Recipe For Whole Wheat Paratha Flatbread Layered With Ghee
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Keywords: flatbread, whole wheat
Prep Time: 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 30 minutesminutes
Total Time: 40 minutesminutes
Servings: 6paratha
Calories: 287kcal
Author: Andrea at Buttered Veg
This whole wheat paratha flatbread uses just 4 ingredients—flour, water, salt, and ghee—along with a folding technique that adds layers, texture & flavor.
Place flour, salt, and a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a bowl. Use your fingers to rub the oil into the flour. Add the water by sprinkling it over the flour. Use your fingers, or a wooden spoon to combine it. After all the water is added, the flour will start coming together into a dough.
Turn the dough onto the counter and knead it for about five minutes, or until a smooth, pliable dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes or more.
When you are ready to make the paratha, knead the dough again for a few minutes to warm it up and soften it further. Roll dough into a log, and use a knife to divide the dough into 8 equal disk-shaped portions. Cover until needed.
Prepare by placing about half a cup of flour onto an 8 inch plate for dusting your paratha. Heat ghee in a glass dish or jar so it becomes liquid, and keep it ready, along with a pastry brush, for making the parathas. (A teaspoon would also work to spread the ghee if you do not have a brush.)
Fold the paratha
Take the first portion of dough and press it between the palms of your hands into a flat disk about 3 inches in diameter. Dust the disk on both sides into the flour on the plate. Using a rolling pin, roll out the paratha to 6 inches in diameter.
Use a brush or spoon to spread about a teaspoon of ghee evenly over the paratha. Lightly dust some flour over the ghee. This flour and ghee layer will help the paratha split into layers later.
Fold the disk into an accordion shape. Once you have stacked up the pleats one on top of the other, spiral the dough into a cut-side-up Swiss roll (or like a cat curls up into a spiral). Tuck the last section of the pleat (on the outside edge of the roll) underneath the roll to seal it.
Next, carefully flatten the pleated Swiss roll with the palm of your hand. Dust it again in the flour (use quite a bit of flour to soak up any excess ghee), and roll it out into a 6-inch disk. Now it is ready to cook.
Cook the paratha
Preheat a tava or large skillet on medium heat for a few minutes and then add your first paratha.
Cook on the first side for about a minute, until bubbles begin to appear all over the paratha. Brush with ghee, and flip the flatbread. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add ghee to the second side, and flip again. Continue to cook until golden-brown spots appear on both sides.
Proceed the same way with the remaining portions of the paratha dough. As you get faster, you will be able to roll out a new paratha as the previous one is cooking.
Place the hot paratha on a plate, or in a dish, and cover it with a clean dish towel. The dish towel keeps the paratha warm, but allows moisture to escape so that it does not become soggy.
If you do not have ghee, substitute with a mixture of half butter and half vegetable oil. Ghee is a form of clarified butter with a nutty, buttery taste, that is commonly used in Indian cooking. Ghee is generally safe for people with lactose intolerance. It has a high smoke point of 485 degrees Fahrenheit and it is shelf stable at room temperature. Ghee is widely available outside India. To learn more about ghee and where to buy it, see Quality Ghee & Ghee Buying Tips.