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Indian

Sattu paratha

Vegetarian

सत्तू पराठा · sattu paratha

Bihar's best-known paratha: roasted gram flour mixed with onion, garlic, ginger, nigella and ajwain, moistened with mustard oil and lemon, and sealed into wheat dough. Earthy, sharp and filling.

Sattu paratha is an Indian bread, ready in about 1 hour 4 minutes and made with whole-wheat flour, sattu (roasted gram flour) and mustard oil. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Prep
20 min
Cook
24 min
Rest
20 min
Total
1 h 4 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
363

Ingredients

6 parathas

For the dough

For the filling

For cooking

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the atta (opens in a new tab) and salt, rub in the oil, then add the water a little at a time, kneading for about 5 minutes into a soft, smooth dough that no longer sticks to your fingers. Cover and rest for 20 minutes so it rolls out without springing back.

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

  2. Step 2

    Mix the sattu (opens in a new tab) with the onion (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab), ginger, chilli, coriander, ajwain (opens in a new tab), nigella seeds (opens in a new tab), mustard oil (opens in a new tab), lemon juice (opens in a new tab) and salt. Sprinkle in the water a spoonful at a time until the mixture holds together when pressed but is still crumbly.

    • 8 min

    Too wet and it turns pasty; too dry and it spills out when you roll.

  3. Step 3

    Divide the dough and the filling into 6 equal portions. Flatten a dough ball into a 10 cm cup, pack in one portion of filling, then pleat the edges up over it and pinch firmly to seal. Turn it seam-side down, press flat, dust with flour and roll lightly from the centre outwards into a 17 cm round.

    If filling peeps through, patch the spot with a pinch of dry flour and keep rolling more gently.

  4. Step 4

    Lay a paratha on a hot tawa or heavy pan over medium-high heat. When small bubbles appear (about 30 seconds) flip it; after another 30 seconds brush the top with ghee (opens in a new tab), flip again and press the edges with a spatula (opens in a new tab) until golden-brown patches form. Brush and cook the second side the same way — 3 to 4 minutes per paratha in all.

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

About this dish

Origin
Bihar, India · Commonly attributedStrongly associated with Bihar and neighbouring Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, where sattu is an everyday staple.More food from India
Dish
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · Breads & flatbreads
Cooking method
Pan-fried
Taste
earthy, nutty, garlicky, tangy
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · 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
Everyday · Budget-friendly · Portable / lunchbox
Cook more with
Whole-wheat flour · Sattu (roasted gram flour) · Mustard oil · Onion · Garlic · Fresh ginger
Techniques
Pan-frying · Kneading

Allergens

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

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

363 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 143 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 13%
  • Carbohydrate 56%
  • Fat 30%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy363 kcal253 kcal
Protein12.6 g8.8 g
Carbohydrate53.1 g37 g
Net carbohydrate44.7 g31.2 g
Sugars3.6 g2.5 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre8.4 g5.8 g
Fat12.6 g8.8 g
Saturated fat4.4 g3.1 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol15 mg10 mg
Sodium505 mg352 mg
Salt equivalent1.3 g0.9 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
440 mg
Calcium
41 mg
Iron
3.1 mg
Magnesium
114 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
52 µg
Vitamin C
8 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
135 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): ajwain, nigella seeds.
  • Sattu (roasted gram flour): Chickpea flour (FDC 174288) used as a stand-in; sattu is flour of roasted, husked black chickpeas, very close in composition.
  • “—” 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

  • Taste the filling: sattu needs plenty of salt and sourness to come alive.

Common mistakes

  • Skipping the binding water — dry sattu bursts through the dough.

Serve with

  • Serve with baingan bharta, aloo chokha, curd or a sharp mango pickle.

Storage

  • Keeps a day at room temperature wrapped in a cloth, or 3 days in the fridge — a classic travel food.

Reheating

  • Reheat on a dry tawa over medium heat for about a minute a side until crisp and hot through.

History

Sattu — flour of roasted pulses or grains — is a cheap, long-keeping staple across Bihar, where it is also drunk as a cooling summer sherbet and stuffed into litti.

Confidence: Commonly attributed

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

For the dough

Used in steps 1, 2

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 44 min

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

  2. Rest · about 20 min

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

  3. Start to finish: about 1 h 4 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
Whole-wheat flourFlour300 g100%
WaterWater189 g63%
Neutral vegetable oilFat9 g3%
SaltSalt3 g1%
Total flour
300 g
Hydration
63%
With milk, eggs…
63%
Wholegrain
100%

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

  • Medium dough (55–65%) — soft and easy to knead; sandwich loaves and rolls.
  • Salt 1% — on the low side (1.8–2.2% is typical for bread).
  • 100% wholegrain — absorbs more water and gives a denser, nuttier loaf.

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

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