Paratha (Flaky, Layered Flatbread)

Paratha on a board with some showing their flaky layers

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5 from 1 vote

Paratha (Flaky, Layered Flatbread)

Make the best soft, flaky, layered paratha with this easy recipe I've been perfecting for 19 years.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Resting Time2

Total Time2 40

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Kerala Parotha, Lachha Paratha, Malabar Parotha, Malabar Parotta, Paratha, Parotta, Roti Canai

Servings:

Author: Sangeetha

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup warm water
½ cup yogurt
6 tbsp vegetable oil
2 ½ tsp kosher salt
4 tbsp melted butter

Instructions

Prepare the Dough

Stir together the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
In a separate bowl, stir together the water, yogurt and oil in a stand mixer. Add this mixture to the flour and stir by hand to combine and form a shaggy dough.
Attach the dough hook and knead the dough in the stand mixer for 3 minutes. Don't worry if the dough is sticky; this is normal. Wet your hands slightly to make it easier to handle the dough, then remove it from the mixer.
(Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand for 5-7 minutes until smooth.)

Divide and Rest the Dough

Lightly oil a bench scraper or knife, then divide the sticky dough into 8 equal portions. Cover the dough pieces with a cloth and let them rest for an hour.

Roll and Shape the Dough

Flour your work surface and roll out a piece of dough thinly, not worrying too much about its shape.
Brush the rolled-out dough with melted butter and roll it up from one of the long edges.
Stretch and twist the rolled-up dough to create a long, skinny rope-like shape.

Coil and Rest Again

Coil this rope into a snail shape, pinching the end to secure it. Flatten it slightly and let it rest for another hour. Optionally, you can refrigerate it for up to 48 hours, but remember to bring it back to room temperature before proceeding.

Cook the Paratha

Flour your surface once more and roll out one of the coiled dough pieces until thin. Use your hands to stretch gently the paratha thinner.
Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.
Place a rolled-out piece of dough in the hot skillet. Flip the dough when the first golden spots appear on the underside (30-60 seconds). Continue flipping every 20 seconds, pressing gently with a spatula to encourage the paratha to puff up in spots.
Frequent flipping of the paratha really helps make them puff!

Separate the Layers

Remove the cooked paratha from the skillet and place it on a cutting board. While still warm, scrunch up the paratha slightly to help the layers separate and become more visible.

Video

Notes

Scrunching is key to separate the layers while the steam is still hot, so the starch doesn't set in the flat position. Scrunch 'em up as soon as you can do it without burning yourself!

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