Super flaky, soft, and flexible, these vegan plain parathas are the perfect vessels for Indian stews and curries! Incredibly easy to make and only calls for 4 simple ingredients. These parathas are freezable, too!
Parathas and rotis are huge staples in our household, especially on curry nights! This version of vegan parathas is incredibly flaky, pliable, and yum. There is no going back to the sad, frozen ones!
💚Why you will love this recipe
- Perfectly flaky and soft - You will be impressed by how good these plain parathas are! They taste way better and are fresher than store-bought ones.
- Easy to make - All you need is 4 simple ingredients to make this fantastic recipe. Rolling and cooking parathas might seem intimidating at first, but you can whip up perfect parathas in no time after a few tries.
- Super-versatile - Vegan parathas pair beautifully with any Indian curries, stews, or sauces. You can even use them as a wrap!
- Freezable - Batch make them during the weekends, so you will have homemade parathas ready to enjoy anytime. The ingredients can easily be multiplied by adjusting the serving above the list of ingredients in the recipe card.
🤔What is paratha
Paratha is a kind of flatbread that originated from India. Like rotis, they are made from atta flour (Indian whole-wheat flour), water, salt, and ghee. Some versions contain fillings like potato, cauliflower, or paneer.
Parathas come in different shapes, the most common being squares or triangles. The dough is usually rolled thinly, then folded several times to create flaky layers.
To make this flatbread vegan, we will be using melted vegan butter in place of ghee.
🌾What you will need
📃Ingredients notes and substitutions
- Atta flour - Also known as Indian whole wheat flour. They are lighter in color and finer in texture when compared to regular whole wheat flour.
- You can find them in most well-stocked groceries or Indian/Asian markets. I usually get my atta flour online.
- You can substitute it with white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour.
- Vegan butter - If you are not vegan, feel free to use ghee in place.
🔪How to make
Here is a quick rundown of the steps involved in making vegan parathas. As usual, the entire recipe will be in the recipe card below.
Making the dough
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir to mix. Gradually add in the water while stirring until a dough forms.
Knead the dough until it is elastic and pliable.
Let it rest for 15-20 minutes, covered with a damp tea cloth.
When the time is up, divide the dough into 9 equal portions. Roll them into balls.
Rolling the dough
Triangular shaped
Place a portion of dough on a flat surface dusted with flour, and roll it into a circle about 4-5 inches in diameter. Brush on vegan butter.
Fold it in half to form a semicircle. Brush on more oil and fold it in half again to form a triangle.
Coat the dough with some flour, and roll it out to a triangular paratha. You might have to turn it while rolling to maintain its triangular shape.
Square shaped
Similarly, start by placing a ball of dough on a flat surface dusted with flour, and roll it into a 4-5 inches circle. Brush on some vegan butter.
Fold the left ⅓ side to the center and the right ⅓ side to the center. Brush on more butter.
Now, fold the top ⅓ side to the center and the bottom ⅓ to the center to get a square.
Roll the dough out into a square paratha, rotating the dough 90 degrees after a few rolls to maintain the square.
Cooking paratha
Heat a heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan over medium-high heat for a few minutes.
Once the pan is heated, place in a paratha. Cook until the bottom appears dry, about 30 seconds. Flip it over and brush on some vegan butter.
Let the other side cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly browned. The dough should start puffing up at this point. Gently press it down using a spatula to ensure that the paratha cooks evenly.
Flip again, and brush on more butter. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, until dark brown spots appear on the bottom. Flip and cook until brown spots start appearing on the other side.
Repeat for the remaining dough. Serve and enjoy vegan parathas while fresh.
✔Helpful tips
- Paratha dough should be soft and pliable but not sticky. If your dough is too wet, add more flour, a teaspoon at a time. The reverse is also true, so add more water, a teaspoon at a time, if your dough appears dry.
- I highly recommend using a heavy-bottomed skillet, like a cast-iron skillet, to make plain parathas. If you use a thinner pan, you might have to slightly reduce the heat to prevent parathas from burning.
- Cook parathas on medium-high to high heat. Cooking them on low flames might cause them to dry out and turn chewy.
- Cover vegan parathas with a damp tea cloth to prevent them from drying out if you are not enjoying parathas immediately after cooking.
❄Storing suggestions
Fridge - Store leftover plain paratha in an airtight container. You can refrigerate them for 3-4 days.
Freezer - They freeze beautifully, too! Store them in freezer bags, and layer a piece of parchment paper in between each piece to prevent them from sticking. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Reheating - Sprinkle on some water, and reheat plain paratha on a heated skillet for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until paratha is thoroughly warmed.
🍚How to serve
- Indian curries and stews - These plain parathas are perfect for stews like this yellow lentil dahl, vegan Madras curry, or Chinese curry.
