Zucchini Paratha is wholesome, full of veggies, and made with whole wheat flour. This Indian flatbread is soft, flaky, delicious, and flavorful with pantry staple spices and herbs!
These vegetable Parathas are healthy, nutritious, and also kid-friendly. The Zucchini Paratha is filling, making it a great breakfast, quick lunch, or lunch box.
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About Zucchini Paratha
Paratha is a staple Indian food, and my kitchen is no exception. My family loves different types of parathas, which motivates me to make various types of them. I also love to mix vegetables with flour and then make dough.
I thought of making zucchini Paratha when I didn’t have any other vegetables but zucchini to add to Paratha. I decided to give it a try, and it was a success. The Parathas came out soft and delicious.
After a few trials, I came up with this recipe, which comes together quickly. The paratha tastes delicious and satisfying. As we know, zucchini does not have a prominent taste, but it adds nutrition and moisture to the Parathas.
Why You Will Love Zucchini Paratha
- Zucchini Paratha is wholesome, healthy, and filling.
- They are loaded with vegetables but very delicious.
- These Parathas are perfect for breakfast or lunch.
- The recipe is easy, quick, and kid-friendly.
- They can be an excellent option for lunch boxes.
How To Make Zucchini Paratha
Making The Dough
- Shred the zucchini and put it into a plate or bowl.
- Sprinkle a pinch of salt, mix, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- The water will separate from the zucchini, but do not throw this water.
- In a mixing bowl, take flour, salt, shredded zucchini with its water, chopped spinach, shredded cheese, chili paste, ginger paste, Garam Masala powder, and Amchur powder.
- Combine everything well to make a smooth dough.
- If the zucchini water is not enough, add a little water as needed to make the dough.
- Add more flour if your dough is very sticky and wet.
- The dough should not be stiff; it should be a little harder than Roti dough but softer than Paratha dough.
- Add 1 teaspoon oil and knead the dough until the oil coats it evenly; do not over-knead.
- Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel for at least 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 9-10 parts and make balls the size of a lemon.
Rolling The Paratha
- Take one ball (keep the rest of the balls covered), dust it with some flour, flatten it, and roll it into a circle.
- Use some more flour to roll.
- Do not make Paratha too thin or too thick.
Cooking The Zucchini Paratha
- Heat skillet on medium-high heat.
- Place the Paratha on the skillet and cook until you see bubbles forming.
- Flip the Paratha and cook the other side too.
- Spread some ghee or butter on the Paratha, flip again, and spread some Ghee or butter on the other side.
- Pressing lightly with a spatula, cook Paratha on both sides until you see light brown spots on both sides.
- Remove Zucchini Paratha from the skillet and continue cooking other Parathas.
- Serve these Parathas hot with pickle, yogurt, or curry.
- Leftovers Can Be Kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
Serving Suggestions
Zucchini Paratha is best served freshly made and hot.
If prepared in advance, warm these Parathas before serving.
Serve the Parathas with yogurt or pickle.
They are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.
For a healthy breakfast, zucchini Paratha is perfect.
They are full of veggies, are satisfying, and keep us full for a long.
Zucchini Paratha is suitable for lunch too, and for the tiffin as well.
Instead of plain Paratha, we can make these healthy vegetable Parathas and serve them with the curry of choice.
Vegetables For Zucchini Paratha
I have added baby spinach, my all-time favorite, along with zucchini, to these Parathas. But we can add more veggies of choice. For example, I sometimes add shredded carrots or cabbage, or we can also add grated broccoli or cauliflower.
We don’t need to blanch baby spinach as these leaves are very soft and tender. But if the spinach leaves are not so fresh, soft, and tender, blanch them for a minute in boiling water. Let the spinach leaves cool down after blanching, squeeze them to remove excess water, and chop. In addition to spinach, we can also use Methi (fenugreek) leaves.
Zucchini Paratha Dough
Whenever we use vegetables in the recipe for Paratha, we have to consider their water content. Zucchini is full of water, making the dough sticky and wet and making it challenging to roll into Parathas.
The trick is to let the zucchini release all the water and then add the zucchini, along with the released water, to the flour. So, zucchini water is most probably enough to make the dough. We may need to add very little water if necessary. I had to add 3 tablespoon of water.
After shredding the zucchini, sprinkle it with salt and let it sit for a few minutes, which will cause it to release the water.
If the dough is dry and doesn’t come together, add water as needed. If it is wet and sticky, add more flour as needed. The dough should not be too soft or too stiff.
More Indian Flatbreads
Recipe Card
Zucchini Paratha / Healthy Vegetable Paratha
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Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 medium zucchini shredded (approximately 1 cup shredded zucchini)
- 1 cup baby spinach finely chopped
- ½ cup shredded cheddar, marble, or processed cheese (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon green chili paste (add more or less to adjust the spiciness)
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala powder
- ½ teaspoon Amchur powder (dry mango powder)
- 3-4 tablespoon water or as needed
- 1 teaspoon oil to knead the dough
- Ghee or butter as required to spread on Parathas
Instructions
- Shred the zucchini and take it into a plate or bowl. Sprinkle a pinch of salt, mix and let it sit for 5 minutes. The water will separate from the zucchini but do not throw this water.
- In a mixing bowl, take flour, salt, shredded zucchini with its water, chopped spinach, shredded cheese, chili paste, ginger paste, Garam Masala powder, and Amchur powder.
- Combine everything well to make a smooth dough. Add a little water as needed to make the dough if zucchini water is not enough. Or add more flour if your dough is very sticky and wet.
- The dough should not be stiff; it should be a little bit harder than Roti dough but softer than Paratha dough.
- Add 1 teaspoon oil and knead the dough until oil coats it evenly; do not over knead. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel for at least 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into equal 9-10 parts and make balls the size of a lemon.
- Take one ball (keep the rest of the balls covered), dust with some flour, flatten it and roll into a circle. Use some more flour to roll. Do not make it too thin or too thick.
- Heat skillet onto medium-high heat. Place the Paratha on the skillet and cook until you see bubbles forming. Flip the Paratha and cook on the other side too. Spread some ghee or butter on the Paratha, flip again, and spread some Ghee or butter on another side.
- Pressing lightly with a spatula, cook Paratha on both sides until you see the light brown spots on both sides.
- Remove Paratha from the skillet and continue cooking other Parathas.
- Serve these Parathas hot with pickle, yogurt, or curry. Keep the leftover Parathas in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
Notes
- Zucchini: Do not skip the step of sprinkling salt on shredded zucchini, and keep it for at least five minutes. Because if we add zucchini directly into flour, it will leave the water after making the dough. And the dough will be sticky and wet.
- Spinach: I have used baby spinach, and baby leaves are tender and soft. So I don’t blanch the spinach and use the raw leaves. But if you don’t like to add raw and your spinach leaves are not soft and tender, blanch them for a minute in boiling water. Let them cool down, squeeze them lightly to remove extra water, chop, and add them in the flour.
- Cheese: Adding cheese is optional, but it’s a good addition to pleasing your kids. You can also use Paneer instead of cheese.
Thanks for coming! Let me know what you think.