Paratha (, also parantha/parontah) is a

flatbread A flatbread is bread made usually with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are Unleavened bread, unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pita bread. A Se ...

native to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, with earliest reference mentioned in early medieval

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is one of the most popular flatbreads in the Indian subcontinent and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Etymology and alternative names

''Paratha'' is an amalgamation of the words ''parat'' and '' atta'', which literally means layers of cooked

dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...

. The word is derived from Sanskrit (S. पर, or परा+स्थः, or स्थितः). Alternative spellings and names include ''parantha'', ''parauntha'', ''prontha'', ''parontay'', ''paronthi'' ( Punjabi), ''porota'' (in Bengali), ''paratha'' (in Odia,

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

), ''palata'' (; in Myanmar), ''porotha'' (in Assamese), ''forota'' (in Chittagonian and Sylheti), ''faravatha'' (in Bhojpuri), ''farata'' (in

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

and the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

), ''prata'' (in Southeast Asia), ''paratha'', ''buss-up shut'', ''oil roti'' (in the Anglophone Caribbean) and '' roti canai'' in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Prevalence

Parathas are prevalent throughout the modern-day countries of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

where wheat is the traditional staple. India's old Delhi houses the 'Parathe wali gali', a street famous for the flat breads and serving more than 80 varieties and flavors.

History

Recipes for various stuffed wheat puran polis (which Achaya (2003) describes as parathas) are mentioned in ''

Manasollasa The ' also known as ''Abhilashitartha Chintamani'', is an early 12th-century Sanskrit text composed by the Kalyani Chalukya king Someshvara III, who ruled in present-day Karnataka. It is an encyclopedic work covering topics such as polity, gove ...

'', a 12th-century Sanskrit encyclopedia compiled by

Someshvara III Someshvara III (; ) was a Western Chalukya king (also known as the Kalyani Chalukyas), the son and successor of Vikramaditya VI. He ascended the throne of the Western Chalukya Kingdom in 1126 CE, or 1127 CE. Someshvara III, the third king i ...

, a Western Chalukya king, who ruled from present-day Karnataka, India. References to paratha have also been mentioned by Nijjar (1968), in his book ''Panjāb under the Sultāns'', 1000–1526 AD when he writes that parathas were common with the nobility and aristocracy in the Punjab. According to Banerji (2010), parathas are associated with North Indian cooking. The method is to stuff parathas with a variety of stuffings. However, Banerji states, the Mughals were also fond of parathas which gave rise to the Dhakai paratha, multilayered and flaky, taking its name from

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

. O'Brien (2003) suggests that it is not correct to state that the paratha was popularised in Delhi after the 1947

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, as this item was prevalent in Delhi before then.

Plain and stuffed varieties

Parathas are one of (if not the most) the most popular unleavened flatbreads in the

, made by baking or cooking whole-wheat ( atta) dough on a tava, and finishing off with shallow-frying. Plain parathas are thicker and more substantial than

chapati Chapati (alternatively spelled chapathi; pronounced as IAST: ), also known as ''roti'', ''rooti'', ''rotee'', ''rotli'', '' rotta'', ''safati'', ''shabaati'', ''phulka'', ''chapo'' (in East Africa), ''sada roti'' (in the Caribbean), ''poli'' (i ...

roti Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, East African, and Southeast African countries. It is made from stoneground whole-wheat flour, kno ...

s because they have been layered by coating with ghee or oil and folded repeatedly, much like the method used for

puff pastry Puff pastry, also known as , is a light, flaky pastry, its base dough () composed of wheat flour and water. Butter or other solid fat () is then layered into the dough. The dough is repeatedly rolled and folded, rested, re-rolled and folded, encas ...

or a laminated dough technique, and as a result have a flaky consistency. Stuffed parathas may include a wide variety of ingredients and be prepared in a variety of styles, traditionally depending on region of origin, and may not use folded dough techniques. A number of traditional techniques are used to achieve the layered dough for plain parathas. These include covering the thinly rolled-out pastry with oil, folding back and forth like a paper fan and coiling the resulting strip into a round shape before rolling flat, baking on a tava and/or shallow frying. Another method is to cut a circle of dough from the center to its circumference along its radius, oiling the dough and starting at the cut edge rolling so as to form a cone which is then squashed into a disc shape and rolled out. Common fillings include mashed spiced potatoes ( aloo paratha),

dal Dal is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses. Dal or DAL may also refer to: Places Cambodia *Dal, Ke Chong Finland * Laakso, a neighbourhood of Helsinki India * Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India * Dal ...

