Mughlai Paratha is a Bengali dish that is believed to originate during the rain of Jahangir 1569-1627 and the Mughal Empire. His cook Adil Hafiz Usman was from Bengal. Apparently, the monarch was tired of similar dishes being served to him day after day. He ordered his cook to develop a new dish in 10 days. On the 9th day, Usman presented Jahangir with a filled roti, later to become known as Mughlai Paratha. The Monarch was delighted and presented Usman with 1001 gold coins. This dish, however, may have earlier roots. In 1201 the Bengal region was invaded by the Turkish General, Khalji. During his rule Gözleme was introduced. Gözleme is a stuffed flatbread from Turkey, and many call this the precursor to Mughlai Paratha. Mughlai Paratha has traveled throughout Bengal and is a common street snack in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
For the recipe below here are a few tips:
- Roll out the dough at least 1/8 inch thick. Since you are overlapping the dough, if it is 1/4 inchich you will have at least 3 layers overlapping, which yields almost an inch of dough. So roll out the dough as thin as you can. But remember not too thin, you want it all to hold together when cooking.
- Use a medium low to low heat for this. Cook it slowly. Othere recipe will cook the filling first then fry the dough, others will deep fry the Paratha. You could cook this in the oven by regular heat or convection as well. but you want that internal temperature to be high enough to cook the egg and you don’t want raw dough in the middle of the Paratha.
- Cover the Paratha as you cook it. The internal temperature needs to be at least 165 degrees F due to the egg. Covering holds in the heat and reduces the chance of burning. But watch it closely.
- The stock picture doesn’t look like mine (see below), and I think it is because the dough wasn’t rolled out thin enough. Still it tastes very good, a great breakfast!
Mughlai Paratha
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
- ½ tsp Sea salt
- ⅛ tsp Baking soda
- 4 tsp Ghee (or melted unsalted butter)
- ¼ cup Cold water
Filling
- 1 whole large egg
- 1 Egg yolk
- ⅓ cup finely diced sweet onion
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ½ medium carrott finely grated
- 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 Jalapeno (or thai chili) finely chopped*
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- ¼ tsp Graham masala
- ¼ tsp Cumin ground
Assembly and cooking
- Ghee, EVOO or unsalted butter
Instructions
Dough
- Combine the flour, salt and baking powder and mix well.
- Using a spoon, Danish dough whisk or your hands (or all 3) pour in the ghee and mix. Then add the water. You want a nice round dough ball that incorporates all the ingredients.
- Once the dough ball comes together, pour a small amount of melted ghee (EVOO or unsalted butter) into a bowl and over the dough ball. Don't drown it, just enough to cover the bowl and dough ball. Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes to let the dough relax.
Filling
- Place the egg and egg yolk in a small bowl and whisk well.
- In a bowl, large enough to fit all the ingredients, place the onion, garlic, carrott and mix well. Add the cilantro, jalapeno, turmeric, salt, pepper, graham masala and cumin and mix well.
- Add the egg mixture and mix the filling well.
Assembly and cooking
- When the dough has set, roll it out into a large enough rectangle (or square) that the dough is about ⅙ inch thick. You will be cutting this into pieces for 1-4 servings once cooked.
- Place the filling carefully, it will be runny, in the center of the dough rectangle. Leave about 2 inches around the edges.**
- Fold over the right side to the middle of the filling. Then fold the left side overlapping the right. Pain with a brush and water and pinch the edges closed.
- Fold the bottom up and then the top down, agai overlapping. Paint with eht wet bruch and pinch the edges. Try to seal as well as you can.
- Place ~ 4 tbps of Ghee (EVOO or unsalted butter) in a fry pan over medium low to low heat. When hot, place the paratha in the pan and cover.
- When one side if golden brown, flip to cook the second side. When both sides are cooked and the internal temperature is at or above 165 degrees F. Remove from the pan and place on a cutting board.
- Cut the Paratha into as many servings as you wish.
- Serve hot to warm. Serve with yogurt and jalapenos on the side.
