Aloo Paratha is a dish wish a universal appeal! While north Indians like to have it any time of the day, for breakfast, lunch or dinner, South Indians too have borrowed this dish from the north and incorporated it into their supper and dinner menus.

Click here to view Aloo Paratha recipe. Punjabi aloo paratha is a dish wish a universal appeal! While North Indians like to have it any time of the day, for breakfast, Indian lunch or dinner, South Indians too have borrowed this dish from the north and incorporated it into their supper and dinner menus. stuffed aloo paratha is also a very famous Indian street food which is mostly available in the morning.  

What makes these whole wheat Punjabi aloo paratha so appealing is the soft and tasty filling of potatoes flavoured with peppy spice powders and crunchy onions. Green chillies spike up the flavour of the aloo ka paratha stuffing, while amchur gives it an enjoyable tinge of tanginess. 

To make aloo paratha, first knead a semi-stiff dough. For stuffing, heat ghee in a pan add cumin seeds, add onions and green chillies which can be adjusted according to the preference, add mashed potatoes followed by red chillie powder, coriander for freshness and amchur powder for tanginess. Mix well and stuffing of aloo ka paratha is ready. 

To proceed, divide dough, roll into a small roti. Roll a portion of the Punjabi aloo paratha stuffing into a ball, place it in the centre of the rolled dough and pull all the sides together and get rid of excessive dough. Flatten it and roll into a paratha. Place it on a greased tava and cook the stuffed aloo paratha.

Aloo parathas taste best when served hot with pickles/achaar and curd, but they may also be carried in a dabba.

Punjabis love their aloo parathas smeared with homemade safed makhan and with a tall glass of lassi.

Is Aloo Paratha healthy?

Aloo Paratha is made up of three main ingredients whole wheat flour, ghee and potatoes. There are many health benefits of whole wheat flour.  The main issue with the recipe is Aloo. 

What's good in this Aloo paratha recipes!

 Whole Wheat flour : 2.25 cups of whole wheat flour is used. Whole wheat flour is excellent for diabetics as they will not shoot up your blood sugar levels as they are a low GI food.  Whole wheat flour is rich in Phosphorus which is a major mineral which works closely with calcium to build our bones. Vitamin B9 helps your body to produce and maintain new cells, especially increase red blood cells. See detailed 11 benefits of whole wheat flour and why it's good for you.What are thoughts are for this Whole wheat aloo paratha recipe!

 Ghee : Other than calories and fats, the only nutrients that ghee is rich in are the vitamins – all of which are fat-soluble. All the 3 vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin E and Vitamin K) are antioxidants which have a role in removing free radicals from the body and protecting our cell as well as help in maintaining skin health and glow. Ghee is an excellent, high-quality selection medium of cooking because of its high smoke point. As compared to most oils and butter, ghee can handle a smoke point of 230°C, 450°F, thus its less prone to oxidant and destruction of nutrients. Yes, ghee does contain cholesterol, but some amount of cholesterol is needed by the body. Cholesterol has some functions to play too. It is necessary for hormone production, brain function, cell health and lubricating the joints. It is, in reality, a high quality fat for the body and brain. Ghee is loaded with fats but that’s medium chain fatty acids (MCT) which aid in weight loss. Ghee is healthy for daibetics in small amounts and you need to check your fat intake at the same time. Learn to easily make your ghee at home which is free of preservatives. See benefits of ghee. 

1. Aloo is high in starch and will lead to an increase in the blood glucose levels. Too much blood glucose gets converted to fats. Hence Aloo is not good for Diabetics, heart patients and obese individuals. 

2. If you want to gain weight then Aloo Parathas are perfect to be had in breakfast. As the fat burnng will happen faster at the beginning of the day. 

3. A good source of phosphorus which is one of the important minerals to maintain and support bone health. 

Aloo parathas are not good for weight loss, diabetics and weight watchers.

What is the healthy option for aloo paratha?

Instead of having a paratha with potato filling opt for using  bajra roti, jowar roti and whole wheat roti to make a healthy Indian bread. Note that when you combine any cereal with dal then the protein quality is enhanced.

Jowar Roti

8 Pointers to get healthy on a Indian diet

1. Eat healthy and say yes to good home cooked food. Prefer whole grains like oatmeal, quinoa, buckwheat, barley and healthy flours like bajra flour, jowar flour, quinoa flour, wheat flour etc. rather than refined ones like maida. Have healthy Indian fats like ghee, coconut, coconut oil in your diet.

2. Opt out of junk food, packaged food, deep fried foods. Prefer steamed snacks and other non-fried snacks. Check out some Healthy Indian Snacks. Remember to eat small frequent meals through the day as that will keep you always full and prevent your blood sugar from dropping. By starving your body through some diet, will not help you one bit. In fact, dieting will make you binge on 2 to 3 meals which is not good. 

3. Have 4 to 5 servings of vegetables and 2 to 3 servings of fruit is a must. Follow the logic of a vegetable in each main meal of the day and a fruit in-between meals. Check out a few Healthy Indian Soups and Healthy Indian Salads  recipes using this food group.           

4. Cut down on sugar and salt in your diet and pick honey ( very small amounts) or dates to sweeten your food. Slowly cut the sugar habit as this is not going to happen over night. Sugar  is also called white poison. It is a simple carbohydrate with zero nutritional value. On intake, sugar will cause inflammation of the body which will last for many hours. It will spike your blood sugar level and shut down the fat burning process. This also causes high blood sugar levels in your body. The development of prediabetes comes from uncontrolled eating sugar and refined food products for many years and the classic symptom is if you have excess belly fat. This leads to diabetes and further onwards to heart attack, high blood pressure, strokes, impotence and kidney damage. 

Salt and blood pressure. Apart from stress and obesity, one of the main reasons for high blood pressure is excessive sodium and salt intake. Most people find it difficult to limit the amount of salt in their cooking, thinking it will affect the taste of their favourite dishes. 

This is not true. Bajra and jowar are rich in potassium and critical for those with High Blood Pressure as it lessens the impact of sodium. Eating more Potassium Rich Foods will remove more sodium from your body through urine. So include the basic bajra roti and jowar roti in your daily diet to have with Lower Blood Pressure Subzis Recipes. 

5. Befriend a few healthy seeds and nuts like chia seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts and almonds. 

6.  Sprouts are called ‘living food’. They are high is most nutrients and easy to digest as well. Let them feature in your meals at least thrice a week. Also Read : All Benefits about Sprouts. 

7.  Exercise 45 minutes every day. No excuse. You can walk fast, run, do weights, play your favourite sport or go to the gym.

8.  Sleep early and get up early. Get your body into rhythm and it will function best. Sleep helps your body to recover.

How to burn 177 calories that come from Aloo Paratha?

Walking (6 kmph) = 53 mins

Running (11 kmph) = 18 mins

Cycling (30 kmph) = 24 mins       

Swimming (2 kmph) = 30 mins

Note: These values are approximate and calorie burning differs in each individual.