Mughlai Keema Paratha
Mughlai Keema Paratha is an authentic Indian stuffed flat bread which has survived the last few centuries. How thrilling it feels to have such a royal dish in your plate which was splendidly served as a side dish to none other than the Mughal kings in the bygone era! Yes, this is the Mughlai Keema Paratha, which is stuffed with spicy mutton keema (minced meat of a male goat) filling, topped with whisked eggs, marinated onions and freshly chopped chillies. The exact recipe is lost in time, but a group of cooks at that time restored this recipe and passed them over to the next generations, with a few changes to suit the appetite of the present age. Due to their efforts of the preservation of the recipe, we can taste one of the finest parathas ever made. Kudos to the unsung heroes of the Mughal kitchen!
Mughlai cuisine is distinctively aromatic, each dish having its special spices in right amounts, perfected in the imperial kitchens of the Mughal empire. The taste varies from mild to spicy.
This royal paratha is neither found easily in the restaurant menus, nor is it extremely famous in all the states of India itself, except in West Bengal and its neighbours. Worthwhile to say, in West Bengal, this paratha is a part of the Bengali street food now and is relished equally among all classes of people! One can also see the beautiful display of these parathas, among hundreds of others, in the street-food counters in the by-lanes of the famous, one-of-its-kind parathe-wali gali in old Delhi.
People in olden days used to make huge Mughlais in jumbo griddles or tawas. They used a lot of ghee, extra mutton-mince stuffing and some “secret” spices other than what is now known for the recipe. These days, neither we have the robust appetite like the Mughals, nor do we have all those spices which they used.
So the new-generation Mughlai paratha, very close to the ones which the Mughal kings used to eat, minus some of the “extinct” spices, is here for you. Although it is a little tricky and it takes time to perfect the shape of the paratha, but believe me, it is worth the effort! So go ahead and see for yourself. The shape can be triangular or square (but the latter one being more famous). I chose to show you the triangular Mughlai paratha here. Let me tell you that the whisked eggs and marinated onions in the recipe are essential; otherwise, it is not a Mughlai paratha. The recipe does not have an “original” vegetarian version, but you can always experiment with crumbled paneer (cottage cheese) or soyabean nuggets in place of the miced meat if you are an eggitarian.
Mughlai Keema Paratha
Ingredients (for two parathas):
- All-purpose flour: 1 cup
- Wheat flour: ½ cup
- Eggs: 4
- Milk: ¼ cup
- Mutton mince: 250 g
- Turmeric (divided): 1 tsp
- Red chilli powder (divided): 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds: ¾ tsp
- Cinnamon: 2 one-inch sticks
- Bay leaves: 2
- Cardamoms: 2
- Cloves: 4
- Black peppercorns: 5
- Coriander powder: 1 tsp
- Cumin powder: 1 tsp
- Garam masala powder: 1 tsp
- Lime juice: 1 tbsp
- Green/red chillies (chopped finely): 2
- Onion (chopped finely): ¾ cup
- Oil (divided): 3 tbsp
- Ghee: 4 tbsp
- Salt (divided): 2 tsp
- Water (for kneading): ¼ cup
Method of preparation:
Marinate the finely chopped onions with ½ tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp chilli powder. Leave aside for 10 min.
Knead the all-purpose flour and wheat flour, together with ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp hot oil, water and milk, till a soft, non-sticky dough is made. If it feels sticky, add a little all-purpose flour and knead again. Keep the dough aside for 5 min.
For making the minced meat stuffing, heat the griddle and add 2 tbsp oil. When the oil is hot, add the whole bay leaves, cumin seeds and the whole spices. Let them change their colour to light brown. Now add the meat (marinated with ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp chilli powder for 20 min) and the coriander and cumin powders and sauté on a medium flame for 5 min.
Add the garam masala powder and sauté for 10 more min. Switch off the gas and add the lime juice and mix well. This forms the meat stuffing.
After 5 min, take out a palm-sized ball from the main dough and roll it into a big, thin circle: the thinner, the better! This is the paratha base.
Heat another griddle and add 2 tbsp ghee. Let it smoke. Now slide the paratha slowly into this, so that the edges do not fold. The heat should be medium.
Now flip the paratha after 1 min, lower the flame and add 3 tbsp of the cooked minced meat stuffing. Spread a little, but don’t spread till the circumference. Add two eggs (whisked with ¼ tsp salt) on this meat and spread till the circumference.
