Plain or Tawa Paratha is an Indian flatbread made using whole wheat flour. It’s prepared in a lot of household almost on a daily basis. Here is how to make it.
Indian cuisine is full of soft and delicious breads!
These breads belongs to different regions of India, which differs in the ingredients and the style of making.
While there are many fancy breads, such as Laccha Paratha, Tandoori Roti, Roomali Roti, Kerala Parotta, Naan etc which are cooked only during special occasions and festivals, there are some breads that are prepared for everyday meals, especially in North India.
Phulka and Tawa Paratha, are two such Indian breads that is made very often at my home.
Phulka is usually prepared for Lunch or Dinner, whereas Parathas are sometimes prepared for breakfast too.
Here are some more Indian breads that can be served for your everyday meals – Roti, Khamiri Roti, Multigrain Roti, Bajre Ki Roti, Ajwain Paratha and Masala Paratha.
What is Tawa Paratha?
It is a popular Indian bread, which is made with whole wheat flour, salt, water and ghee.
Addition of ghee in the dough makes the parathas soft from inside.
Once the dough is ready, It is shaped into a triangle and then shallow fried on the tawa using oil.
You can even use ghee instead of oil to cook this bread.
Parathas should be soft from inside and the outer layer should be a little flaky and instead of making then triangular, you can also make them square.
They are even perfect to pack for your travels or lunch box, as they tend to last long. Just pair them a pickle and a dry sabji and you have a heart filling meal ready.
Ingredients
For this simple bread, you just need three everyday ingredients – All Purpose Flour, Salt and Ghee.
When making these for everyday use, I skip adding ghee and salt and make these with just whole wheat flour.
I also like to add Ajwain sometimes in the dough, as it is good for stomach and helps in digestion. You can try it too!
What is the main Difference with Chapati?
Both these breads are made with whole wheat flour, but the style of cooking and shape are different.
While Paratha has layers and is triangular in shape, Chapati is perfectly round in shape without any layers.
Chapati is cooked on Tawa until it fluffs up without ghee or oil and ghee is later applied on the top, whereas on the other hand Paratha is shallow fried on the Tawa using ghee or oil.
Chapati is also thin and papery, in comparison.
Pro Tips by Neha
Kneading the dough – Knead the dough using warm water. It will make sure the parathas will turn out soft.
Make sure to rest the dough for 20-230 minutes after kneading. Knead once again after it had well rested and then divide it into balls. This will ensure the gluten in the flour has been worked well and the resulting bread will be soft.
You can flavour the flour with ajwain (carom seeds), cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds or masala like red chilli powder, chaat masala powder and garam masala powder before kneading.
Adding 2 tbsp of curd while making these will also ensures soft paratha.
I personally like these slightly crisp and so make my dough a little tighter.
Rolling – Rolling these properly is very important to get perfect parathas.
Dust the dough lightly and roll it using light hands.
The edges of the parathas should be thinner than the centre and the thickness should be approx 1 mm. Don’t roll it thin like roti.
Instead of triangle shape, you can make these square as well.
Frying – To fry these, heat the griddle and when it’s nicely hot, simmer the heat to medium low.
Cooking these on high heat will brown them from outside quickly and they will not be properly cooked from inside.
Transfer them on the hot griddle or tawa and cook until brown spot appears on the bottom.
Now flip and cook until brown spots appear on the other side also.
Apply oil only once the it is cooked from both the sides.
After applying the oil or ghee, keep pressing it with the back of a flat ladle all over.
Keep flipping 2-3 times until it is nicely golden brown from both the sides.
Serving Suggestions
It is a versatile Indian bread that tastes great with any Sabzi, Curry or even Dal.
It can also be served with Pickle, Chutney, Curd or any Raita of your choice.
Try my Green Chilli Pickle or Rajasthani Mango Pickle to serve with these.
You can even make a Roll or Wrap with these parathas and fill it with kabab, veggies, sauces, cheese and spices.
You can also use your leftover sabzis to make these delicious rolls.
Variations
Masala – This is very similar to plain Parathas, it is just flavoured with some everyday spices. For Instance, try to make Masala Paratha, or Ajwain Paratha.
