11 Innovative Vegetarian Paratha Recipes – The Paratha Marathon

11 Innovative Vegetarian Paratha Recipes

Don’t we all love parathas.

A paratha is broken up as Parat + atta. Parat means layered and atta is flour or dough. Meaning layers of dough. So, unleavened flat breads from India are generally termed parathas.

I would not know the exact history of where this was created etc. But what I can confidently say that it was created in the Indian subcontinent.

The Masterful Parathas

Parathas are a very common food item in any household or restaurants. Parathas can be layered or stuffed or just plain. Making layered parathas is an interesting skill and I have finally mastered it after quite a few failed attempts. 😊 Two most loved layered parathas for me would be the Lachha paratha and Kerala parotta.

Plain parathas or layered parathas are thicker than normal rotis and are always accompanied by some veggies or dal. They go well specifically with Rajma, chhole, maah ki daal or with a good mix of veggies.

The daily meal for most people consists of rice, daal and veggies.

The Stuffed Parathas

I think the stuffed paratha is a full meal equivalent to the one pot meal. The stuffed paratha is also paired with a daal or some yoghurt and pickle… Recent favourite side to a Paratha is also the ketchup. Whole wheat dough when rolled and stuffed with a variety of mixed veggies, first baked and shallow fried in butter or ghee is great for parathas.

The flour used is mostly whole wheat and maida (refined flour / all purpose flour). You would find that usually the parathas in restaurants are made with Maida. Though they taste great, Maida is not considered very healthy and the doctors, Indian and western, often advise against it. The astute Indian mothers will make whole wheat parathas at homes. This is definitely a healthier option.

Recently, I see that restaurants have started having the whole wheat alternative at additional cost. And the health conscious lot will quickly opt for these.

The most popular paratha round the whole world is and will continue to be the Aloo Paratha. Once made famous by the Punjabi cuisine, you can now see it in so many non Punjabi homes on Sundays. Potatoes, for most, are comfort food. Over and above that, potatoes plus whole wheat keeps you full for much longer. Hence, this does become a great breakfast, lunch or evening snack.

Some of the other popular parathas would be

Ajwain paratha, Lachha paratha, Gobi / Cauliflower Paratha, Paneer paratha , Boiled egg paratha, Kheema paratha, Lauki paratha, Methi paratha, Kerala parotta, Palak / Spinach paratha, Cheese Paratha etc.. In fact, very few vegetables are away from being added to a Paratha.

Parathas in restaurants

You can find a long list of Parathas on the menu of a local bavdhan (in Pune) joint – Tasty tongues (Follow link for driving directions).

Indian mothers are the best in the world at getting their kids to eat disliked greens and other regular vegetables by adding them to Parathas. Heard of a Muli Paratha? 😉 Do take a look at the kat pai dhebri too – for a sneaky Karela recipe!

I have also grown with a simple layered paratha sprinkled with salt and red chilli powder. This used to be my mother’s go to breakfast idea, if nothing else was available.

The most popular and widely talked about Paratha places is the Parathe waali Gali in Chandani Chowk, New Delhi. The parathas are amazing here and this place has been written about, filmed and documented numerable times. Some of the names in this lane are over 100 years old and some of them use so much butter or ghee, that you feel as if the paratha is deep fried and not cooked on a tava.

What I have tried to do is create some not so popular but unique parathas with very uncommon stuffing. I think I succeeded in most of them, let me know your feedback so that I can improve on them.

The recipes will open in a new page so you need not worry about loosing the list.