Zucchini and Paneer Parathas are super easy to make, and a delicious way to add protein and nutrition to your parathas. These are toddler friendly and a great wholesome lunch or dinner option with a side of some yogurt.
The zucchini and paneer render these parathas to be super soft. They pair amazingly with Indian curries and masala chai. Eat them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I bet you will always have them on the menu.
What are Parathas?
Parathas are unleavened flatbreads mainly prepared in mainly in India and Pakistan. These flatbreads are cooked on the tawa with ghee or cooking oil. They are made with whole wheat flour (chakki atta) usually.
Parathas are super versatile, and you can sneak in all the vegetables you like along with some spices. This recipe shows you how to make zucchini and paneer parathas.
These parathas are super simple to make and very delicious.
Can you Make this Recipe Vegan?
Absolutely. You can use extra firm tofu and crumble it finely, instead of using paneer for this recipe. Make sure you start kneading the dough with splashes of water, as both zucchini and tofu have higher water content.
How to Make Zuchhini and Paneer Parathas?
Since paneer and zucchini both have no flavor of their own. I like to finely shred them, and minced ginger, garlic, and green chili along with some salt. The OG trio of garlic, ginger, and green chilies helps add depth of flavor, and salt helps to release the water. This step will not only make sure to add the aromatic flavors in the paneer and zucchini but also make sure your dough is soft and right consistency.
Next, we add the whole wheat flour to a large mixing bowl. We will then mix, oil, salt, spices, zucchini, and paneer. Start kneading the dough with just a little water.
Roll the parathas and cook them on the tawa.
Video Recipe for Zucchini and Paneer Parathas
More Indian FlatBreads From the Blog
Zucchini and Paneer Parathas
These nutrional values are automatically generated. Use them for estimation only.
Ingredients
- 1 Large Zucchini Finely Shredded Zucchini 1 cup
- 1 Cup Paneer Finely Shredded
- ½ Tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Ginger Garlic and Green Chili Minced
- 3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 Tbsp Oil We will use it in two parts
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1.5 Tsp Garam Masala
- 1 Tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1.5 Tsp Coriander Powder
- ½ Tsp Turmeric Powder
- ½ Cup Spinach Finely Chopped
- ½ Cup Water Use little water at a time to knead the dough
Instructions
Prepare the Paratha Dough
- Start with finely shredding the zucchini and paneer in a mixing bowl. Add minced ginger, garlic and green chilies along with salt. Mix it well. Keep it aside.
- Now add 3 Cups of whole wheat flour to a large mixing bowl.
- To the flour add 1.5 tablespoon of oil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well.
- Now add all the ground spices, red chili powder, garam masala, coriander powder, and turmeric.
- Next add in the prepared zucchini and paneer mix. Mix it all well.
- Now add in finely chopped spinach. Mix again.
- Add small splashes of water and start kneading the dough.
- Use your fingers to knead the dough, this way the dough is well hydrated, and stays soft, to make delicious soft parathas.
- Once the dough is kneaded, cover with a teaspoon of oil.
- Cover and rest the dough for 10-15 minutes.
Roll the Parathas
- Make equal sized dough balls from the Dough.
- press the dough ball between the palms of your hand
- .Now use some whole wheat flour or rice flour for dusting. Generously press either sides of these dough ball in the flour
- Place it on your rolling board and gently press it down using your fingers.
- Now with the help of a rolling pin start rolling the dough ball from the centre coming out towards the edges.Your parathas should roll in circular motion on its own, as you roll your rolling pin symmetry
- If it stops rolling dust the parathas on either side with some more flour.I like to roll my parathas, about an ¼th of inch thick and bigger than Gujarati Rotli.
Cook the Parathas
- I think the most easiest step is to cook parathas, all it needs is patience. I use a non-stick, hard anodized pan to cook the parathas.
- You want to cook them on Medium Flame on either side.Start cooking them on one side, once you see small air pockets, blowing up, flip it on the other side.
- Generously lather the oil on the top and with the help of your spatula, press it down gently to make sure it is cooked evenly on all the sides
- Now flip and again add oil generously. Again press it down evenly using your spatula.Now flip it and start stacking your parathas. If your pan becomes too hot, turn the heat down to low flame.
Notes
- Use the water to knead the dough carefully. Zucchini has a lot of water content, so mostly the water released from zucchini will help bind the dough together.
- You can substitute zucchini with bottle-gourd, carrots, cabbage, etc. You can use any veggies of your choice.
- To make it Vegan, substitute paneer with firm tofu. Finely crumble it and add it to the zucchini and follow the same steps.
- Storage - Store the parathas in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Heat them up in the microwave for 30 secs, 2 parathas stacked, so the parathas will stay soft. To freeze the parathas, I let the parathas cool completely. Line them on a baking sheet. Freeze them for 2 hours. Then transfer the parathas in sets of 10 in ziplock bags.
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