An aloo parantha is the answer to every question. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner paranthas are a staple of Punjabi cuisine.
They’re potato goodness with a lot of chewy, crispy, buttery goodness. Serve it as is, with butter, or with yogurt, nimbu da achar, and fresh veggies. An aloo parantha is a potato lover’s happy place. They’re so simple, yet flavorful and sumptuous. Growing up every road/train trip meant that fresh aloo paranthas were packed for the ride. They travel well and can be eaten at room temperature without losing their yumminess. Not to mention 2 of these suckers and you will be full for the entire ride! We would eat them in the car, or stop at a random tea stand, buy drinks and eat a couple of these and then continue on our way.
The minute you take that turn to being old, you look back on those car/train trips and the overwhelming smell of paranthas and pickles. Granny forcing you to eat more, lest you shrink away, and not getting to eat at every roadside restaurant you passed, and are forced to laugh at just how great life really was. Except the time that my grandmother insisted on packing food for our plane ride to Tokyo. I’m still not over being the stinky family on the plane. Luckily other grandmothers had had similar ideas so at least we weren’t alone. But I can tell you that the Japanese business men were less than impressed.
Paranthas are not the easiest or fastest dish to make, but you can make a huge batch, par cook and freeze. They’re a crowd pleaser and work in any season. I love being able to take a couple aloo paranthas, mooli paranthas, or even paneer paranthas out of the freezer, thaw them out, fry them up and then serve them with plain raita and fresh cucumber and chilies loaded with salt, pepper, and lime.