cut onions are also a part of this stuffing. Immensely rich and wholesome, packed with the goodness of protein and a whole lot of flavour, Paneer Paratha is sure a treat.
3. Gobi Paratha
Gobi Paratha is very popular around North India. Finely grated raw cauliflower (Gobi), salt, red chilly powder, some Garam Masala and a few staples like green chillies, coriander, etc. are the ingredients to make Gobi Paratha. Some people prefer cooking the cauliflower before stuffing it. However, the raw filling that cooks just once while the Paratha is on the griddle tastes far more delicious, as the filling doesn’t get excessively moist on the inside.
4. Palak Paratha
A rather uncommon, but appetizing Paratha is the Spinach or Palak Paratha. Pouring Spinach puree into the flour while kneading the dough does the job. That puree also has some green chillies, a bit of ginger and garlic. It forms a flavourful green coloured dough, further flattened out in the desired shape to prepare slightly sour and very tasty Parathas.
5. Mooli Paratha
Mooli refers to radish. Peeling and grating the radishes completes the first step to making these Parathas. Next is to reduce the water content by squeezing this grated mix in a muslin cloth. After seasoning appropriately, the stuffing is ready. Although radishes have a sharp hit, they taste very delicious when stuffed inside a bland dough, as that rightly balances the flavours.
6. Vegetable Paratha
A very healthy and nutritious paratha is the Vegetable Paratha. It mainly has cabbage (Pattagobi) and Carrots (Gaajar). The water content is made to decrease by squeezing the mix. Adding a few spices does the work well. An ideal dish for a lunch box, or for a fulfilling breakfast at home. Tastes best with some cool Raita.
7. Pudina Paratha
Mint leaves or Pudina is one of the most refreshing kitchen ingredients. It has a beautiful, fresh flavour that makes it a must as a part of the paratha menu. Pudina leaves are either put in a microwave for a few minutes or just finely cut. Then, seasoning is done with selected spices. This stuffing is added to the dough and the parathas are flattened in layers. It goes really well with some rich, smooth, well balanced Kaali Dal.
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8. Methi Paratha
Fresh fenugreek (Methi) leaves are washed and finely chopped. Then it is about mixing it all: The Methi leaves, wheat flour, salt, turmeric, red chilly powder and some green chillies. Kneaded into a dough and greased with some oil, it’s ready for the Paratha making. Cooked with ghee or oil, the crisp and wonderful Methi Paratha is ready!
9. Moong Paratha
Moong ka Paratha is a rather unique (usually just popular among Sindhis) but highly delicious Paratha. For the stuffing, Moong is soaked, pressure cooked until not too soft and seasoned appropriately. Cooked with clarified butter or ghee, enjoyed with dahi.
10. Lachha Paratha
Lachha Paratha refers to Layered Parathas. They get their name from their multilayered texture. Also, the dough is made out of refined flour or Maida. They don’t really have any stuffing and are plain. These are shallow fried with clarified butter. Their technique and style of rolling is what distinguishes them from the other variants of Parathas. Also famous as ‘Malabar Parathas‘ of Kerala, they’re ideally a crunchy and soft combination of deliciousness.
11. Dal Paratha
Dal Parathas are made either with a Moong Dal or Chana Dal stuffing. Moong dal ones are comparatively lighter. Dal is soaked for some time before being pressure cooked. Then it is further cooked with an open lid (to release the moisture), adding a few basic spices. This stuffing is then filled into dough balls, ready to process further, and then serve to steam hot.
12. Onion Paratha
Chopping of onions is done really very fine for these Parathas. The water content is gotten rid of. The sharp hit of the onions is balanced out with some lemon juice, chaat masala, salt, red chilly powder, etc. Then this filling is stuffed into the pinched dough ball and the parathas are gently flattened out, carefully so that they don’t tear. Dry flour is sprinkled while rolling it to absorb the moistness. Once crisp on both sides, the crunchy, spicy and a bit tangy parathas are ready!
13. Cheese Paratha
Cheese Paratha is a rather modern twist to the traditional Paratha. The filling is of lots of cheese, some garlic, red chilly powder, green chillies, and coriander, followed by the same process as any other regular Paratha. When the Paratha cooks on a hot griddle (Tawa), it melts the cheese, enhancing the richness and flavour and how!
14. Spring Onion Paratha
There are 2 ways to prepare Spring Onion Parathas. One is to sauté chopped spring onions with some chillies for the separate stuffing; two, kneading the dough by adding the spring onions, spices, and other ingredients in the flour itself. The flavour of spring onions tastes really well in a Paratha, regardless of the way of preparation. A Sookhi Aloo Ki Sabzi with some green chutney would make a great side for this Paratha.
15. Lauki Paratha
Lauki or bottle gourd is peeled, washed and grated. Some chopped green chillies, salt, red chilly powder, garam masala, and ajwain (carom seeds) are added to the grated Lauki. Then, dry wheat flour is added to this mix itself (the reason why water isn’t removed beforehand). This gets the Paratha dough ready. The further process of making Parathas is as usual. Lauki Parathas are very healthy and tasty, unlike most other recipes having Lauki as a core ingredient.
Paratha for Breakfast? Absolutely!
Paratha for Lunch? Why not!
Paratha for Dinner? With pleasure!
Paratha for Brunch? Ideally!
Who needs Pizzas when we can have our very own Homemade Parathas! There are loads of stuffing choices, they’re usually on the healthier side, and the best part? They taste fabulously good! Aloo Paratha is my personal favourite. Which one is yours?
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