Paratha

Paratha(Hindustani pronunciation[pəˈɾaːnʈʰə], also parantha/parontah) is aflatbreadnative to theIndian subcontinent,with earliest reference mentioned in early medievalSanskrit,India;prevalent throughout the modern-day countries ofIndia,Pakistan,Nepal,Bangladesh,Maldives,Afghanistan,Myanmar,Malaysia,Singapore,Thailand,Mauritius,Fiji,Guyana,Suriname, andTrinidad and Tobagowhere wheat is the traditionalstaple. It is one of the most popular flatbreads in the Indian subcontinent and theMiddle East.Parathais an amalgamation of the wordsparatandatta, which literally means layers of cookeddough.Alternative spellings and names includeparantha,parauntha,prontha,parontay,paronthi(Punjabi),porota(inBengali),paratha(inOdia,Urdu,Hindi),palata(pronounced[pəlàtà]; in Myanmar),porotha(inAssamese),forota(inChittagonianandSylheti),faravatha(in Bhojpuri),farata(inMauritiusand theMaldives),prata(in Southeast Asia),paratha,buss-up shut,oil roti(in theAnglophone Caribbean) androti canaiin Malaysia and Indonesia.
The wordparathais derived from Sanskrit (S. पर, or परा+स्थः, or स्थितः).Recipes for various stuffed wheat puran polis (which Achaya (2003) describes as parathas) are mentioned inManasollasa, a 12th-century Sanskrit encyclopedia compiled bySomeshvara III, aWestern Chalukyaking, who ruled from present-dayKarnataka, India.References to paratha have also been mentioned by Nijjar (1968), in his bookPanjāb 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 fromDhakainBangladesh.O'Brien (2003) suggests that it is not correct to state that the paratha was popularised in Delhi after the 1947partition of India, as this item was prevalent in Delhi before then.
Parathas are one of the most popularunleavenedflatbreads in theIndian subcontinent, made by baking or cookingwhole-wheat(atta) dough on atava, and finishing off withshallow-frying.Plain parathas are thicker and more substantial thanchapatis/rotisbecause they have been layered by coating with ghee or oil and folded repeatedly, much like the method used forpuff pastryor alaminated doughtechnique, 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 thelayered doughfor 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 atavaand/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. The method of oiling and repeatedly folding the dough as in western puff pastry also exists, and this is combined with folding patterns that give traditional geometrical shapes to the finished parathas. Parathas can be round, heptagonal, square, or triangular.
Common fillings include mashed spiced potatoes (aloo paratha),dal, cauliflower (gobi paratha), and minced lamb (keemaparatha). Less common stuffing ingredients include mixed vegetables, green beans, carrots, other meats,leaf vegetables,radishes, andpaneer. 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.
The paratha is an important part of a traditional breakfast from the Indian subcontinent. Traditionally, it is made usinggheebut 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, andraitaas part of a breakfast meal. It may be stuffed with potatoes,paneer,onions,qeemaorchili peppers.