Parotta is a buttery flaky South Indian flatbread that is made with dough that is pleated with ghee!
Growing up, Malabar Parottas were a treat that we bought from the restaurant when we were craving something indulgent. Parotta or Barotta as my family calls it is a flaky buttery flatbread that originates from the Malabar region in Kerala.
Over the years as my food obsession has grown, it has been amazing to see dishes similar to the parotta like scallion pancakes or buss up shut which is the Trinidadian version that refers to how the flaky layers look like a busted up shirt.
I’ve seen countless recipes for the parotta, some which call for a highly enriched dough with lots of eggs and butter and others that call for semolina to add crunch. In my recipe, I tried to keep the ingredients simple and just use flour, water, salt and ghee.
Parotta Folding Technique
Experienced street vendors use a sling back and slap method to make the dough thinner on every slap. Not having mastered this graceful maneuver myself, I opt to tug and stretch out each corner of the dough which works just as well. It's important to get the dough as thin as possible which yields more flaky layers.
I brush a flour ghee mixture across the papery thin dough. The ghee provides laminated layers much like a croissant and the flour helps keep the layers distinct and separate once cooked.
Next, I pleat the dough from one end to the other so it looks like an accordion. I like to pretend that because I've mastered pleating a parotta, the next time I wear a sari I would magically know how to pleat it on my own. I coil the pleats up into little spirals, roll them out to the size of my hand, and griddle them until there are dark brown speckles all over.
My second favorite part of making the dish is scrunching and squishing the parottas to release their flaky layers that I worked so hard to create. Of course, my favorite part is the satisfaction of ripping it all apart and dunking it into some piping hot korma.
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Buttery Flaky Malabar Parotta
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 parottas 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Parotta is a buttery flaky South Indian flatbread that is made with dough that is pleated with ghee!
Ingredients
- 3 cups - All purpose flour (415g), plus 1 Tbs for filling
- 2 tsps - Kosher Salt (285g)
- 1 ¼ cup - Hot water
- 6 Tbsp - Ghee or vegetable oil, melted, plus more to brush on top
- Vegetable oil to prevent sticking
Special Equipment
- Rolling pin
Instructions
Make Dough
- Mix the all purpose flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Now add warm water (100F) to the flour mixture and mix until the flour is hydrated and a dough ball is formed.
- Add 1 Tbs of ghee to the dough and knead for an additional 5-7 minutes until the ghee is incorporated with the dough. At this stage, the dough will be slightly bumpy on the surface and tough from all the kneading. Rub the surface of the dough with an additional 1 tablespoon of ghee.
- Cover the bowl loosely with a damp towel and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. This will allow the gluten to relax, make the dough easier to work with, and yield a softer parotta.
Make ghee/flour paste
- While waiting for dough to rest, make a ghee/flour paste from 4 Tbs melted ghee and 1 Tbs flour.
Fold Parottas
- Divide dough into 8 equal pieces roughly (85 g) and form dough balls.
- Pour and rub vegetable oil across a large, clean working surface to help stretch the parotta and prevent sticking. Place one dough ball onto the oiled surface and roll into a thin rectangle as thin as you can get it with a rolling pin.
- Next, use your hands to slowly stretch and pull each corner of the parotta even thinner and then press the corner firmly into working surface as to not allow it to shrink back. You want the parotta to be so thin that you can see your fingers through the parotta dough (maximum thickness ⅛"). The thinner you can stretch out the dough, the more flaky layers you will get. Don't worry about small little holes that may form when stretching the dough. If the dough resists too much, it means that it needs more time to relax before ready to work with.
- Use a brush to spread ~1 teaspoon of the melted ghee/ flour mixture across the thin dough. If the ghee was sitting for a long time in a cold temperature, it may need to be reheated until it is back in its liquid form.
- Create small pleats starting from one end of the rectangle, holding each pleat until you get to the opposite side.
- Once pleated, hold the two ends of the dough which should now be a long pleated rope. Gently swing the rope up and down to elongate and stretch the dough a little bit more.
- Starting from one end of the rope, start coiling the dough into a tight spiral, tucking the end of the rope to the underside spiral.
- Repeat steps with the remaining 7 dough balls and let spirals rest for another 15 minutes.
Griddle Parottas
- Using a rolling pin, flatten each of the spiraled dough balls into approximately 8" in diameter. If you plan on eating these at a later time, you can freeze them but make sure to separate each disc with parchment paper so they don't stick.
- Grease a skillet with oil or additional ghee on medium heat. Add rolled out parotta to the skillet and allow it cook for approximately 4 minutes on each side or until it turns a golden brown .
- Once the parotta is cooked, place it in the center of the towel and squish and scrunch the sides of the towel to release the layers in the parotta. Repeat steps 1-3 with the remaining dough balls.
- If you wish, brush additional ghee to the parotta to make it extra decadent and enjoy with your favorite korma or side dish.
Notes
- You may be tempted to add more and more flour when making the dough but resist the urge to. Instead, if the dough is too sticky, coat the surface of the dough with additional ghee or vegetable oil.
- Make sure to keep each your parotta dough that is not being covered loosely with a towel when not worked with.
- If you plan to serve these parottas at a party or meal prep them, I recommend par cooking them for 3 minutes on each side, popping them in the fridge, and then griddling them the rest of the way (1 minute on each side) when needed.
- Prep Time: 90
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Bread
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
Keywords: malabar parotta, flaky flatbread
Mark says
Thanks for your blog, nice to read. Do not stop.