Palak paneer paratha is a whole wheat flatbread stuffed with a spiced spinach and paneer (Indian cottage cheese) filling. Made from wholesome ingredients, this protein-rich recipe is perfect for breakfast or a quick dinner and even lunchbox.
Here is a step by step recipe for how to prepare palak paneer paratha recipe from scratch.
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Palak Paneer Paratha is one of my go-to recipes for my kid's lunchbox as it a complete healthy meal in itself.
I made it almost every alternate day during my kid's toddler phase as she loved it so much.
Initially, I made it just by stuffing spinach in the atta (whole wheat flour) to just give a boost of nutrition to the otherwise plain roti.
With time, I added some cheese then some paneer and now it's a family favorite and we love to eat it for breakfast or even for dinner!
This Palak Paratha is
- quick and easy
- wholesome and nutritious
- kid-friendly
- Taste delicious hot or at room temperature.
- Great for breakfast, lunchbox, and even dinner
Palak Paneer is a famous North Indian gravy dish made with spinach and Indian cottage cheese (paneer) and served with Indian flatbread like Chapati, Roti, paratha, naan, or even rice.
This palak paneer paratha is a my flatbread version of this gravy dish.
Spinach is a healthy leafy green vegetable linked to numerous health benefits. It has high insoluble fiber which helps digestion and is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals (iron, calcium, folic acid).
Paneer, on the other hand, is a great source of protein for vegetarians and also rich in fat, iron, calcium, and magnesium.
So palak and paneer together make a pretty nutritious and healthy combo!!
There are many variations of this paratha. For this post, I'm sharing the easier and quicker version, stuffed palak paneer paratha.
This paratha has the outer covering made from whole wheat flour filled with a mixture of spinach, cottage cheese (paneer), cheese flavored with Indian spices.
It is rolled in a circle and then cooked on a griddle with ghee until golden and crispy.
It makes an excellent healthy breakfast/dinner option and can be served with some raita and pickle Or green chutney
Recipe Ingredients
For the dough - wheat Flour (atta), water, salt and oil.
For the Filling -
- Spinach leaves: I prefer to add raw chopped baby spinach to this recipe.
- Paneer: Also known as India cottage cheese. Use homemade or store-bought.
- Shredded cheese: This is optional, but I like to add it. Use shredded kind. Mozzarella or a Mexican cheese blends, pepper-jack are some favorites.
- Spices: amchur (dry mango) powder, cumin seeds, red chili powder, garam masala, chaat masala, black pepper and salt.
- Others: red onion, cilantro, and green chilies.
Step by Step Instructions
To make the atta dough
In a bowl add the whole wheat flour (atta), salt and 1 tablespoon oil (optional). Give it a quick mix.
Slowly add little water at a time and keep kneading to make a soft smooth dough.
Drizzle the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and give it a final knead and cover and let it rest covered on the counter top for 15-30 mins.
To stuff the paratha
1 & 2 - In a mixing bowl add the ingredients for the filling like chopped spinach, cheese, paneer, red onions, cilantro, green chillies (optional) and spices. Give it a good mix and keep aside.
3 & 4 - Divide the rested dough into 4-5 parts. Take one portion of the dough and roll it into a 4" diameter circle using a rolling pin and some dry wheat flour.
5 - Apply some ghee at the center of this circle and place 3-4 tablespoon of the stuffing on it.
6 - Bring all the ends together and pinch to seal tightly.
7 - If there is some additional dough at the peak after sealing, remove it and flatten the stuffed dough ball.
8 - Dip the stuffed dough ball into the wheat flour
9 - Keeping the joined ends part facing upwards roll it into 6" diameter circle. Use wheat flour to roll as required.
To Roast the paratha
10 - Heat a flat griddle (tava) on medium heat, once hot put this rolled paratha on it.
Cook for about a minute or until you see some bubbles on the surface flip it and cook the other side.
11 & 12 - While the other side is cooking, apply some ghee (or butter or olive oil) on the side facing up.
Again flip and cook the side with ghee till its well done and golden in color. Repeat the process for other side too.
Once both sides are well cooked remove from griddle. Apply some generous smear of ghee. Repeat the entire process to make remaining parathas.
That's it, our Palak Paneer Paratha is ready. You can either make a stack of these or serve them as you make.
Serving
This palak paratha can be served with some curd or raita and pickle Or green chutney. I even like it with some hot and sweet tomato sauce!!
To make it a Punjabi style meal top it off with glass of Sweet Lassi. Yumm!!
These parathas taste best when served hot and crispy but they are equally delicious when at room temperature making them perfect for lunch boxes.
Variations
- Stuffed Palak paratha - Just make the filling with spinach along with spices. Great vegan option.
- Palak paratha stuffed with paneer - puree the spinach and knead the dough with it like shared in the green roti. Another option is to add finely chopped spinach to the flour and knead it. Make the paneer filling and stuff the green dough and roll.
- Aloo palak paratha - make the filling with spinach, boiled potatoes, and spices.
Recipe Tips and Notes
For the filling
- I prefer to chop the spinach (even when using baby spinach) since it makes easier to roll the paratha and adding it raw preserves its nutritional value by directly cooking it while roasting the paratha.
