Paneer paratha

In India, home cooks will use durum wheat flour, but I’ve found that here in America, a half-and-half mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat flours works very well. Knead the dough well to get good gluten development; you can achieve this in a food processor or stand mixer, but make sure the dough gets soft and pliable. A trick to making a perfectly round circle when making flatbreads like parathas is to rotate the dough by about 25 to 30 degrees in a clockwise direction after each time it gets rolled out. Use as little flour as possible while rolling and brush or dust the excess off.

The dough 1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 1½ cups whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon fine sea salt 3 tablespoons plus ½ cup canola oil or ghee

The filling 2 cups shredded paneer ½ cup minced red onion 1 serrano pepper, minced 1 teaspoon fine sea salt ½ teaspoon ground cumin ½ teaspoon ground coriander

Make the dough: Sift the flours and salt together in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the 3 tablespoons of oil in the well and mix by hand to combine. Add ¾ cup of water, mix well and knead to form a soft dough. Measure ¼ cup of water and set aside. Continue to knead the dough for 12 minutes, adding two tablespoons of water at a time while kneading. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Make the filling: While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together with a fork and keep aside until ready to use.

Unwrap the rested dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes and divide into 6 equal parts and shape each into a ball. Using a rolling pin, roll out one ball of dough to form a 6-inch circle. Brush the surface of the dough with a teaspoon of oil. Place 2 to 3 generous tablespoons of the paneer filling in the center and then bring the edges of the circle together and pinch to seal; gently shape the dough to form a ball. Roll out the ball into a 6-inch flat circle that is about ¼-inch thick. Flip the dough between the palms of your hands to get rid of any excess flour, set aside on a clean kitchen towel and prepare the remaining balls of dough to form the parathas.

To finish: Heat a tablespoon of oil in a medium-size skillet on medium-high heat. Fry each paratha for about 1½ to 2 minutes on each side, brushing each side with a little ghee or oil. The bread will start to blister a little and turn golden brown once completely cooked. Cook the remaining parathas similarly and serve hot with plain yogurt and a salad.

Photos by Nik Sharma Above: A paneer paratha cooks. Left, from top: Make the dough and divide into 6 parts; roll out each one and add filling, pinching it closed. Roll out each one before cooking.