Paneer Paratha -

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This Indian whole wheat flatbread stuffed with crumbled cottage cheese for a filling breakfast and serves as a great lunch box option too. Cook these parathas in butter or ghee and serve with plain yogurt and your favorite achar (pickle) alongside a hot cup of tea for a wholesome meal.

WHAT IS PANEER PARATHA?

Whole wheat flatbread stuffed with cottage cheese and flavored by coriander leaves,green chillies garam masala, chilli powder and cumin seeds!
These parathas can be enjoyed as breakfast or lunch or dinner!

If you have never made parathas in your life then this paneer paratha recipe is a great place to start. This is very quick to make if you are using store bought paneer or you have made paneer at home ahead of time.

Parathas are one of the most popular dishes of Northern part of India. But now it is loved all over India. It is absolutely delicious and healthy.

TIPS TO MAKE PREFECT PARATHA?

Dough should be soft and smooth – Make sure to knead the dough properly until you get a smooth and soft dough. Cover with damp cloth and allow it to rest for at least 20 minutes.
Dough should not be sticky – If the paratha is sticking to the base as you are rolling, add a tsp of flour at a time and kneading it. Repeat this process until the dough is not sticky.
Homemade paneer – Try to use homemade paneer for fresh and soft filling.
No moisture in the stuffing – If you are using fresh homemade paneer, then squeeze the whey from paneer and hang for atleast 30 mins or if using frozen paneer, let it thaw completely. Use a paper towel to absorb any moisture before grating it.
Texture of the stuffing – Finely grated the paneer and also finely chop both the coriander leaves and the green chilies to prevent tearing of the paratha while you are rolling it out.
Quantity of stuffing – Don’t over stuff the paratha with filling.

HOW TO STORE THESE PARATHA?

Store them in a hot pack to keep warm for a couple of hours.
To freeze the parathas, wait for them to completely cool before putting them in a freezer-safe zip lock bag. Stack the parathas always separated by parchment paper which is equivalent to the size of the paratha. This makes it easier to separate them after thawing.
To thaw leave it in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for about 30 minutes. I usually microwave them for a minute and heat them on the tawa for a minute or two till it is uniformly heated.

SOME OF SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

Serve the paneer paratha with yogurt, raita or pickle.

You can also serve with

Paneer Butter Masala – The rich and creamy dish has Indian Cottage Cheese or Paneer cubes are simmered in a mildly rich and sweet tomato cashew nut based gravy along with dollops of fresh cream.
Punjabi Chana Masala – This Chana Masala is a delectable North Indian (Punjabi) curry of chickpeas or kabuli chana cooked in onion, tomato and basic spices gravy base.
Chicken Tikka Masala – Rich, creamy and flavorsome gravy in which succulent roasted chicken pieces dunked in rich creamy tikka masala gravy.
Matar Paneer – This Matar Paneer is prepared by simmering the green peas and soft paneer cubes in luscious creamy onion, tomato and cashews gravy.
Mixed Vegetable Kofta Curry – Delicious Indian Curry where the deep fried balls made from mixed vegetables are added into the creamy, delicious, restaurant style onion-tomato gravy.

OTHER VARIATIONS:

Parathas are one of the versatile dishes ever. You can stuff it with anything you desire like vegetables, lentils, meat, cheese. Literally anything.

Gobi Paratha – Whole wheat flatbread stuffed with spicy cauliflower and flavored by ginger, coriander powder, garam masala, chilli powder and amchur or chat masala!
Aloo Paratha – Whole Wheat Bread is stuffed with mashed potatoes and spices
Matar Paratha – Whole Wheat Bread is stuffed with Green peas and spices
Onion Paratha – Whole Wheat Bread is stuffed with onion and spices
Soya Keema Paratha – Whole wheat flatbread stuffed with spicy mixture of soya kheema and spices.

PANEER PARATHA RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

For the dough:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cooking oil
Water as required

For paneer stuffing:

2 cup Paneer (cottage cheese), grated
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp jeera, cumin seeds
2 green chilies, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt, salt to taste

Butter/ Ghee for frying
Flour for rolling the dough

DIRECTIONS:

To make the dough:

In a large bowl add the wheat flour, salt and oil and mix everything. Now slowly add water little at a time and start kneading to make a soft and smooth dough.
Cover the dough and set aside for 15-20 minutes.
After 20 mins, knead the dough again and divide it into 8 large dough balls.

To make the stuffing:

Mix all the ingredients for the stuffing – paneer, salt, garam masala, coriander leaves, jeera, green chilies and salt till they are well combined.

To make parathas:

Dust the work surface with some flour, take one dough ball and roll it out into small circle with a rolling pin.
Now add one portion of stuffing in the centre (do not overstuff) and bring the sides together and again roll it into a ball.
Now press the stuffed dough gently and sprinkle some flour and roll it out into a circle.
Heat a pan on medium heat. Once the pan is hot add the paratha and cook. Once you see small bubbles on the surface, flip the paratha over and cook.
Now apply some ghee and continue cooking for until till golden brown spots appear on both sides. Remove it from the pan.
Repeat the same process with the rest of the parathas.
Serve it hot with yogurt and or achar and cup of a hot chai.

RECIPE NOTES:

Make sure to knead the dough properly until you get a smooth and soft dough.
Cover with damp cloth and allow it to rest for atleast 20 minutes.
If the paratha is sticking to the base as you are rolling, add a tsp of flour at a time and kneading it. Repeat this process until the dough is not sticky.
Try to use homemade paneer for fresh and soft filling.
If you are using fresh homemade paneer, then squeeze the whey from paneer and hang for at least 30 mins or if using frozen paneer, let it thaw completely. Use a paper towel to absorb any moisture before grating it.
Finely grated the paneer and also finely chop both the coriander leaves and the green chilies to prevent tearing of the paratha while you are rolling it out.

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