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Bengali · Indian

Mughlai paratha

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

মোগলাই পরোটা · moglai porota

Kolkata street food: a thin white-flour dough folded into a square parcel around spiced beaten egg and onion, then shallow-fried until crisp and golden.

Mughlai paratha is a Bengali bread from India, ready in about 1 hour 45 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and egg. It serves 4 and is rated advanced to cook.

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Prep
20 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
1 h
Total
1 h 45 min
Serves
4
Level
Advanced
Calories
441

Ingredients

4 parathas

Dough

Filling

For shallow-frying

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Knead the flour, salt, ghee (opens in a new tab) and water for 8 minutes into a smooth, firm dough. Coat with oil, cover and rest 1 hour so it can be stretched paper-thin.

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

  2. Step 2

    For each paratha, beat 1 egg (opens in a new tab) with a quarter of the onion (opens in a new tab), chilli, coriander, pepper (opens in a new tab) and salt in a cup.

    • 3 min

  3. Step 3

    Divide the dough into 4. On an oiled surface, roll a ball out thin into a 25 cm square or round, about 1 mm, stretching gently with oiled fingers. Pour the egg (opens in a new tab) mixture into the centre and fold the four sides over to make a sealed 12 cm square parcel.

    Work next to the pan and transfer on your palm or a spatula — the parcel is fragile.

  4. Step 4

    Heat 2–3 tbsp oil on a tawa or flat pan over medium heat. Slide the parcel in seam-side down and fry 3–4 minutes, spooning oil over the top, until crisp and golden; flip and fry 3 minutes more until the egg (opens in a new tab) inside is fully set.

    Food safety: Cook until the egg filling is firm (press the centre — no liquid should ooze); hot oil may spit when the parcel goes in.

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

About this dish

Origin
Kolkata, West Bengal, India · Commonly attributedAlso popular in Bangladesh; the 'Mughlai' name is evocative rather than evidence of Mughal-court origin.Also popular in BangladeshMore food from India
Dish
Breakfast · Snack · Dinner · Breads & flatbreads · Street food
Cooking method
Shallow-fried
Taste
savoury, spicy (chilli heat), rich
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
With the listed swaps: Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Egg · Ghee · Onion · Green chilli · Coriander leaves
Techniques
Shallow-frying · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom ghee
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose 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

441 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 180 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 12%
  • Carbohydrate 47%
  • Fat 41%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy441 kcal245 kcal
Protein13.2 g7.3 g
Carbohydrate51.1 g28.4 g
Net carbohydrate48.8 g27.1 g
Sugars1.7 g0.9 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre2.3 g1.3 g
Fat20 g11.1 g
Saturated fat4.6 g2.5 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol195 mg108 mg
Sodium658 mg366 mg
Salt equivalent1.6 g0.9 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
202 mg
Calcium
50 mg
Iron
3.9 mg
Magnesium
25 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
118 µg
Vitamin C
10 mg
Vitamin D
1 µg
Vitamin B12
0.4 µg
Folate (DFE)
213 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

  • An oiled worktop rather than flour lets the dough stretch without tearing.

Common mistakes

  • Too much filling bursts the thin dough.

Serve with

  • Kolkata-style with a thin potato curry (alur torkari), sliced onion, cucumber and kasundi or tomato sauce.

Storage

  • Best eaten hot.

Reheating

  • Re-crisp in a pan over medium heat; make sure it is piping hot.

Variations

  • Keema Mughlai paratha: Add cooked, spiced minced mutton or chicken to the egg filling.

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

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.

Structure

Dough

Used in steps 1, 2

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 45 min

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

  2. Rest · about 1 h

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

  3. Start to finish: about 1 h 45 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
All-purpose flourFlour250 g100%
WaterWater135 g54%
GheeFat14 g5.4%
SaltSalt3 g1.2%
Total flour
250 g
Hydration
54%
With milk, eggs…
54%
Wholegrain
0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

  • Stiff dough (under 55% hydration) — firm, easy to roll; typical of bagels, pretzels and many flatbreads.
  • Salt 1.2% — on the low side (1.8–2.2% is typical for bread).

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
  • Crust too hard or thick

    Likely causes

    • Baked too long at too low a temperature
    • No steam at the start

    What to do

    • Bake hotter for a shorter time
    • Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
    • Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust

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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