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Indian · Punjabi

Lachha paratha

Vegetarian

लच्छा पराठा · lachha paratha

Whole-wheat paratha pleated with ghee and coiled into a spiral so it cooks into many crisp, flaky rings that pull apart. A north Indian restaurant favourite made on a tawa.

Lachha paratha is an Indian bread, ready in about 1 hour 35 minutes and made with whole-wheat flour and ghee. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Top-down view of various Indian breads including lachha paratha and naan on a dark background.
Photo: Jack Baghel / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
30 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
40 min
Total
1 h 35 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
296

Ingredients

6 parathas

For layering

For layering and dusting

For cooking

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Knead the atta (opens in a new tab), salt and water for 6–8 minutes into a soft dough, cover and rest 30 minutes.

    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Divide into 6. Roll a ball into a thin 25 cm circle. Spread with about 2 tsp ghee (opens in a new tab) and sprinkle lightly with flour. Pleat it back and forth like a paper fan into a long strip, then stretch the strip gently and coil it into a tight spiral, tucking the end underneath.

    The flour between layers keeps them separate during cooking.

  3. Step 3

    Rest the coils 10 minutes, then roll each gently to a 15–17 cm disc without pressing hard (hard rolling fuses the layers).

  4. Step 4

    Cook on a tawa or frying pan over medium heat: 1 minute until pale spots form underneath, flip, brush with ghee (opens in a new tab), flip again and press with a spatula, rotating, until both sides are golden and crisp, about 3–4 minutes in all.

    A flatbread cooking on a hot griddle
    How it looks · Photo: Muhammad Khawar Nazir on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    While hot, scrunch the paratha between your palms (or with two spatulas) to open the layers. Serve immediately.

    • 1 min

    Food safety: It's very hot — use a cloth or spatulas if your hands are sensitive.

    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
North India, India · Commonly attributedAlso popular in PakistanMore food from India
Dish
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · Breads & flatbreads
Cooking method
Pan-fried
Taste
buttery, nutty, savoury
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Freezer-friendly
Cook more with
Whole-wheat flour · Ghee
Techniques
Pan-frying · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom ghee
  • Contains: Wheatfrom whole-wheat flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom whole-wheat flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

296 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 95 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 9%
  • Carbohydrate 49%
  • Fat 42%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy296 kcal312 kcal
Protein7 g7.3 g
Carbohydrate37.8 g39.8 g
Net carbohydrate32.2 g33.9 g
Sugars0.2 g0.2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre5.6 g5.9 g
Fat14.7 g15.5 g
Saturated fat8.6 g9 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol34 mg36 mg
Sodium293 mg309 mg
Salt equivalent0.7 g0.8 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
191 mg
Calcium
22 mg
Iron
1.9 mg
Magnesium
73 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
113 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
23 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Medium heat cooks the inner layers through; high heat browns the outside while the centre stays doughy.

Common mistakes

  • Skimping on ghee or flour between the pleats gives a dense, single-layer paratha.

Serve with

  • Serve with butter chicken, paneer makhani or a dry sabzi and pickle.

Storage

  • Par-cook (1 minute each side, no ghee), cool, layer with parchment and freeze up to 2 months.

Reheating

  • Cook from frozen on a medium tawa with ghee, 2 minutes per side.

Variations

  • Pudina lachha paratha: Sprinkle dried mint and a pinch of chaat masala on the ghee before pleating.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 55 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 40 min

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Start to finish: about 1 h 35 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Tough or chewy flatbread

    Likely causes

    • Dough too stiff
    • Not rested
    • Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan

    What to do

    • Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
    • Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
    • Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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