Laccha (lachedar) parathas | flaky parathas

Laccha parathas are another type of North Indian flatbread, made from wholewheat flour. Laccha or lachedar means flaky in Hindi. The rolled out dough is pleated, rolled into spiral and then rolled out again. This results in flaky layers! These are not your everyday Indian bread but I do like making them on occasions. They are more a restaurant style bread and they are best cooked with ghee. In Southern India they have their own version called malabar parotta. This is generally made with all-purpose flour rather than wholewheat flour and is usually a bit softer in texture. I personally prefer the North Indian version. Serve with dishes like dal makhani & paneer butter masala for a delicious feast! 

Ingredients 
Makes 8 parathas 

2 cups (250g) wholewheat flour 
1 tsp salt or to taste 
1 tbsp oil 
Water as required
Ghee for cooking the parathas

Method 

Making the dough 

• In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and oil. Mix well to distrbute the oil in the flour. 
  
  
• Add water, a little at a time to form a smooth dough. I added just under 1 cup (125 ml) of water. 
  
  
• Knead the dough for 10 minutes on a flour-dusted work surface until smooth and soft. This is key also to getting flaky layers. 
  
  
• Cover the dough with a tea towel and let rest for 15 minutes. 
  
  

Rolling out the parathas 

• To start rolling out parathas, first divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. 
  
  
• Take one dough ball and dust lightly with flour. Roll to around 15 cm in diameter. Spread a little oil and dust a little flour op top of the dough disc. This will help the layers separate when cooking.
  
  
• Next, start pleating the paratha until you get a long pleated strip of dough. 
  
  
• Next, roll the pleat into a spiral. Make sure that you have the pleats facing outside when rolling, and don't roll them facing inwards. Roll them like you would roll yoga mat (rolling from the shortest side/vertical side). 
  
  
• Flatten the spiral and roll out the paratha to 15 cm in diameter again. All being well, the layers should be nicely incorporated. 
  
  

Cooking the parathas

• Heat a tawa or cast iron skillet to a medium - high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the rolled out laccha paratha. Cook until brown spots appear on the bottom. 
  
  
• Flip the paratha. On the partially cooked side spread a little ghee with a spoon and then and wait for brown spots to appear on the other side.
  
  
• Flip again and roast until golden. Spread a little ghee over the other side and flip again. Roast the other side until golden. You can keep flipping/turning the parathas to ensure they roast evenly. 
  
  
• Roll and make all parathas this way. Keep them warm in a casserole pan or on a plate covered with a lid. 
  
  
• Serve with dishes like dal makhani & paneer butter masala! If you like you can gently break the paratha in your hand to expose some of the layers.