Add half each of the marinated onions and chillies and spread over again. Importantly, the ingredients of the stuffing should be quickly added to the paratha one after the other, otherwise the paratha base will become crisp, making it hard for you to give a triangular (or square) shape afterwards.
After 1 min, fold the circular paratha from three directions in order to get a triangular shape (four directions for a square), pressing each fold for 5 sec, so that the fold gets sealed with the (still raw) egg underneath.
Increase the flame at this stage to medium for 2 min and then revert back to a low flame. Low flame is important, so that the egg gets cooked to perfection and the paratha is super-crisp! After 7 min, flip the whole paratha very carefully using two spoons, one placed above and the other below.
Continue cooking at low flame for 5 min. Now increase the flame to medium for 2 min, pressing the paratha softly from the top. Reduce the flame again and continue to cook for 5 more min, pressing the paratha down with the kitchen spoon. This is can be served with chutney, pickle, yogurt or simple tomato-chilli sauce!
On a different note, it is award time again for Cosmopolitan Currymania! This time, Wan Maznah from Cooking-Varieties has awarded me with seven lovely and motivating awards! She has awarded me with the awards with numbers 2, 3, 4 7, 8, 10 and 11. Maznah’s blog has a tempting collection of recipes and I strongly recommend my readers to visit her beautiful blog for the same. A BIG thank you, dear Maznah!
I shall be rolling these awards over to 15 deserving bloggers. So wait and watch. May be you are the next!
![1,2,3 award[1]](https://www.cosmopolitancurrymania.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/123-award1.svg)
![4,5,6 award[2]](https://www.cosmopolitancurrymania.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/456-award2.svg)
![7,8,9 award[1]](https://www.cosmopolitancurrymania.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/789-award1.svg)
![10, 11 award[1]](https://www.cosmopolitancurrymania.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/10-11-award1.svg)
June 18, 2011 @ 5:47 pm
wow dats fabulous and looking yummy dear….
June 18, 2011 @ 6:36 pm
Dear Purabi
Very nice paratha. I some time make keema paratha. Now I will use your recipe, which ic bit different from the one I know.
Bhalo theko
June 18, 2011 @ 7:49 pm
Gorgeous! Awesome info too. I think I can get into eating ‘royal’ food 😉
June 18, 2011 @ 11:27 pm
These look really tasty. And congrats on the awards!
June 19, 2011 @ 12:33 am
wat a fantastic try dear…with awesome result..love your perfection..
congrats on all your well deserved awards..:)
Tasty Appetite
June 19, 2011 @ 12:54 am
Wow – the food of kings! Incredible! It’s amazing how many cultures have something that is in some sort of stuffed dough. Your history of the dish was insightful and interesting! Thanks…
June 19, 2011 @ 2:23 am
yummy flavours delicious paratha
congrats on the awards
June 19, 2011 @ 2:57 am
what a tasty looking dish-love the spicy lamb filling. Your photos and instructions make it seem very easy to make. Glad you received the awards-you deserve every last one of them!
June 19, 2011 @ 6:21 am
Lovely Parathas. I love Mughal food. They are rich and flavorful. Nice try and clear instructions.
June 19, 2011 @ 6:37 am
Paratha’s history is very interesting and the dish is gorgeous; I’ don’t knew paratha, so thank you for writing the recipes. Have a nice day
June 19, 2011 @ 6:55 am
Looks so perfect and delicious!Congrats on ur awards D:
June 19, 2011 @ 7:16 am
Thanks, all! I loved reading your comments.
Ann, yes, you are very true…all the cultures have something to do with stuffed doughs. Isn’t that interesting!!
Ushnish da, my mom-in-law taught this recipe six years ago. Now she says that I make even better mughlais than her! Apnio bhalo thakben!!
Tina, I am so happy that you visited my space, motivated me and appreciated this recipe. You are among the first ones who commented on my initial posts…Looking forward to build a stronger relationship!
Stefania, thanks for your lovely comment. In India, there are a plethora of parathas with mouth-watering stuffings! Try them once and you’ll be in love with them.
June 19, 2011 @ 9:00 am
Hey Purabhi, thanks for the lovely note and for those fabulous awards too. Father’s day wishes to ur wonderful dad.
June 19, 2011 @ 9:46 am
This is such a famous calcutta street food…i love it. Nice pictures.
June 19, 2011 @ 10:26 am
sounds wonderful! bookmarked it. and congratulation to your awards ^,^
June 19, 2011 @ 11:23 am
I LOVE paratha, but of course, you upped it by adding this incredible filling!
