Paneer Paratha by DK on Jun 12, 2013
The most loved of all parathas in my family is Paneer Paratha, an Indian flatbread stuffed with Farmer's Cheese. Its taken me a good 2 years to perfect this paratha to suit my husband's taste buds who compares it with some restaurant version he enjoyed god knows how long ago! But making a good paneer paratha is as easy as any paratha.
All you need is some good quality paneer and you are all set. I have tried to make this paratha with all kinds of flours and flour combination, but in all honesty, the humble Atta flour (Indian's primary bread flour) makes the best recipe. Of course, I might be biased, but well its totally for you to decide.
The smooth, soft and chewy bread tasting of spongy cheese is extremely addictive to put it modestly. Its pretty heavy hence is better when enjoyed on its own with just pickle and plain yogurt or Raita. But it does go well with any other spiced curries you can think of like Palak Paneer, Dal Makhani, Dal Bukhara etc. You can even pair it with some sort of Chutney as well.
- Variations, that you might like:
- Rajma (Kidney Bean) and Paneer Parathas,
- Palak Paneer Parathas,
- Muttar Paneer Parathas,
- Gobi Paneer Parathas,
- Cabbage Paneer Parathas,
- Green Garlic and Cheese Parathas,
- Hara Bhara Parathas
- Cook time:
- Prep time:
- Serves: 4 people
- Yields: Around 6-8 Parathas depending upon the size and thickness
Ingredients
- For the Cover
- 2 cups Indian Atta flour, plus 1/4 cup of dusting see Tips
- 2 tsp Oil,
- Salt to taste
- For the Filling
- 2 cups crumbled Paneer, see Tips
- 2 tbsp chopped Cilantro, or to taste
- 1-2 Green Chilli, thinly sliced (optional)
Tips
1. Atta flour: To make the best paratha, the way Indians make it, you need Atta flour - a flour milled from semi-hard wheat (Durum Wheat). It consists Endosperm and bran. Its high in protein ( 11.5-13% ). Using any other type of Wheat flour will make for coarser bread (including Whole Wheat Pastry Flour) albeit tasty. I read somewhere that King Arthur's white whole-wheat flour makes for a great substitute given that its quite high in protein content (13.5%) as well. I haven't tried this myself. Use any flour with similar protein if you don't have either. You can also use Whole Wheat/All Purpose 50-50.
2. Paneer: I use around 3 cups generally in this recipe given my family's utter love for paneer. My husband esp. prefers heavily paneer stuffed parathas!
2. Paneer: I use around 3 cups generally in this recipe given my family's utter love for paneer. My husband esp. prefers heavily paneer stuffed parathas!
Method
1.
Take the flour in a large bowl and mix it with salt.
2.
Add the oil. Mix it with fingers so that it forms into small crumbs. You can also use butter or Ghee for additional flavor. I, at times, also use some yogurt along with water to add softness as well as protein to the paratha.
3.
Add enough water
4.
to bind into a semi soft dough.
5.
Knead it for 5-10minutes, until it becomes smooth.
6.
It should not be sticky or rough/dry.
7.
Set aside for around 15 minutes covered with a kitchen towel.
8.
While that's resting, lets get to the filling. Ideally, you would want to use fresh made Chenna. Chenna is cheese made from curdling milk using acidic medium. See my Homemade Ricotta Cheese (till step 14) for details. This makes the bestestest paneer parathas.
9.
But "ideally" is not always practical, so I am going to assume that you would opt for using store bought paneer. Fair enough. I do it pretty often - esp. since I get awesome paneer (organic even!) around here. Its kept at cold storage, so you would need to bring it to room temperature to soften it.
10.
But if you don't have time for that, you can do what I do. I usually tend to cube the store bought paneer into chunks, place it in a bowl and pour boiling water on top of it.
11.
Let it sit for few minutes and drain the water.
12.
Now crumble this - you will find it crumbling easily
13.
until it kinda sorta resembles our Step 8 :) This should be about 2 cups worth or as needed - see Tip 2
14.
