Aloo paratha( Stuffed Potato flat bread)

Aloo paratha was one was the on demand breakfast when I was working in Wipro. It was a weekly special back then and there always a huge queue for it . My friends used to make sure we rush to cafeteria before its done. Its actually a very heavy meal that we might end up skipping our lunch too. I always prepare this dish as a remembrance of those days. Its very easy simple dish and its goes well with raitha.

Ingredients:

Dough

2 cups wheat flour
¼ cup- wheat bran( optional)
1/4th cup wheat flour for dusting
¾ cup- 1 cup warm water( Enough to make dough)
Salt to taste
3-4 tsp olive oil- for frying paratha’s

Potato Filling

3-4 medium potatoes
½ onions- thinly sliced
2-3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (Jeera)
2-3 chopped green chili
¼ tsp- turmeric powder
2 tsp- dry methi leaves
¼ bunch chopped corinader leaves
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (optional)
1/2 teaspoon amchoor( dry mango) powder (optional)
Salt to taste

Directions

Dough:

Mix flour with salt in a bowl .Keep adding the warm water to the flour and mix together to make soft dough (if the dough is hard add a little more water).

Knead the dough for a few minutes to make smooth dough.
Set the dough aside and cover bowl with a lid or damp cloth. Let the dough rest for at least 1 -2 hrs.

Filling

Soak the potatoes in water and brush of the excess dirt on the skin.
Boil the potatoes with 2 cups of water. After the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium( or pressure cook it- 1 whistle). Let the potatoes cook until they are tender,remove them from the water
Mash the potatoes with its skin on. ( dont need to remove skin as it is high in fibre).
Heat a pan with a little oil, add the cumin seeds,green chilies.
Stir in the chopped onions and once transparent, mix the mashed potatoes.
Add the turmeric powder, dry methi leaves, amchoor powder, garam masala, salt and chopped coriander and mix well.
Allow it to cool before using it in stuffing.( else the paratha will tear)

Making paratha:

Divide the dough and potato mixture into 6 -8 equal parts.
Make a round balls with dough.
Now roll one ball at a time in the form of small puri. Now put a small quantity of potato stuffing over it, close it from all sides.( do not put excess of filling)
Gently pat the stuffed puri in the palms( if there are any air bubbles push is out genly to avoid the dough to break).
Apply some flour on both sides and roll it gently into a paratha.( you can roll it thick or thin)
Now cook on a tava, allow one side to cook when the color changes into light brown color.Turn repeat for other side. Drizzle some oil on each side and flip. Serve hot.
Its ready to be served with carrot raitha. (Traditionally its served with boondi raitha, but boondi is deep fried and is high in fat)

Carrot Raitha- Grate some carrots and mix it with curd. Add salt, chilli powder and chat masala on top.

Benefits of Potato:

Potato skins store many nutrients and also contain a lot of fiber, which is essential for a healthy diet. Leaving the potato skins on also helps preserve the nutrients in the flesh of the potato, which have a tendency to escape during cooking.
The fiber is half soluble, half insoluble, so it helps to keep you regular and helps to lower cholesterol.
Potatoes as a very good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, copper, potassium, manganese.Potatoes also contain a variety of phytonutrients that have antioxidant activity.
Diarrhea: It is an excellent energy-rich diet for those suffering from diarrhea, since it is very easy to digest as well as contains mild roughage. But an over intake may cause diarrhea due to excess ingestion of starch.
Potatoes help to improve resistance to heart attack and stroke. The potassium content, available in potatoes, helps in maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance in the body cells.