Indian cooking / Dishes / Jalebi Paratha

Jalebi Paratha

Spiral Paratha

VegetarianOrigin DelhiPrep 1 hour, plus standing and chilling timeCook 1 hourMakes 12

Flaky, multi-layered flatbreads shaped into spiral rounds and perfumed with crushed fennel seeds. Cooked slowly in ghee, they develop crisp, golden edges with tender, laminated layers inside.

Coarsely crushed fennel

6 gKneaded into the enriched dough (step 2)

Fennel seed · Saunf

6 g3 teaspoons

spice

Pound coarsely in a mortar and pestle or pulse briefly in a spice grinder.

Everything else

Plain flour · Maidaplus extra for dusting

500 g

flour

Milk · Doodh

259 g250 ml

dairy

Ghee

180 g

oil/fat

Salt · Namak

to taste

salt

Method

Sift 500 g flour and salt to taste into a large mixing bowl. Create a well in the middle, pour in 259 g milk and 125 g water, and bring together into a dough. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth, then cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Gradually work 120 g of the ghee (two-thirds of the total 180 g) into the dough until soft and pliable. Work in the coarsely crushed fennel, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.
Split the dough into 12 equal pieces and shape them into smooth balls. Dust lightly with extra flour, cover, and rest for 10 minutes.
Working on a floured surface, roll each ball out into a thin round. Smear roughly a teaspoon of the remaining ghee across the surface and dust lightly with flour. Make a single cut from the centre point straight to the outer edge, then roll the dough tightly around itself from the slit to create a cone.
Grasp each cone upright about 1 cm from the base and press straight down in a twisting, spiral motion to form a thick disc. Lay the discs on greaseproof paper and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Roll the chilled discs out on a floured surface into flat rounds. Separate the rounds with sheets of greaseproof paper and return them to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Set a tawa or heavy frying pan over low heat. Melt a small spoonful of the remaining ghee, add a paratha, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until crisp and pale golden brown. Repeat with the remaining parathas.

Don't have something?

Fennel seed

Aniseed
Use 75% of the weight. Fry in hot oil or ghee; has a sharper, more pronounced liquorice flavour, so use a lighter hand.
Ground fennel seed
Use 60% of the weight. Stir into the sauce with ground masalas; provides identical sweet aniseed flavour without whole seed crunch.
Star anise
Use one point (single carpel) per 1 g of fennel seeds. Simmer in gravies and remove before serving; gives a deeper, woodier liquorice aroma.

Plain flour

Whole wheat flour
Use the same weight, add 10–15% more water and rest the dough for 20 minutes; the result is heavier and nuttier.
Rice flour
Use the same weight for crisp coatings; for doughs use no more than half rice flour with wheat flour, or it will be crumbly.
Cornflour
For thickening use half the weight, mixed with cold water; it is not suitable for bread or chapati dough.

Milk

Whole milk
Use equal weight; provides the standard rich dairy fat and body expected in creamy Indian bases.
Single cream
Dilute 3 parts cream with 1 part water to match the weight; yields a richer, glossier gravy that resists curdling.
Plain yogurt
Whisk thoroughly and use equal weight; adds extra body and a mild pleasant acidity, best added off the heat.

Ghee

Unsalted butter
Use 120% of the weight; melt gently over low heat to avoid burning the milk solids, which will yield a softer, creamier richness rather than a nutty aroma.
Vegetable oil
Use 85% of the weight; holds high cooking temperatures without smoking, but the final dish will lack traditional dairy depth.
Mustard oil
Use equal weight; heat to smoking point and cool slightly before cooking, bearing in mind it introduces an assertive, pungent edge.

Similar dishes

Warqi Paratha

Layered Paratha

Warqi Paratha tastes plainly of wheat and ghee with crisp, delicate layers, while this dish has fennel perfume and a milk-enriched, ghee-cooked richness.

Same: Warqi Paratha shares with this dish a plain-flour, ghee-enriched, flaky multi-layered paratha made by a spiral rolling or lamination technique.
Different: Warqi Paratha lacks this dish’s crushed fennel seeds and milk, and its weighed list uses only plain flour, salt, and ghee, with far less flour and ghee than this dish.

Ulte Tawe ka Paratha

Paratha Cooked on the Griddle

Ulte Tawe ka Paratha tastes delicately sweet and aromatic from khus and cashew, while this dish is savory with crushed fennel and crisp ghee-fried edges.

Same: Ulte Tawe ka Paratha shares plain flour, milk, ghee, and a layered paratha style with this dish.
Different: Ulte Tawe ka Paratha adds baking powder, cashew paste, sugar, and khus essence, uses much more milk, has no fennel, and is cooked on an inverted griddle rather than shaped into spirals and cooked slowly in ghee.

Tandoori Roti

Bread Baked in a Clay Oven

Tandoori Roti tastes smoky and plain rather than rich, buttery, and fragrant with fennel.

Same: Both are crisp, layered Indian flatbreads made with salt and finished with ghee.
Different: Tandoori Roti is baked at high heat in a clay oven using minimal fat, omitting the fennel seeds and milk used to knead and fry this dish.

Roomali Roti

Handkerchief Bread

Roomali Roti is soft, supple, and delicately charred, whereas this dish is crisp and golden at the edges with tender laminated layers and a fennel perfume.

Same: Roomali Roti and this dish are both Indian flatbreads made from flour and salt and cooked on a hot pan.
Different: Roomali Roti uses wholemeal flour and plain flour with no ghee, milk, or fennel, and it is stretched paper-thin and quickly blistered on an inverted pan, while this dish uses plain flour, milk, ghee, and crushed fennel and is layered into a spiral and cooked slowly.