Aloo Paratha is a popular Indian potato-stuffed flatbread recipe that is very easy to make and so delicious! It’s crispy, flavorful and perfect to serve as an appetizer, side dish, savory breakfast, dinner or lunch.
What is Aloo Paratha?
If you haven’t tried or even heard of Aloo Paratha yet, it’s definitely time that we change that! Because this easy stuffed flatbread is so good, you’ll want to make it over and over again! It’s just made of a simple 3-ingredient homemade flatbread dough that is stuffed with potato, green onion, peas, and fresh herbs. Then shallow fried until golden brown and perfectly crispy!
Easy Stuffed Flatbread Recipe
Actually, Aloo paratha is a traditional Indian breakfast dish. Along with naan, parathas are always a must-have in Indian cuisine. You can get plain Parathas, however, my favorite is the potato-stuffed flatbread “Aloo Paratha” (“Aloo” means “Potato” by the way). Anyway, this easy vegan recipe not only makes a tasty savory breakfast, but it is also great as a side dish for lunch or dinner. I totally love to serve it with a creamy vegan curry, lentil dal or soup. And in summer when the Barbecue season starts, or on weekends, I like to serve it as a party snack with dips or as an appetizer with a fresh salad.
Easy flatbread dough
The simple flatbread dough is just made of flour, salt, water, and a little oil. It doesn’t require yeast or long resting time, actually, it takes only less than 5 minutes to prepare. Simply mix everything together and knead with your hands until a smooth, silky and elastic dough forms. Since the dough is not sticky, you don‘t need much flour for the work surface. That makes the dough really easy to roll out and stretch into shape, which I totally love about this recipe.
Green onion and Potato Filling
Also, the veggie filling is very simple and actually pretty similar to my vegan ravioli pockets filling. It’s basically just made of cooked potato, green onion (scallions), chopped herbs and some spices. Anyway, the great thing about this recipe is that you can substitute the ingredients with so many other vegetables you like or simply leave some of them out. I personally find, that being creative in the kitchen often results in new delicious recipe variations. So feel free to try out new things!
How to make Aloo Paratha
Firstly, divide the dough into 4 equal-sized pieces and shape them into balls. I prefer to work with one piece at a time, covering the remaining pieces so they don’t dry out. Then take one ball and roll it out into an 8-9 inch circle.
Place a portion of filling on one half of the circle, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Brush the half-edge with a little water and fold the other end dough over the filling like a large ravioli. Seal the edges by pressing firmly all around the edge.
To pan-fry, heat a little oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add one or two stuffed flatbreads and fry until golden brown. I recommend pressing them down gently on the edges while cooking to ensure your Aloo Paratha brown evenly. Then flip and fry on the other side too.
This Indian Potato Stuffed Flatbread is
- Vegan
- Eggless
- Easy to make
- Savory
- Flavorful
- Healthy
- Can be stuffed with anything!
- Very delicious!
- Perfect as an appetizer or side dish!
Filling Suggestions
As mentioned before, you can really get creative with the filling so you can stuff your Aloo Paratha with almost anything that suits your taste. I‘ve already tried it with sweet potato and pumpkin (squash) instead of regular potatoes and it was very delicious too! Anyway, you could substitute the potato with another mashed vegetable. Just make sure to cook or bake it until soft so it can be mashed easily. Here are some of my favorite recipes with fillings you may like to stuff into your flatbreads:
- Spinach Ravioli
- Turkish Borek
- Empanadas
- Pumpkin Ravioli
- Sweet potato Quesadillas
- Dumplings with Spinach and Cashew Ricotta
- Spinach Artichoke Wontons
Make-ahead Tip
To save time, you could prepare the dough and the veggies ahead of time and store covered in the fridge until ready to use. Just make sure to wrap the dough tightly in foil to avoid the dough drying out. To use, remove from the fridge allowing it to rest at room temperature for about 45 minutes before rolling it out.
If you try this Indian Potato Stuffed Flatbread Recipe, please leave me a comment below sharing how it turned out for you! And if you take a photo of your Aloo Paratha and share it on Instagram, please make sure to tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka , so I won’t miss your post! Happy cooking!
Easy Stuffed Flatbread (Aloo Paratha)
Author:Ingredients
Flatbread Dough
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 300g
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp water 150ml
Potato Filling
- 12,3 oz potatoes 350g
- 1 cup green onion (scallions) 100g, finely sliced
- 1 cup parsley or cilantro 30g, chopped
- ⅓ tsp garam masala optional
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper or to taste
- 2 tbsp oil for frying
Instructions
Flatbread Dough
- Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil and water and stir with chopsticks or a fork until all the water has been absorbed.
- Then, use your hands and knead the dough until it is sort of formed. (If your dough is still very dry after a bit of kneading, add 1-2 tbsp more water*). Transfer dough to a working surface and continue kneading until it is smooth and soft, about 3-5 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball. Wrap tightly in foil (or cover with a kitchen towel) and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
Potato Filling
- Wash potatoes and cook until soft. Alternatively, prick them a few times with a fork and microwave until soft, about 10 minutes. (The cooking time depends on the size of your potatoes. They’re done when you can easily pierce them with a knife).
- When the potatoes are soft and cooled, remove the skins. Place the peeled potatoes in a bowl and mash with a fork coarsely.
- Heat a little oil in a skillet and sauté the green onions for about 1-2 minutes until slightly softened.
- Add the sautéed green onions, and chopped parsley to the mashed potatoes. Season with garam masala, salt, and pepper to taste and gently stir to combine.
Stuff the flatbreads (*see step-by-step pics in my blogpost)
- Divide the dough into 4 equal-sized pieces and shape them into balls. (Work with one piece at a time and cover the remaining pieces so they won’t dry out).
- Take one ball and roll it out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface into an 8-9 inch circle. Spread 1/4 of the filling over one half of the circle, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges.
- Brush half-edge with a bit of water and fold the other end of the dough over the filling, pressing firmly all around the edges to seal.
- Repeat with the remaining balls of dough.
To pan-fry
- Heat a little oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add one or two stuffed flatbreads and pan-fry until golden brown, pressing down gently on the edges while cooking to ensure they brown evenly. Then flip and fry on the other side too.
- Place on a cooling rack so they'll stay crispy while you fry the rest.
- Serve with a herb dip, vegan aioli, guacamole or whatever dip you like. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you want to substitute with spelt flour or whole wheat flour you may need to adjust the water quantity because different types of flour have differences in absorbency. So start with the amount of water as written in the recipe, then add 1 tbsp at a time until the dough is smooth and elastic. It shouldn’t be sticky or crumbly.
- Please read my blogpost for additional information about this recipe.
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This looks amazing. Is there a gluten free version I can try for my son with Celiacs?
Hi, I haven’t tested it yet but feel free to try it with a gluten-free flour blend that you can swap 1 to 1.