Layered – This variation is flaky from outside and soft from inside. It has many layers and has a unique technique to prepare it. There are many layer Parathas such as Kerala Parotta, Laccha Paratha etc which requires different techniques to get the layers.
You can even flavour these and make Methi Laccha Paratha, Pudina Paratha etc.
Stuffed – These are the most popular version of Parathas, that is made mostly for breakfasts in North Indian households. In this, Parathas are stuffed with varieties of vegetable fillings and shallow fried on the taw to get a crispy texture on the top layer.
Stuffed Parathas are thicker and heavy on stomach as compared to regular ones.
Some of the popular Stuffed varieties are – Aloo Paratha, Gobi Paratha, Palak Paneer Paratha, Kacche Papite Ka Paratha, Keema Paratha and Dry Fruits Paratha.
Tandoori – This can be plain or stuffed with different fillings, and is very popular in Punjab. In this parathas, instead of shallow frying on taw, they are cooked in Tandoor.
Can I Freeze these Parathas?
Yes, you can freeze it for later use.
To freeze them, give them the shape and cook from both the sides for about 15 seconds without adding any ghee or oil.
The motive is too cook them partially.
Once done, let them cool down completely.
Next, store them in ziplock freezer bags with a parchment paper/butter paper in between each one.
They will stay good for about 1 to 2 months.
Once you want to cook them again, remove it from the butter paper, place it on the heated griddle and cook it fully with ghee or oil.
How does it compare with the Naan
Paratha is a simple and quick Indian bread which is made with Whole Wheat Flour, while Naan comparatively usually takes more time to prepare and is made with All Purpose Flour.
Tawa Paratha is shallow fried on Tawa using ghee or oil, while Naan is traditionally cooked in the Tandoor without any oil or ghee.
Paratha is quick, just make the dough, roll the parathas and cook them, while for Naan, once the dough is ready, it is kept aside for an hour or more so that the dough rises up and gets ready to make Naan.
Step By Step Recipe
Add whole wheat flour, ghee and salt in a bowl. Mix well using your fingers.
Add warm water.
Knead a soft dough.
Cover the dough and keep aside for 30 minutes.
Make 8-9 lemon size balls from the dough.
Dust and roll the dough ball to make a 4 inch circle.
Apply oil on the circle and fold the sides to make a semi circle. Apply oil again and then fold to make a triangle.
Dust and roll again to make a 5 inch triangle. It should not be too thin as the roti. It should be a little thick.
Heat a griddle. Transfer it on the hot griddle.
Cook until brown spots appear on both the sides. Apply oil and cook again until nicely browned. Keep pressing it with the back of a ladle while cooking. Serve hot.
Tawa Paratha Recipe
It is an Indian flatbread made using whole wheat flour. It's prepared in a lot of household almost on a daily basis. Here is how to make it.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 tsp Ghee
- 2 tsp Salt
- Water warm, as required
Instructions
Add whole wheat flour, ghee and salt in a bowl.
Mix well using your fingers. Add warm water and knead a soft dough.
Cover the dough and keep aside for 30 minutes.
Heat a griddle.
Make lemon size balls from the dough.
Dust and roll the dough ball to make a 4 inch circle.
Apply oil on the circle and fold the sides to make a semi circle.
Apply oil again and then fold to make a triangle.
Dust and roll again to make a 5 inch triangle.
It should not be too thin as the roti. It should be a little thick.
Transfer it on the hot griddle.
Cook until brown spots appear on both the sides.
Apply oil and cook again until nicely browned.
Keep pressing it with the back of a ladle while cooking.
Serve it hot.
Recipe Notes
You can skip adding ghee and salt in the flour if you wish. When I make paratha for everyday use, I don't add these two ingredients.
If you want crispier paratha, knead the dough a little tighter.
Cook the paratha on low heat and keep pressing with a ladle while cooking.
Rajiv Singh
Appears delicious
Neha Mathur
Thanks
Swati
Very delicious, I prepare weekly
Neha Mathur
Nice 🙂