Parathas are a staple on travel days and since our lives are constantly in motion, as a family, we must have consumed roughly a ton of parathas over the years. Parathas can be plain or stuffed and each family has their favorite kind. Parathas come in several shapes and sizes and layers as we travel around the Asian countries. The dough is usually whole wheat flour or all purpose flour, kneaded with oil, spices and sometimes an egg or two. To this dough you can add different vegetables if they are finely chopped, grated or pureed.

Every time we travel from India back to the US, Aai has packed us the same dinner to be eaten at the airport after we check-in our bags and wait to board. There is a stack of spinach parathas, curd rice with pickle and crushed sweet ladoos (balls) of rotis mixed with jaggery and ghee. Obviously, this menu was dictated by the granddaughters and compiled willingly by the doting grandmother and cook.

The advantage of these parathas is that they travel really well and retain their softness even after 36-48 hours. I have started making these parathas for the girls as they travel back and forth to their cities and I pack a few meals for them. Once children are independent and self sufficient, I have found that food is one of the few ways that I use to ensure that they eat well and on time. Not much else I can do from hundreds of miles away can I?

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Step by Step

1. Boil one large potato, peel and grate it. Set aside.
2. Make a chutney with all the green herbs that you can get your hands on. Here I have used 1 bunch each of cilantro, mint and curry leaves.
3. For the chutney: Wash and roughly chop all the herbs and 4-5 green chillies. Peel 3-4 cloves of garlic and grate 1″ piece of ginger. Put all into a blender. Add 1 tsp each of cumin seeds and salt. Make a chutney with a little bit of water. Set aside.
4. Take about 2 cups of atta or whole wheat flour. Add salt, 1 Tbsp oil, and dried spice powders–turmeric, red chili, roasted cumin, and garam masala.
5. Gently knead the chutney, grated potato and flour into a soft dough. You will not require any additional water but if you do need to add some it should be ok. Cover the dough with a bowl and let stand for 15 mins.
6. Heat a tawa or griddle and pour some oil in a bowl to spread while cooking the parathas. Roll out the parathas in a single layer like you would roll out a phulka. There is no need to add oil and fold it while rolling out.

8. Put the rolled out paratha on the hot tawa and cook on both sides briefly, till pale brown spots begin to appear. Then spread 1/2 tsp oil on the top surface and flip it. Spread another 1/2 tsp oil on the other side and allow them to cook on both sides till dark brown spots appear.
9. Remove from heat and set aside. Allow them to cool completely if you are packing them for travel purposes. When completely cooled, place them in a ziploc bag between wax paper.

If you are making them for brunch, serve hot with ghee pickle and raita.

Some Tips

You can use pureed spinach instead of making a chutney for these parathas. See my recipe for Spinach Parathas.

The boiled potato ensures softness and you can eat the paratha without any pickle or raita as the chutney adds a delicious taste and flavor to the paratha on its own.

When traveling with small children, you can spread each paratha with ghee and roll it up so it can be easily eaten with one hand.

You can make the chutney ahead of time and just mix it with the dough when you get ready to make the parathas. I usually make these the day before and place the ziploc in the fridge as things can get pretty hectic on the day of travel.