Add the Cilantro and Green chilli (if using) and mix until combined.
Note: Depending upon your taste buds, you can add in any other spices of your choice. My family likes it without any additional flavoring so that the cheesy and blissful taste of paneer shines through and remains the star. Set aside.
15.
Pinch a small dough and place it on a lightly floured surface.
16.
Flatten it into a small disc
17.
Roll it out into a small circle - little bigger than your palm using a rolling pin.
18.
Place some stuffing in the center.
19.
Bring the edges of the dough over the filling
20.
and pinch it on top.
21.
Using your palm,
22.
press to flatten it out slightly.
23.
Dust it very lightly with flour
24.
and gently roll it out to form a circle.
25.
With practice, you will be able to stuff some more and roll it out into a big circle - but honestly its very simple really! The thickness is medium but you can roll it out as thick or thin you want. No hard or fast rules here as long as you can keep the stuffing inside.
26.
Heat a skillet and place the flat bread on it. Cook it for few seconds.
27.
Drizzle some oil all around or for a true Punjabi experience, use Ghee/butter instead.
28.
Turn it the other side after few minutes or until you see brown spots on its surface. Its not necessary to grease the other side once again.
29.
Repeat likewise for all the parathas.
Serve hot. We usually enjoy this with spicy pickle and Raita (or plain homemade yogurt) but you can also serve it with other light gravy side dishes.
Filed Under these categories
- 45 Flatbread
- 705 Kid Friendly
- 61 Kids Lunch Box Recipes
- 384 Nuts Free
- 163 One Dish Dinners
- 13 Paratha
- 371 Parties
- 192 Potluck
- 398 Pregnancy
- 224 Protein Rich
- 177 Sugar Free
Recipe Reference
my kitchen notes
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16 Comments
By SP on Sep 5, 2014
Hi DK,
Can I freeze these? I think my kids will love these for lunches, but I would like to make it during weekends and was just wondering if you have any tips for freezing and thawing.
Thanks,
SP
By Mohit on Apr 25, 2014
Super recipe !
By sunny prasad on Dec 19, 2013
tomrow i wil try . . .hope it gonna yummy . .
By mohana on Nov 29, 2013
it is nice
By Paneer Paratha - The best veggie recipes from around the net. - Veggie-Recipes.net on Sep 9, 2013
[...] By DK [...]
By deepak on Aug 26, 2013
excellent presentation.well done,told so simply for a layman to practise.ty.
By Sowmya on Aug 26, 2013
Yummy!! I tried it ..thx for nice recepies
By Shyamasree Chakraborty on Aug 22, 2013
:wink: very nice
By gayathri on Aug 21, 2013
delicious recipe with Great, excellent presentation.
By Ash- foodfashionparty@blogspot.com on Jun 18, 2013
the paneer parathas are perfect for kids and parties. Like it.
By Ash- foodfashionparty@blogspot.com on Jun 18, 2013
the paneer parathas looks really nice. Like your step by step always.
By Sudha on Jun 14, 2013
Excellent and simple !!
By lucky on Jun 14, 2013
hey DK yesterday I tried this recipe. Paratha turned out very soft and I served them with curd and pickle.
By Alka on Jun 13, 2013
DK, you are the best, really. I am suprised that you make even the simple of parathas into art and provide so much detail. shows you are a master. i love your site and visit it everyday. how i wish you posted a recipe every single day. have to tell you that i am your unofficial pr- all my friends cousins know of your site. I wish i can meet you someday :mrgreen:
By RUKSHANA S PARBATANI on Jun 13, 2013
:) DEAR DK, I REALLY LIKED THE PANEER PARATHA RECEPIE. A VERY SIMPLE RECEPIE OF MY TASTE. A EASY N SIMPLE RECEPIE. M WAITING FOR MORE RECEPIE OF SUCH KINDS. :-D
By Manasvini on Nov 30, 2014