Paratha & Parotta

Pyaaz Paratha: an illustration of onion on naan.

Pyaaz Paratha

The pyaaz paratha folds raw onion, the hardest filling a North Indian cook can use, into wheat and griddles its bite down sweet: the cheap morning bread of the Punjab kitchen and the dhaba.

Paneer Paratha: an illustration of the sandwich.

Paneer Paratha

A whole-wheat pocket sealed around spiced crumbled paneer and griddled on a tawa. The stuffed wheat bread the Manasollasa set down around 1130 CE, filled with cheese instead of jaggery.

Keema Paratha: an illustration of mutton, onion, ginger and garlic on naan.

Keema Paratha

A North Indian paratha sealed around dry, spiced minced mutton and griddled in ghee on a tawa. Keema's Mughal lineage is documented; the bread itself appears in a 12th-century Sanskrit text.

Gobi Paratha: an illustration of onion, cilantro, garlic and pepper on naan.

Gobi Paratha

A Punjabi stuffed flatbread built around raw cauliflower grated fine and sealed inside unleavened whole-wheat dough, then griddled on a tava with ghee until the surface blisters brown.

Egg Paratha: an illustration of egg on naan.

Egg Paratha

Beaten egg poured into a split, half-cooked paratha on a live tawa and welded into its leaves: the North Indian late-night dhaba egg paratha, a flatbread with an omelette cooked into its core.

Aloo Paratha: an illustration of potato, pepper, cilantro, cumin and more on naan.

Aloo Paratha

Aloo paratha is the workhorse of the Punjabi breakfast and the paratha most people mean: a whole-wheat shell sealed around spiced mashed potato, griddled dry, served with butter, curd, and pickle.