Butter chicken paratha

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make butter chicken for dinner.  I use an easy, light recipe (there's actually no butter involved) I discovered last year that's flavorful yet neutral enough for my whole family to enjoy (including the little guy). Now the timing is going to sound suspect but I swear this is the truth...a couple of days before I was planning to make it for dinner, I happened to catch a cooking show featuring butter chicken parathas (same source for the original butter chicken recipe so it makes sense).  The idea was to use your leftover butter chicken and turn them into parathas, or unleavened flatbread. 

Homemade paratha dough is made with just whole wheat flour, some spices, and water

I am not making this up!  The timing was perfect so I knew I'd have to set aside some butter chicken to try making my own parathas.  Since I'd never done anything of the kind or considered that I could, the prospect was very exciting!  I couldn't resist the idea of being able to say I've made my own parathas.

It wasn't just for the fact that I'd have butter chicken on hand to make this that made it happen.  The real clincher was how incredibly easy the parathas are to make!  It is practically 2 ingredients - whole wheat flour and water - to make the dough.  You flavor the dough with salt and some spices (you could play around a little here, and I choose to use some curry powder) but it is as simple as combining that spiced flour with water until a dough comes together.  Then roll out the dough, fill it with your leftover butter chicken, and cook it in a dry skillet.  To give it moisture and a lovely shine, brush the paratha with a little bit of oil when it's done.

Filled with leftover butter chicken inside

I have no doubt that my technique is sadly lacking and that there are different, more involved, paratha recipes out there.  In fact, my favorite is type of paratha is aloo paratha, stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes, and I associate it with a fluffier dough that's different from this (I don't think the ones I've had are made with whole wheat flour but the difference could just well be my poor technique).  But regardless, the happy fact remains that this easy whole wheat dough worked and my family and I thought this simple paratha was quite tasty!

Please pardon my inauthentic presentation of slicing the paratha up like something of a quesadilla!  I was just trying to give a look into the filling inside.  I served the paratha with some plain Greek yogurt but it really doesn't need anything since the filling is juicy and flavorful.  It holds up well against the nutty whole wheat paratha.  

This is the kind of recipe I learn that opens my eyes to new possibilities and reinforces the idea that we can make so many things at home if we don't mind our own more rustic interpretations.


If you make the butter chicken dish and have some leftovers reserved on hand, these parathas are a cinch to make.  I tried this recipe one weekend afternoon while my sister and her family were here for brunch and we made a little snack of my experiment.  

My very imperfect round...I'm hopeful it gets better with practice!

Though easy, I did discover that the parathas I attempt won't turn out nearly as nicely round and professional as the ones I saw being whipped up on TV!  On the cooking show, the host literally took the dough balls, started flattening them out into discs with the heel of her hands, and rolled them out into perfect circles in a matter of moments! 

My own experience wasn't quite that effortless and I found that I needed a bit more dough than the recipe suggests to get approximately 6-inch rounds that we were after to make the parathas.  I've adjusted the recipe below to reflect that. 

In some paratha recipes I've looked at since making this, I notice there might be some oil added into the dough and there's mention of how the paratha should puff as it cooks on the hot skillet.  The puffing didn't happen in my case.  Being a total novice on this subject, I can only assure you that the paratha was very tasty and quite worth this fairly minimal effort.  If you like, play around with the spices you add to the flatbread dough and instead of butter chicken, you could use another type of filling and take it in a whole other direction.


Recipe:

Butter Chicken Parathas
Adapted from Bal Arneson

- For 2 parathas -

For filling: 
3/4 to 1 cup butter chicken

For parathas:
1 cup whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 teaspoon curry powder (or spice of your preference such as cumin and coriander)
Pinch of salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
Olive, vegetable, or flaxseed oil for brushing

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, curry powder (or spices), and salt.  Start by adding 1/4 cup of water and mix together with your hands to form a dough.  Add more water, as necessary, and knead until you have a smooth dough similar to pizza dough.  Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a small ball.  Take one ball of dough and pat it into a round disc (use the heel of your hands to press the dough as you turn it).  Then place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a thin 6-inch round.

Place 1/4 to 1/2 cup of butter chicken filling on top of the rolled-out disc, leaving about a half-inch border around the sides.  Roll out a second ball of dough and place it on top of the butter chicken.  Lightly run the rolling pin over the paratha to seal, pressing the sides to make sure the filling is secure.  Repeat with second paratha.

To cook, heat a cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium-low heat.  Place a paratha on top and cook for about 1 minute, until browned.  Flip and brown the reverse side. Remove paratha from the pan and brush both sides with a bit of oil (you could also brush one side before flipping and then brush the second side).  Continue with remaining paratha.  

Serve immediately.