Chandigarh Breakfast | Mattar Paneer Paratha

Chandigarh Breakfast | Mattar Paneer Paratha is a delicious paratha that is stuffed with soft cottage cheese and fresh green peas.

The alphabet C brings us to Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. There is nothing specific as far as the Chandigarh cuisine is concerned. It is mainly the Punjabi food that forms part of the cuisine of Chandigarh. Parathas top the breakfast list when we talk of Punjabi Cuisine. No one can beat the Punjabi Aloo Parathas, Mattar Parathas that they make.

Badlu ke Parathe of Chandigarh is a roadside stall that is popular for its parathas. He has about eight varieties of parathas. Aloo Pyaz ka Paratha, Mix Paratha, Paneer Paratha are the most popular. This Matar Paneer Paratha is an inspiration from Badlu ke Parathe. He serves the paratha with a school pack of Amul butter, Tomato Chutney, Curd and tea.

I have always loved these street style parathas. These Matar Paneer Parathas have a nice crisp texture at the top and the stuffing is very creamy and soft. Herbs like coriander and mint lend a wonderful aroma, onion adds a crunch, while green chilly, anardana and coriander seeds take the paratha to a different level. A dollop of butter is all you need to add that extra oomph. I have served it with spicy tomato chutney, but you can enjoy it with a bowl of curd or a cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients for Mattar Paneer Paratha

Wheat Flour: I have used whole wheat flour to make the parathas, but you can also use multigrain flour.

Green Peas: Fresh Green Peas are best but you can use frozen peas too. I normally store fresh peas in the freezer, that taste just like fresh. Boil and mash them.

Paneer: Homemade paneer tastes best, it is soft and creamy. The store-bought paneer works fine too. Grate or crumble the paneer.

Herbs: I use coriander and mint leaves. Mint adds to the flavour of the paratha.

Spices: I use gram masala, red chilly powder, whole coriander seeds, salt and anardana. Anardana is the dried seeds of a pomegranate. They are tough and sticky, so I coarsely grind them. They give a mild tanginess to the Paratha.

Onion & Green Chilly: Onion gives a wonderful crunch, while green chillies add a slight zing to the parathas.

Ghee: Ideally ghee tastes best, however it can be substituted with any cooking oil.

How to make Chandigarh Breakfast | Mattar Paneer Paratha ?

Firstly we shall knead a pliable dough, make sure to add some salt. Cover it and keep it aside.

Next, we will prepare the stuffing.

For stuffing we will mix boiled mashed peas, grated or crumbled paneer, coriander leaves, mint leaves, chopped green chillies, onions. Also mix in some red chilly powder, garam masala, whole coriander seeds and coarsely ground Anardana. You can skip the red chilly if you want a beautiful green colour of the paratha. Mix everything very well and divide the mix into 4 parts.

Now let’s roll the parathas.

Divide the dough into four parts and make balls. Dust the surface with flour and roll the ball into a disc about 5”. Now apply some ghee or oil to the disc. Sprinkle some dry flour and place the stuffing ball. Now sprinkle some more flour on top and bring together the edges to seal the paratha. Flatten the ball and again using dry flour roll the paratha. Be gentle while rolling. Roll all parathas in the same manner.

Let’s cook the Mattar Paneer Parathas

Heat a griddle on medium flame. Place the paratha one by one on the hot griddle and cook each side for 1/2 a minute. Apply ½ tsp ghee on both sides and cook, turning sides, till both sides are evenly golden. Similarly, cook the rest of the parathas.

Serving Suggestions

• Mattar Paneer Paratha is best served with fresh curd.
• A cup of tea and Matar Paneer Paratha make a perfect pair.
• Serve with Tomato Chutney.
• A dollop of butter will enhance the Paratha flavour.

Tips to make a Good Paratha

• Use wheat flour to make parathas, parathas made with maida tend to get chewy after a while.
• Knead a soft pliable dough. Cover and let it rest for at least 10-15 minutes.
• While roasting the paratha do not roast on slow flame, it will make the paratha hard.
• Apply ghee only after the paratha is slightly roasted, do not apply ghee at the beginning.

What are the Street Foods of Chandigarh

Chatpate Chole
Tikki Chole
Paneer Tikka
Kulcha

A -Z Breakfast on Indian Streets

January

Amritsar Breakfast | Chola Poori

Bhavnagar Breakfast | Chana Moth

Print Pin

5 from 4 votes

Mattar Paneer Paratha

Chandigarh Breakfast Mattar Paneer Paratha is a delicious paratha stuffed with soft cottage cheese and fresh green peas.

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine Indian Cuisine, Punjabi Cuisine

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Vaishali Sabnani

Equipment

• Griddle / Tava
• Mixing Bowls

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 cup Wheat Flour
• Salt to taste

Stuffing

• 2 cup Green Peas boiled
• 2 cup Paneer grated
• 2 Green Chillies chopped
• 1 Onion finely chopped
• 2 tbs Coriander Leaves chopped
• 1 tbsp Mint Leaves roughly torn
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
• 1/2 tsp Red Chilly Powder
• 1/2 tsp Anardana coarsely ground
• Salt to taste

Tomato Chutney

• 1 Tomato
• 2 Green Chillies
• 2 tbsp Mint Leaves
• Salt to taste
• Lemon Juice to taste

Instructions

Dough

• Combine together the wheat flour, salt and a tablespoon of oil. Add water as required and knead into a dough. The dough should be soft and pliable. Cover with a wet muslin cloth and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Stuffing

• Grate the paneer and add it to a large bowl with boiled peas, chopped onions, coriander leaves, mint leaves green chillies, garam masala, red chilly powder , anardana powder, salt and mix well.
• Now, divide the dough and stuffing into four equal parts. Make balls from all of them .
• Dust the surface using a little flour and roll each dough ball into a disc shape. Then, place a stuffing ball in the centre and bring the edges together to seal . Flatten it lightly , dust again with flour and roll gently into a big disc.
• Heat a griddle over medium flame. Once the griddle is hot enough, place the parathas, one by one, on the hot tawa and cook for ½ minute. Flip, apply ½ tsp ghee and flip again. Apply ½ tsp ghee on this side too and cook, turning sides, till both sides are evenly golden. Similarly cook the rest if parathas .
• Serve hot with a dollop of butter .

Tomato Chutney

• Add all ingredients to a blender .
• Blend to make a runny Chutney.