June 19, 2011 @ 4:34 pm
wow! love how every culture has their own form of stuffed savory pancakes :). thanks for the step by step!
June 19, 2011 @ 8:30 pm
This looks incredible. @Junia it is amazing how there is a world of savory pancakes.
I am visiting you from Basilmomma.
June 19, 2011 @ 8:46 pm
Hello Purabi! I found you through Basilmomma’s Blog Hop. Mughlai reminds me of what we call in the U.S. a breakfast omelette. Eggs with vegetables such as onion and green pepper, and a meat such as pork sausage or bacon.
Have a great day! Sherri
http://www.FoodBasics101.com
Facebook- http://tinyurl.com/FoodBasics101
June 20, 2011 @ 2:00 am
What a fabulous mix of spices. Looks fantastic.
June 20, 2011 @ 3:57 am
I totally adore the exotic Mughlai cuisine. There is so much flavors and variations in it. Folding parathas while frying is something new to me. Thanks for sharing this rare recipe.
June 20, 2011 @ 6:42 am
Sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
June 20, 2011 @ 8:48 am
Oh MY! I have never eaten mughlai parathas, but it looks divine! I love mutton and I think the marinated onion and eggs would taste amazing with it! I have saved this recipe… I’d love to try it! Thanks Purabi!
June 20, 2011 @ 9:48 am
We have this at Malaysia and its known as Murtabak. Either chicken or mutton inside.
My type of food and with some dhal curry will be floating in cloud 9.
June 20, 2011 @ 2:21 pm
What can one say except, yum, yum, yum….. and YUM!
June 20, 2011 @ 2:31 pm
congratss for awards…paratha looks delicious…:)
June 20, 2011 @ 3:15 pm
Congratulations on your well-deserved awards. I adore Indian breads and your paratha looks delicious. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
June 20, 2011 @ 3:53 pm
Isn’t this amazing it was a royal food and then made it to street food, enjoyed by everyone. Thanks also for sharing the recipe with us, to spread this amazing delicacy even further. I love hearing about your culture and must get on a flight to learn more and taste all these amazing dishes. In the meantime, your blog is so inspiring with such gorgeous recipes. Bravo on the awards!
June 20, 2011 @ 4:27 pm
Love Parathas thes elook amazing, x gloria
June 20, 2011 @ 4:48 pm
Your stuffed paratha looks very tasty and delicious! These are definitely not easily found at the restaurants.
June 20, 2011 @ 5:01 pm
This is on of my fav paratha dish which I will try to eat as many time as possible whenever I travel to Kolkata 🙂
Thanks so much for your comments on my post and photography! I am just trying dear .. clicking too many photos everyday. You can feel free to email me your questions and I will help you in every possible way i can. 🙂
June 20, 2011 @ 5:40 pm
Wow, what a wonderful dish. Certainly looks like it’s fit for royalty!
June 20, 2011 @ 6:20 pm
Oh wow delicious! I love paratha but never had one with Kheema! I made Japanese version of Kheema curry but you will probably not think it’s even close to original enough! LOL. This looks really yummy Purabi!
June 20, 2011 @ 7:37 pm
Wow what a great post. Amazing pictures and your recipe looks just fantastic.
June 20, 2011 @ 8:40 pm
wow this is paratha for royality looks amazing
June 20, 2011 @ 8:47 pm
got to know through a tweet sent out today by rebeccah of chowandchatter…this is such a great idea to use up leftover keema too :)So glad to have found your blog, let me go see what other interesting stuff you have 🙂
June 21, 2011 @ 12:31 am
Hi, Purabi! So nice to see you on basilmomma’s blog hop — and congratulations on your awards — well deserved! It was fascinating to read the history of this dish — the lovely spices you used and care you took in cooking and presenting it made me feel “royal” just for a moment. Very nice post, as always!
~Kimby (from TK and a little lunch) 🙂
June 21, 2011 @ 5:33 am
Hi! purbi congratss for awards…paratha looks yummmmm and delicious…:) Happy blogging.
June 21, 2011 @ 5:47 am
Thanks a lot Purabi for visiting my blog Aaswad and liking my recipe for Thai Red curry.I went through yr recipes really loved some of them and will try them out sometime
June 21, 2011 @ 6:03 am
Manju, I hope you liked the other recipes, too, Thanks to you and rebeccah!
Kimby, so glad to see you here. