Paratha

A paratha is a common bread for Indians and Pakistanis. It is a flat-bread that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Paratha came from the word "parat" and "atta" which literally means layers of cooked flour.


It is an unleavened bread which is made by pan frying a whole wheat flour on a tava, a large griddle. Paratha dough contains ghee or cooking oil which is also layered on the freshly prepared paratha. Parathas are stuffed with vegetables such as boiled potatoes which is called "Alu paratha". Alu is a Hindi/Urdu word which means potatoes. Other stuff they put in parathas are radish, cauliflower and paneer which is a white cheese.

A paratha (especially a stuffed one) can be eaten simply with a blob of butter spread on top or chutney, a spicy sauce made from yogurt and fresh herbs, but it is best served with pickles and yogurt, or thick spicy curries of meat and vegetables. Some people prefer to roll up the paratha into a tube and eat it with tea, often dipping the paratha into the tea.