Spinach is such a kind and flexible vegetable that it will take any form you wish it to and not only enhance the flavor of the dish but also improve its looks. I love adding spinach whenever possible; it is a sneaky trick I incorporated when my daughters were little and we needed to increase the amount of greens in their diet. Spinach can be chopped, sautéed, pureed or just cut in ribbons and added to salads. I have recently also started combining it with chard to increase the fiber and nutrition content of dishes.

Spinach parathas are a family favorite and often travel with us on long journeys. One of the reasons is that they store well, stay soft and are very tasty just on their own and therefore easy to eat as we go. Also they can be made ahead of time and refrigerated till you need them. Just warm them up in a microwave or on a griddle before eating.

As a mother, I would often think of ingenuous ways to add greens to parathas, rice, pastas, savory pancakes, you name it. One of my daughters had really weak eyesight and the doctors had instructed us to increase her intake of vitamin A, this was good enough for me. For the next few years, broccoli and spinach were found in the strangest of dishes but the girls accepted their fate with equanimity.

Step by Step

1. Boil one large potato, peel and grate it. Set aside.
2. For the spinach puree: wash the spinach, a few sprigs of cilantro and 4-5 green chillies. Peel 3-4 cloves of garlic. Put all into a pan, add 1/2 cup water, cover and steam till the spinach is wilted. Drain the water and blend when cool. Set aside. Save the water.
3. 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 chaat masala.
4. Gently knead the spinach puree, grated potato and flour into a soft dough. You will not require any additional water but if you do need to use some that you drained, it should be ok. Cover the dough with a bowl and let stand for 15 mins.

5. Heat a tawa or a 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.
6. 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.
7. 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 a fresh green chutney instead of pureed spinach for these parathas. See my recipe for Chutney Parathas.

The boiled potato ensures softness and you can eat the paratha without any pickle or raita as the spices and spinach add a delicious taste and flavor to the paratha on their 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 spinach puree 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.

Use the drained water after steaming the spinach in a soup or lentils instead of throwing it away.

Print Recipe

Spinach Paratha

The advantage of these parathas is that they travel really well and retain their softness even after 36-48 hours.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Course: Breakfast, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: paratha, roti, spinach

Servings: 16 parathas

Author: Madhavi

Equipment

• Blender
• Steamer

Ingredients

For the spinach puree

• 5 oz fresh spinach washed
• 10 sprigs fresh cilantro washed
• 3-4 cloves fresh garlic peeled

For the dough

• 1 large potato boiled, peeled and grated
• 2 cups whole wheat flour atta
• 1 tbsp oil
• 5 tbsp oil for frying the parathas
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp roasted cumin seed powder can use regular
• 1 tsp garam masala can use chaat masala

Instructions

For the spinach puree

• Place all the puree ingredients in a pan with 1/2 cup water

  Cover and steam till soft

  Allow to cool

  Blend and pour into a large mixing bowl

To make the dough

• Add the grated potato and the whole wheat flour to the bowl

  Add 1 tbsp oil and the spice powders

  Knead all into a soft dough

  Add some water saved from steaming the spinach only if needed while making the dough

  Cover the dough and allow to stand for 15 mins

To make the parathas

• Heat a griddle and pour some oil into a bowl for frying 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

  Place the rolled out paratha on the hot griddle 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

  Remove from the griddle

Store or serve

• Allow them to cool completely if you are packing for travel purposes

  When completely cooled, place them in a ziploc bag between wax paper

  Refrigerate till ready to serve

  OR

  Serve hot with a side of pickle or raita

I served them with a fresh grated cucumber raita for brunch on a snowy day recently.