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Parathas Stuffed with Sweet Potato and Potato

Paratha Stuffed with Sweet Potato and Potato

Flat breads are one of the special delights of Indian cuisine. The possibilities are literally endless. Shallow-fried, deep-fried, baked, toasted, leavened and unleavened, stuffed, savory, sweet, and sometimes spiced, these traditional accompaniments to Indian meals come in a variety of flavors, shapes and textures.

Somehow or other, this is one area of Indian cooking that I have sadly neglected, and honestly I'm not sure why. I bother to make my own pastry when required, have enjoyed making bread in the past, do not shy away from spending a few hours in the kitchen when I have the time, and cook Indian dishes on a regular basis. I plead distraction. I could probably fill a small library with my food ideas.

But now I have finally done so, making these crispy stuffed parathas. Time consuming, yes, but absolutely worth the effort. The dough was an absolute pleasure to work with and will certainly serve as a base for future creations. The possibilities for fillings have occupied my mind since I made these this past weekend. I'm thinking paneer and spice is next.

Paratha Stuffed with Sweet Potato and Potato

Parathas Stuffed with Sweet Potato and PotatoParathas Stuffed with Sweet Potato and Potato
Recipe by
Cuisine: Indian
Published on May 13, 2008

Crispy fried Indian flat breads stuffed with a spicy sweet potato and potato filling

Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes

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Dough:
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 cup spring water
  • 1/4 cup oil for frying
Filling:
  • 1 medium sweet potato
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 small potatoes, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne
  • 3/4 cup spring water
Instructions:
  • Combine the flours, salt, melted butter and water in a bowl until a dough is formed. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 1 hour.

Paratha Dough
  • Peel and boil the sweet potato until tender. Mash and set aside.

Mashed Sweet Potato
  • Heat the olive oil for the filling in a medium saucepan until hot. Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and salt, and stir for 30 to 60 seconds or until the mustard seeds begin to pop. Now add the potato, cayenne and water. Cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until the potato is just tender. Stir the mashed sweet potato into the potato mixture.

Potatoes
  • Shape the dough into a log and divide into 16 equal portions. Shape each piece into a ball and roll each ball into 5 1/2 inch rounds on a lightly floured board. Stack the rolled out rounds, separating each round with plastic wrap.

Paratha Dough Balls      Stacked Paratha Dough Rounds
  • Spread a few teaspoons of filling over a rolled out round, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Brush the edge with water and top with another rolled out round. Press the edges together firmly to seal. Repeat until all 8 parathas are filled.

Filling the Parathas
  • Heat the 1/4 cup of oil over medium heat in a large frying pan until hot. Cook one stuffed paratha at a time until nicely browned on both sides — about 5 minutes a side. Drain on paper towels. The cooked parathas can be kept warm in the oven while you fry up the remainder. Add more oil to the pan as needed.

Cooking the Parathas
Makes 8 parathas

Paratha Stuffed with Sweet Potato and Potato

19 comments:

  1. Wow, Lisa!! You totally rock! These parathas look amazing, girl. Awesome entry! :)

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  2. these look great - it is strange that you haven't done many Indian breads before given your love of quick breads and indian (ok maybe the 'quick' in quickbreads is the clue!). It is something I would love to do so will find this post very useful some time in the future!

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  3. These look just amazing--I'm not sure I'd have the patience to go through the whole process, but would sure love to taste some if they were put in front of me!

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  4. Lisa! I adore parathas. Thanks for this, haven't made them in an age but this weekend I may have to do these, with a load of pickles and yoghurt, tremendous food!

    Cheers
    David

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  5. Great parathas Lisa - and thanks for the heads up on the roti event - I was sad to miss the dosa mela!

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  6. Wow those look really good!! I've never had stuffed Indian flatbread like that. I'll have to keep an eye out for black mustard seeds.

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  7. Oh, my! I haven't tried Indian breads yet. (Heating papadums in the microwave does not count!) I know I will be in big carb trouble when I get down to it. These parathas look marvelous.

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  8. wowieee! u've made quite a stack there, very tempting paratha's, Lisa!

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  9. so true Lisa, the kind of parathas we can make is endless and the stack looks so yummy.. interesting stuffing I must say..:).

    Siri

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  10. nice, the paranthas look good. a little different from the way i make them. just posted recipe for gobi parantha on my blog.

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  11. I want to make this very soon. These are the perfect way to satisfy my never-ending carb obsession. I like the idea of using regular and sweet potatoes too.

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  12. I made these today and they were so delicious. Easy to make and so tasty. Thanks again Lisa for a really great recipe. Great way to use up left over sweet potato.

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  13. Flatbread stuffed with savoury spiced sweet potatoes sounds great!

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  14. great parathas lisa....first time at ur blog and ur tomato soup makes me drool..

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  15. lovely parathas, love sweet potatoes. It is quite a bit of work, though, snt it?

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  16. that looks great, lisa. if you like them thinner, you can just put the mixture in the middle, seal the roti around it and then roll it out again...
    a friend of mine is having a Roti Mela/Event - maybe you could send this in for that?
    http://cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com/2008/04/announcing-event-to-celebrate-indian.html

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  17. Your paratha are perfection! Love the filling ingredients. Very glad they were so successful!

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  18. They look lovely, Love the sweet potato filling. Should try them the next time. Great entry. Thanks for sharing

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  19. how lovely! i fill mine with spicy sweet potatoes alone what a yummy combo this is too!

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