- Spinach tends to shrink or condense when cooked so add a sufficient quantity of filling. It may look a lot, to begin with but will adjust when cooked.
- Add salt to the filling just when you want to make the parathas otherwise, it will release water and make the filling soggy.
- The filling can be made ahead of time by a day or two and kept refrigerated in an airtight container. To make it ahead, add all ingredients except onions and salt and add them just before making parathas.
- Leftover filling can be stored for up to a day but should be used as soon as possible as the onions will start to stink and the filling will turn soggy.
Parathas
- Cooked paratha can be stored for a day or two.
- Cool them completely and separate each paratha with parchment paper and place in a ziplock bag or container and in the refrigerator covered. You can also freeze them this way.
- To serve, warm them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds or as required. For crispier paratha, roast them on the griddle until heated through.
- To pack these paratha's for the lunchbox, allow them to cool before packing. Packing while they are hot will cause condensation and make them soggy.
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer using whole wheat flour to make my parathas as it adds a nice nutty taste thanks to the whole grains. I use the Aashirvaad Whole Wheat Flour (Atta).
It's best to rest the dough before you roll out the parathas to help with gluten formation. This helps it to absorb the water and make the soft.
More Indian Bread Recipes
Recipe Card
Palak Paneer Paratha Recipe
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 cup whole wheat flour Atta, some more for dusting while rolling
- ½ cup water or as needed to make a smooth soft dough
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 teaspoon oil
For the filling:
- 2 cups spinach leaves packed chopped, using baby spinach
- 1 cup grated paneer Indian cottage cheese, homemade or store-bought
- ¼ cup shredded cheese optional
- 1-2 green chillies finely chopped
- ¼ medium red onion finely chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon amchur powder adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds powder
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder or to taste
- ½ teaspoon garam masala or to taste
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ½ salt adjust to taste
- Some butter/ghee or olive oil as needed for roasting.
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Instructions
To make the dough
- In a bowl add the whole wheat flour (atta), salt, and 1 tablespoon oil (optional). Give it a quick mix.
- Slowly add little water at a time and keep kneading to make a soft smooth dough.
- Drizzle the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and give it a final knead and cover and let it rest covered on the counter top for 15-30 mins.
To make the filling
- In a mixing bowl add the ingredients for the filling like chopped spinach, cheese, paneer, red onions, cilantro, green chilies (optional), and spices. Give it a good mix and keep aside.
To make the palak paneer parathas
- Divide the rested dough into 4-5 parts. Take one portion of the dough and roll it into a 4" diameter circle using a rolling pin and some dry wheat flour.
- Apply some ghee at the center of this circle and place 3-4 tablespoon of the stuffing on it.
- Bring all the ends together and pinch to seal tightly. If there is some additional dough at the peak after sealing, remove it and flatten the stuffed dough ball.
- Dip the stuffed dough ball into the wheat flour and keeping the joined ends part facing upwards roll it into a 6" diameter circle. Use wheat flour to roll as required.
To roast the paratha
- Heat a flat griddle (tava) on medium heat, once hot put this rolled paratha on it. Cook for about a minute or until you see some bubbles on the surface flip it and cook the other side.
- While the other side is cooking, apply some ghee (or butter or olive oil) on the side facing up.
- Again flip and cook the side with ghee till it's well done and golden in color. Repeat the process for another side too.
- Once both sides are well-cooked remove from griddle. Apply some generous amount of ghee or butter.
- Repeat the entire process to make the remaining parathas.
- That's it, our Palak Paneer Paratha is ready. You can either make a stack of these or serve them as you make.
Notes
-
For the filling
- Spinach tends to shrink or condense when cooked so add a sufficient quantity of filling. It may look a lot, to begin with, but will adjust when cooked.
- Add salt to the filling just when you want to make the parathas otherwise, it will release water and make the filling soggy.
- The filling can be made ahead of time by a day or two and kept refrigerated in an airtight container.
- To make it ahead, add all ingredients except onions and salt and add them just before making parathas.
- Leftover filling can be stored for up to a day but should be used as soon as possible as the onions will start to stink and the filling will turn soggy.
- Cooked paratha can be stored for a day or two.
- Cool them completely and separate each paratha with parchment paper and place in a ziplock bag or container and in the refrigerator covered. You can also freeze them this way.
- To serve, warm them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds or as required. For crispier paratha, roast them on the griddle until heated through.
- To pack these paratha's for the lunchbox, allow them to cool before packing. Packing while they are hot will cause condensation and make them soggy.
Nandita Pai Shirali says
How interesting is this! When I read the title I was wondering if you made use of excess Palak Paneer side dish and converted into a paratha, which also sounds good... But this stuffing looks so novel! Love that last pic. I am definitely going to try this soon... 🙂
Pooja S says
nice clicks...
Lazy2cook
Julie says
wow..they puffed up so good,looks yummy n protein packed 🙂
anusha praveen says
Delicious parathas. Oh my! that filling is simply beautiful i m sure it must have tasted heavenly in this cold