This easy recipe will walk you through every step of making the best aloo paratha, a popular north Indian flatbread.
Table of Contents
Savory, flavorful aloo paratha
Aloo paratha is a flatbread with a whole-wheat casing that encloses a spiced, delicious mashed potato stuffing. This is a common breakfast food in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan (where it's pronounced "prantha"), and it's typically served with yogurt and pickles for dipping. If you love Indian food, you've likely encountered it at Indian restaurants, where it's a popular offering.
I've always loved aloo parathas because yummy potatoes? They were one of the first dishes I learned to cook and over years and years of making them I've adapted this somewhat complex recipe to make it easy and even quick while keeping the flavor authentic. A big reason for this was my son, Jay.
Jay considered himself something of an aloo paratha connoisseur and, like a true connoisseur, he rarely found one that met his approval, even at the best restaurants in India. My aloo parathas, however - he could scarf four or five of these down at a sitting. I just had to learn how to make these delicious and fast so I didn't have to say no when he demanded them on a busy weeknight. And they really are that good: crispy on the outside and melt-in-the-mouth tender on the inside.
There are three primary steps for making aloo paratha:
- Kneading the whole wheat dough.
- Grating potatoes and mixing them with spices for the potato stuffing.
- Stuffing the whole wheat dough with the potatoes and rolling out the parathas.
A beginner will possibly need to make these a few times before they can stuff and roll perfect parathas. But no matter how they are shaped, they should still be tasty.
Aloo parathas are vegan, but cooks in India often add ghee to roast them. You can use oil, as I do, or use vegan butter. The paratha stuffing is already very flavorful and doesn't need the ghee. Skipping ghee also makes these parathas healthier.
If you are a mom or dad, you will love how kid friendly these are. They are also soy-free, nut-free and loaded with protein, fiber and veggies - just like other stuffed Indian flatbreads, including mooli paratha, gobi paratha, methi paratha and pudina paratha.
Recipe card
Aloo paratha recipe
Ingredients
For the whole-wheat paratha casing:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (preferably durum wheat flour or atta flour)
- ½ teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds, rubbed between your palms to release their aroma)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water (approximately, for kneading)
For the potato stuffing:
- 3 medium potatoes (boiled, peeled and grated or mashed with a potato masher so there are no lumps)
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- 2 teaspoons ginger (grated or crushed into a paste)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon amchur (dried mango powder, or chaat masala)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Place the flour, ajwain and salt in a large bowl. Mix.
- Start to knead into a dough, trickling in a little water at a time, until you have a pliable, soft dough that's not sticky. If you add too much water, add a little more flour to correct the consistency. Set the dough aside for 15-30 minutes so it relaxes and is easier to work with. Form into 10 equal sized balls.
Make the potato stuffing:
- Place all the ingredients - grated potatoes, cayenne, ginger, ground cumin, ground coriander, amchur and salt - in another bowl.
- Use your fingers or a spoon to mix the spices into the potatoes. Taste the stuffing and tweak the amount of spices and salt to your taste. Form into 10 equal sized balls - they should be just about the size of the balls of dough you just made.
Make the parathas:
- Dust one of the balls of dough with flour and also dust the surface you will be working on.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a disc, about four inches in diameter. Keep the center thicker and make the edges thin. Place a ball of the stuffing in the center of the disc.
- Gather the sides of the dough over the stuffing.
- When done, pinch the edges of the dough over the top of the stuffing and remove any excess dough.
- Roll the stuffed dough in your palms to form a smooth ball. Once again dust the dough and surface with flour. Roll the paratha carefully into a disc about six to seven inches in diameter. Move the paratha frequently as you roll it, and dust with flour as needed to keep it from sticking.
- Heat a griddle and spray with oil. Place the paratha on the griddle and let it cook until golden-brown spots appear. Flip over and brush some oil or vegan butter over the paratha. Flip over a couple more times as needed until the surface is evenly cooked and covered with golden-brown spots.
- Keep parathas wrapped in a kitchen towel until ready to serve.
Nutrition Information
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Aloo paratha FAQs
You can use most varieties of potatoes for aloo paratha, including starchy potatoes like russets and waxy potatoes like Yukon gold or red potatoes. If you are new at making these, choose a waxy potato because starchy potatoes can absorb more water if boiled for too long and become waterlogged, leading to a softer filling that could be harder to work with.
The dough should be soft and pliable but not loose or sticky. Don't make a stiff dough, like that for poori, which will make the paratha harder to roll after stuffing. I need just under a cup of water for 240 grams or 2 cups of whole wheat flour.
The stuffing for aloo paratha should be firm and dry, not like creamy mashed potatoes. You should easily be able to form it into a ball. To ensure this boil the potatoes in their jackets to limit the amount of water absorbed. Then peel and grate the boiled potatoes or use a potato masher so there are no lumps.
Use mostly powdered spices for the stuffing. The only fresh spice I add is grated ginger.
For crispier parathas you can add ¼ cup chickpea flour (besan) to the whole wheat flour. Or replace half the whole wheat flour (1 cup) with all-purpose flour for the crispiest parathas.
You can also brush on more oil as you roast the parathas to make them crispier.