, cauliflower ( gobi paratha), minced lamb ( keema paratha), and minced chicken. Less common stuffing ingredients include mixed vegetables, green beans, carrots, other meats,

leaf vegetable Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by their petioles and shoots, if tender. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad gre ...

radish The radish (''Raphanus sativus'') is a flowering plant in the mustard family, Brassicaceae. Its large taproot is commonly used as a root vegetable, although the entire plant is edible and its leaves are sometimes used as a leaf vegetable. Origina ...

es, and paneer. A Rajasthani mung bean paratha uses both the layering technique together with mung dal mixed into the dough. Some stuffed parathas are not layered, lacking in the flakiness of plain parathas, and instead resemble a filled pie squashed flat and shallow-fried, using two discs of dough sealed around the edges. Alternatively, they can be made by using a single disc of dough to encase a ball of filling and sealed with a series of pleats pinched into the dough around the top; they are then gently flattened with the palm against the working surface before being rolled into a circle.

Serving

The paratha is an important part of a traditional breakfast from the Indian subcontinent. Traditionally, it is made using

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from South Asia. It is commonly used for cooking, as a Traditional medicine of India, traditional medicine, and for Hinduism, Hindu religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by ...

but oil is also used. Some people may even bake it in the oven for health reasons. Usually, the paratha is eaten with dollops of white butter on top of it. Common side dishes are curd, fried egg, omelette, mutton kheema (ground mutton cooked with vegetables and spices), nihari, jeera aloo (potatoes lightly fried with cumin seeds), daal, and raita as part of a breakfast meal. It may be stuffed with potatoes, paneer,

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

s, qeema or

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

Types

* Aloo paratha (stuffed with spicy boiled potato and onions mix). * Chili parotha or mirchi paratha (incorporating small, spicy shredded pieces) * Dulhan paratha (originating from

Hyderabad, Sindh Hyderabad, also known as Neroonkot, is the capital and largest city of the Hyderabad Division in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Sindh by population, second-largest city in Sindh, after Karachi, and the List of citie ...

), named for its elaborate presentation, which is reminiscent of the ornate appearance of a

bride A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is a newlywed. When marrying, if the bride's future spouse is a man, he is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, ...

('dulhan' in Urdu); this dish is known for its combination of flavorful ingredients. * Gobi paratha (stuffed with cauliflower) * Paneer paratha (stuffed with farmer cheese) * Keema paratha (stuffed with keema, spiced ground meat usually made up of chicken or lamb) * Pyaz paratha (stuffed with flavoured onions) * Cheese paratha (stuffed with cheese) *

Mughlai paratha Mughlai paratha () is a popular Bengali street food consisting of a flatbread (''paratha'') wrapped around or stuffed with ''keema'' (spiced minced meat) and/or egg. It is believed to have originated in the Bengal Subah during the time of the Mug ...

(a deep-fried stuffed paratha filled with egg and minced meat, from Bangladesh and West Bengal of India) * Petai paratha (thin, flaky and hand-smashed paratha from West Bengal, India) * Dhakai paratha (flaky layered paratha from Bangladesh and West Bengal of India) * Murthal paratha, deep-fried; dhabas of

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

and especially at Murthal on Grand Trunk Road are famous for this * Roti prata (Singapore) * Roti canai (Malaysia and Indonesia) * Buss-up-shut (Trinidad; the name is

Trinidadian Creole Trinidadian Creole is an creole language commonly spoken throughout the island of Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago. It is distinct from Tobagonian Creole – particularly at the basilectal level – and from other Lesser Antillean creoles. En ...

for "busted-up shirt", for the resemblance of the shreddy bread to ragged old clothes) File:Aloo Paratha with Butter from India.jpg, Punjabi Aloo paratha served with butter, from India File:Mughlai Kheema Paratha.JPG,

from Kolkata, India. File:Dhakai Paratha with Bengal Gram.JPG, Dhakai paratha from West Bengal, India File:Alooparatha.jpg, Aloo paratha from northern India File:Teaparatha.jpg, Paratha served with tea in a Pakistani hotel File:Paranthamumbai.jpg, Stuffed Bengali-style paratha served in a restaurant in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India File:Paratharoti.jpg,

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...

-style roti paratha (buss-up shut) File:Palatha, Myanmar.jpg, In

, paratha is commonly eaten as a dessert, sprinkled with sugar. File:Smash Paratha - Howrah 2014-04-14 0217.JPG, Petai paratha (“smashed paratha”), a West Bengal variant served with light vegetable curry File:Lachha-paratha.jpg, Lachha paratha

References

{{Flatbreads Balochi cuisine Bengali cuisine Bangladeshi cuisine Bihari cuisine Burmese cuisine Flatbreads Pakistani breads Indian breads Indian cuisine Hindu cuisine South Asian cuisine Vegetarian cuisine Vegetarian dishes of India Kashmiri cuisine Nepalese cuisine Pashtun cuisine Punjabi cuisine Fijian cuisine Sindhi cuisine Trinidad and Tobago cuisine Unleavened breads Uttar Pradeshi cuisine Articles containing video clips Stuffed dishes