A common street food, Mughlai paratha is shallow fried with delicious, peppery fillings. Try the buttery flatbread with a simple potato curry or chutney.
By Sukanya Ghosh
An unleavened flatbread that has won the hearts of the people in the subcontinent and as far away as in the south-east Asia too. There is no two-ways to making the dish but many ways to enjoy it as plain paratha with basic potato curry or as stuffed paratha with raita or chutney or as flaky paratha with curries or even with sugar sometimes. When it comes to Mughlai paratha, the very basic definition of paratha changes, taking this to new level of gastronomical height and after a bite or two, you will realize why Bengalis are so crazy about it.
Mughlai paratha is an exemplary illustration of Mughal influence on the cuisine of Bengal that had snuck through the kitchens of Nawabs of Murshidabad and now has become the most sought after street food of Kolkata. In its original version, the paratha is usually stuffed with keema (minced meat) and then fortified with egg, the meat filled packets are then shallow fried in hot oil.
The craving for good Mughlai paratha from street carts motivates my to undertake the task of making it at home. The procedures are long but if you plan it in advance, many things become easier. So I had prepared the minced meat and potato curry a day before.
You need to add lot of oil to make the dough pliable, that will also ensue the end result will be super flaky paratha. Go easy on eggs and shallow fry the paratha. Instead of minced meat for the filling, you can also use only onion, green chillies and spices or mashed potatoes or even some scrambled paneer too. So here goes the recipe, and don’t worry if you can not make it right for the first time, there’s always second time.
PrintParatha: Spiced Meat-Filled Flatbreads
- Yield: 6 servings
Description
A common street food, Mughlai paratha is shallow fried with delicious, peppery fillings. Try the buttery flatbread with a simple potato curry or chutney.
Ingredients
For dough
- All purpose flour / maida : 3 cups
- Refined oil : 3 tbsp + more for greasing
- Salt : ¼ tsp
- Warm water / milk : 1 cup +/-
- Baking powder : a pinch (optional)
For minced meat filling
- Minced meat : 250 gm (8.8 ounces or half of a pound)
- Onion : 1 large cut into slices
- Green chillies : 2-3 chopped
- Ginger-garlic paste : 1 tbsp
- Turmeric powder : 1/4 tsp
- Cumin powder : 1 tsp
- Bengali garam masala : ½ tsp
- Salt and sugar to taste
- Oil for frying
- Red chilli powder ; ½ tsp
- Cilantro : ¼ cup finely chopped
For spicy potato curry (dry)
- Potatoes : 3 large cut into cubes
- Green chillies ; 2-3 finely chopped
- Ginger paste : 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder :1/2 tsp
- Red chilli powder ; 1 tsp
- Black pepper powder : ½ tsp
- Cumin powder : 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Oil : 2 tbsp
- Others
- Eggs : 3 beaten well with pinch of salt
- Oil for shallow frying the paratha
- Onions : 1cup finely chopped
- Green chillies : 2-3 tbsp finely chopped
To serve
- Tomato ketchup
- Mustard sauce / kasundi
- Wedges of lime
Instructions
To prepare the dough
- Sift the flour in a bowl, sprinkle the salt, baking powder if you are using and make a well in the center and add the oil.
- Using your fingers, rub the oil with the flour very well till it resembles fine bread crumbs.
- This will ensure the flakiness of the paratha.
- Knead the dough using warm water or milk (milk makes the dough soft), adding it slowly and knead it into very soft and pliable dough.
- The dough should be soft, pliable, stretchy and should be able to roll out thin.
- Once you attained that stage, grease the dough with the oil, cover it with damp kitchen towel and leave it to rest for 2 hours.
Preparing the minced meat filling
- Wash the minced meat (keema) in a colander, keeping a bowl underneath.
- Heat one tablespoon oil in a pan and fry the onion slices.
- keeping the heat to the maximum, add the minced meat (keema) and fry on a high heat. It will start releasing lots of water.
- Add the ginger garlic paste, all the spices, green chillies, salt and keep frying it on high heat.
- Once the water dries up, check for the seasonings, lower the heat, cover it and cook till done.
- Add few spoon of water if requires to keep the meat moist.
- Add the chopped cilantro and mix it well.
- Make this a day before and reheat it before adding it in the paratha.
To prepare spicy potato curry (dry)
- Wash and peel the potatoes, cut it into cubes
- Heat the oil in the pan, add the potatoes and fry it for few minutes.
- Add the ginger paste, green chillies, all the spices, salt and keep sauteing it.
- Add one cup water, lower the heat, cover and cook the potatoes till done.
- Once the potatoes are tender and has soaked up the water, check for the seasonings and take it from the heat.
- Make this a day ahead, reheat it and serve it with Mughlai paratha.
To make the Mughlai paratha
- Knead the prepared dough lightly for couple of minutes. Divide it into equal golf ball size sections.
- Grease the rolling pin and the board.
- Take the ball, roll out thinly into a square. Roll out as thin as possible but not paper thin, else it will not hold the stuffing well.
- Use the pictures given in the post as guide.
- Spread a teaspoon of egg evenly on to the paratha, leaving the edges.
- Place the minced meat filling in the center. Top it with 1 tsp finely chopped onions, 2-3 pieces of finely chopped green chillies and two teaspoon of egg mixture on the minced meat.
- Now fold the paratha as per the pictures, making it well enclosed packets.
- Heat the oil in the pan.
- Place one paratha in hot oil, folded side down first.
- Once it starts browning, flip it over and fry the other side.
- Flip it once more, this time slightly press the edges of the paratha for even cooking and fry till golden brown. Flip it and fry the other side till golden brown.
- Repeat the steps till the dough last.
To serve
- Serve the Mughlai paratha hot with ketchup or mustard sauce, with more sliced onion and lime wedges and with dry spicy potato curry.
- Category: Bread, Street food, Appetizer
- Cuisine: Indian
