Dough is prepared with wheat flour or maida, for the basic parata, in all the recipes. Dough should be prepared preferably one hour earlier than meal time. Take measured flour in a bowl or flat plate. Add two pinches of salt and a tablespoon of oil (optional) and mix well. Knead the flour in to a firm dough, by sprinkling water. Cover it and keep it aside until used. Different kinds of fillings are used to make tasty paratas. The recipes for preparing these fillings are given below...

Boil two to four potatoes, peel and mash them, before keeping them aside. Chop two green chillies and two onions, finely. Heat some oil in a pan, on low flame, and add the chillies and onions to this. Fry a little and add one tsp of red chilli powder, a pinch of dhaniya powder,  jeera, salt, and masala powder (optional), to it. Mix well and remove from heat. Add the boiled potatoes to this and mix well. Now process the prepared dough, as for rotis or puris. Place a small portion of the potato masala mixture in the centre and wrap the dough around it, shaping the whole in to a ball. Roll this out and roast it on a hot tawa, by adding some ghee or oil. Aalu parata is ready.

Boil some green peas  and grind them in to a paste. Add red chilli powder or chopped green chillies, salt and coriander leaves to this. Use this mixture like in the above recipe. Both potato and green peas mixtures can be mixed together to make these paratas.

Paratas with green leaves are made differently. For these paratas, the green leaves should be processed and mixed with the flour to make the dough. Small portions of the dough should be rolled out in to rotis and roasted.

Methi has medicinal values. It is used in our household curries. To make paratas with them, wash the leaves thoroughly in water and chop them. Two finely chopped green chillies, three chopped garlic cloves, salt and a little red chilli powder too should be added to the flour along with the methi leaves, while preparing the dough. They should be roasted thoroughly on both sides, for them to be tasty. They can be had with chutney or curd. For Palak paratas, follow the same method. As a variation, wash the palak leaves and fry them a little in oil, with the green chillies and half a tsp of jeera. Grind these in a mixer, with very little water. Prepare the dough with this, adding all the other mentioned ingredients.

This is a nutritious as well as tasty kind of parata. Should be tried at least once. The processing of the vegetables should be done as in Aalu parata. Take three or four vegetables, like carrots, cabbage, french beans, peas etc. Add two potatoes and boil the vegetables. The rest of the steps are as in the recipe for Aalu parata.

Wash cauliflower thoroughly and chop it finely. Heat oil moderately in a pan. Add chopped onions, little ginger garlic paste and salt and fry them. When the onions turn transparent, add chopped cauliflower, two green chillies finely chopped, a pinch of turmeric and a little red chilli powder and fry for five minutes. Add chopped coriander leaves. This is used as filling for making paratas.

Add garlic paste and salt to grated coconut and mix. This should be heated in a hot pan with oil, for a few minutes, before being stuffed in to rotis made from wheat flour or maid dough. The rotis should be roasted on a hot tawa.

Ingredients: Badam, cashews, pista, coriander leaves, red chilli powder, salt.

Method: Make a powder of all the dry fruits in a mixer. Take it in to a bowl and add coriander leaves, red chilli powder and salt, along with some water. Make paratas as usual, with this paste in the centre of each maida or wheat flour roti.

Ingredients: One cup sweet corn, one cup green peas, salt to taste, a pinch of turmeric, red chilli powder or finely chopped green chilli, few mustard seeds, two onions finely chopped, oil.

Method: Broil baby corn and green peas, in a little hot oil, in a pan. Once well done, add chopped green chilli, onion, salt and turmeric, mix well and remove from fire. Mix it well and use it as in the previous recipes to make paratas.

Some people like sweet paratas. Jaggery parata is ideal for such ones. It is an easy recipe.

Method: Grate some jaggery and keep aside. If desired, slice badam and pista into thin flakes and keep aside. Take a small portion of the dough in one hand and make a small pit at the centre. In this, place a small portion of the jaggery and a few dry fruits. Close it and make paratas as usual. Same measures of jaggery and boiled channa dhal can be ground together to make a filling for these paratas. A pinch or two of cardamom powder can be added to the mixture. However, these cannot be rolled out and should be pressed on to butter paper, with the fingers, in the shape of rotis.

This is also called egg roll. It is made by spreading beaten eggs on the roti, while roasting. Break the eggs in to a bowl and beat them lightly. Mix the other ingredients as mentioned in aalu parata, except oil and keep aside. Roll out a small portion of the dough like a roti and roast it on hot tawa on one side. Spread the egg mixture on that side. After two minutes, turn over the roti and cook it on the egg side, like an omelette, adding more oil.

This filling is made from green gram or moong dhal. The gram should be boiled first. Heat some oil in a pan and add jeera and the boiled green gram or dhal. Add salt and red chilli powder and fry for a while. The mixture can be used to make paratas.

Ingredients: Two potatoes, one cup of channa, one onion, three green chillies, jeera, salt, turmeric, tomato (optional), dhaniya powder, oil.

Method: Soak the channa at least for six to eight hours. Boil the potatoes just before cooking. Chop onions and green chillies in to even sized pieces. Heat oil in a pan and add these to it. When onion turn transparent, add or tomatoes turn mushy, add the potatoes and fry them until moisture evaporates. Fry the dhaniya and jeera separately and add the channa to this. Boil it until soft to touch. Add the potato mixture to this. Mix everything thoroughly and keep on low flame for a while. Later, remove from heat and sprinkle some coriander leaves over the curry. This goes very well with paratas.

Note: In all these recipes, the common ingredient is dough made with whole wheat flour or maida. The dough can be made with rice flour also. In the beginning paratas do not turn out well. But with practice, they can be made well and taste good.