If a little bit of stuffing was exposed as you roll the paratha, that's fine - it happens to everyone and those exposed bits of potatoes get crispy and very tasty on the hot griddle. But if a lot of the stuffing starts to ooze out of the sides of the paratha dough, the stuffing is likely too soft. If that happens, mix some chickpea flour into the stuffing so it firms up - no more than 2-3 tablespoons.
Yes! I have for you the perfect gluten-free aloo paratha recipe that makes crispy, delicious parathas.
If you have a sourdough starter use up to ½ cup of starter or discard while making the dough for paratha and reduce the amount of water accordingly. Sourdough will make the parathas even crispier.
Serve the aloo parathas hot with chutney or cucumber raita or lime pickle. The parathas can also be used to scoop up a spicy curry or dal like tofu makhani or dal tadka.
Yes, aloo parathas freeze exceptionally well. Stack the cooked parathas, separating each with parchment paper or wax paper or aluminum foil. Place the stack in a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze up to four months. When ready to eat, take as many parathas as you want straight from the freezer and reheat both sides on a hot griddle until the parathas has warmed through.
You can store aloo paratha in the fridge for up to four days. Reheat on a hot griddle before serving.
Tips for rolling the paratha
- Let the dough rest at least 15 minutes after kneading so it relaxes and is easier to work with.
- Don't add too much stuffing to the paratha. A good rule of thumb is to make the ball of paratha dough and the ball of stuffing approximately the same size. Overstuffing the paratha, especially when you're new at this, can cause the stuffing to break through the dough as you roll it.
- For parathas with even thickness use a French rolling pin or an Indian rolling pin that you can buy at the Indian store or online. These are lighter and give you better control than a heavy pie rolling pin with ball bearings would.
- Dust the dough and the surface with flour before you begin to roll the parathas. Move the dough frequently as you roll it to make sure it doesn't stick.
- As you roll, don't put your weight on the rolling pin. Just roll lightly, letting the weight of the rolling pin do most of the work. This will also ensure that the filling does not squeeze out.
More Indian flatbread recipes
First published March 3, 2017. Updated and republished on June 9, 2025.
Anonymous says
This recipe looks amazing! Simple, flavourful, and totally plant-based!
Marion T says
This looks delicious and I like the healthy calcium numbers. Can these be made successfully with a non-wheat flour?
Vaishali says
Hi Marion, I’ll test out a gf version.
Pushpa says
Hi Vaishali,
Greetings!
Thank you for the superb recipe.
Please recommend which whole wheat flour brand we can buy.
Regards
Thank you so much
Pushpa
Vaishali says
Hi Pushpa, I literally use any whole wheat on sale at the Indian store. Often it's Ashirvaad or the sharbati flour.
Ash says
Nice and easy recipe?..potatoes are my all time favorites !!I always use my sourdough starter for all the Indian style breads anyways !! Including chaat papri, works every time ?
Frank Kovacs says
Hello Chef Vaishali,
This paratha recipe is very simple to prepare and very tasty.
I make it to have with your vegan mushroom stew.
Thank you for sharing this recipe and many other Indian recipes over the years. Until I became used to the rolling out process, (I have typical Western male clumsy hands) I needed to be more patient. In the end thought the paratha turned out very nice indeed. The heart and health of my family and I here in South Australia, thanks you.
Adriana Tabone says
I had aloo parathas in pokhara and would like to do them myself however I'm gluten intolerant now.. Would it be possible to substitute whole wheat flour with a gf one please? Tnx
Irene says
Does anyone have ideas about how to make these gluten-free?
Linda says
Do you have a recipe for Aloo paratha using gluten free flour??
Vaishali says
Not yet but I will work on one.
Raga says
I've tried quite a few aloo paratha recipes over the years but I am in love with these. I never thought making parathas could be so easy. My favorite way to eat them is to dunk them into Indian mango pickle. Thank you for the amazing recipe.
Kay says
Definitely a fool proof recipe. Tried it out today and got a thumbs up from the fam. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Emily says
Made these the other night for a local post-holiday Christmas party and everyone raved about them! The recipe is so easy to follow. I'll definitely be making these again!
Chelsea says
This recipe is AMAZING and so fun to make! I've made these three times, and even doubled the recipe once to take to a potluck - it was a HIT! I've added a few extra things to the potatoes to switch them up - caramelized onions and garlic with especially yummy. Thank you so much, this blog has been amazing since my husband and I decided to eat vegan and have never not eaten meat. So many amazing recipes, and foods that we've never tried - its been fun! Yum!
Vaishali says
Hi Chelsea, so happy you've enjoyed the paratha recipe. It's on the menu every week at our home. 🙂
Bhairavi says
Hi Vaishali!
just made these for lunch-they were amazing!!!
Thank you so much for the great recipe!!
Bhairavi
Vaishali says
Bhairavi, so glad you liked them!
Denise says
It took me a couple to get the hang of it, but once I did, it went well. Easy, but it does take time. Worth it. These are delicious. I look forward to making them again to share with family.
Vaishali says
Hi Denise, as you get used to the rolling, you'll find that you can do these amazingly fast. So happy you tried!
KR says
Mm... looks amazing. Thank you for sharing recipe !