- Raita and chutney - Serve them with a side of Indian dipping sauce like raita, mango chutney, or green chutney.
- As a wrap - You can even fill it with TVP taco meat, beans, chunks of seitan chicken, fresh tomato salsa, chopped veggies, or any other filling you fancy to make burritos.
- On their own - These vegan parathas are so good that you can even have them on their own as a quick breakfast or snack! Optionally, you could spread on some more vegan butter.
❔Commonly asked questions
Plain parathas are usually made only with atta flour, water, ghee, and salt, without the addition of eggs.
As its name suggests, Egg parathas are filled with eggs, so do avoid that variety if eggs are not part of your diet!
Store-bought and restaurant-made parathas are often not vegan as ghee, or clarified butter is often added.
We will be substituting ghee with vegan butter in this version, making them vegan-friendly.
These plain parathas freeze well and can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Keep them in freezer bags, and layer a sheet of parchment paper between each paratha to prevent them from sticking together.
First of all, you might have cooked your parathas on low flames. They might start to dry out before brown spots appear on the surface. Keep this in mind and use a higher heat the next time making parathas.
Other than that, you might have left vegan parathas out in the open for too long. If you are planning to serve these Indian flatbreads later, cover them with a damp tea cloth or in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out.
🍽More vegan Asian recipes
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📖 Recipe
Easy Vegan Plain Parathas
Ingredients
- 2 cups atta flour *
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ - 1 cup water
- 2-3 tablespoons vegan butter melted ** (or ghee if not vegan)
Instructions
Making paratha dough
- In a large mixing bowl, combine together atta flour and salt. Mix well.2 cups atta flour, 1 teaspoon salt
- Gradually add in water while stirring until a dough forms. You might not need all the water. Knead the dough until soft and pliable, adding more water if the dough appears dry.¾ - 1 cup water
- Cover the dough with a damp cloth, and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
- Once the time is up, knead the dough again, adding water, a teaspoon at a time if dough has dried up. Divide it into 8 equal portions, then roll each of them into a ball.
Rolling paratha
Triangular shaped
- Place a portion of dough on a flat surface dusted with flour, and roll it into a circle about 4-5 inches in diameter.
- Brush on some vegan butter, then fold it in half to form a semicircle. Brush on more oil and fold it in half again to form a triangle.2-3 tablespoons vegan butter
- Coat the dough with some flour, and roll it out to a triangular paratha. You might have to turn it while rolling to maintain its triangular shape.
Square shaped
- Similarly, start by placing a ball of dough on a flat surface dusted with flour, and roll it into a 4-5 inches circle.
- Brush on some vegan butter. Fold the left ⅓ side to the center and the right ⅓ side to the center. Brush on more butter.
- Now, fold the top ⅓ side to the center and the bottom ⅓ to the center to get a square.
- Roll the dough out into a square paratha, rotating the dough 90 degrees after a few rolls to maintain the square.
Cooking paratha
- Heat a heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan over medium-high heat for a few minutes.
- Once the pan is heated, place in a paratha. Cook until the bottom appears dry, about 30 seconds. Flip it over and brush on some vegan butter.
- Let the other side cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly browned. The dough should start puffing up at this point. Gently press it down using a flat spatula to ensure that the paratha cooks evenly.
- Flip again, and brush on butter on the other side. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, until dark brown spots appear on the bottom. Flip and cook until brown spots start appearing on the other side, another 1-2 minutes.
- Repeat for the remaining parathas. Serve and enjoy while fresh.
Notes
- You can find them in most well-stocked groceries or Indian/Asian markets. I usually get my atta flour online.
- You can substitute it with white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour.
- If you are not vegan, feel free to use ghee in place to make these plain parathas.
- To melt butter, you can choose to microwave it for 15-30 seconds, or you can heat it up on low flames in a saucepan.
- Paratha dough should be soft and pliable but not sticky. If your dough is too wet, add more flour, a teaspoon at a time. The reverse is also true, so add more water, a teaspoon at a time, if your dough appears dry.
- I highly recommend using a heavy-bottomed skillet, like a cast-iron skillet, to make this recipe. If you use a thinner pan, you might have to slightly reduce the heat to prevent parathas from burning.
- Cook vegan parathas on medium-high to high heat. Cooking them on low flames might cause them to dry out and turn chewy.
- Cover them with a damp tea cloth to prevent them from drying out if you are not enjoying parathas immediately after cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
ACC
This looks delicious, though I'm eating low to no-fat; would these work on a non-stick pan with no vegan butter?
Meesha
I would recommend checking out my vegan rotis instead! They taste pretty similar, here you go - https://www.myplantifulcooking.com/vegan-roti-chapati/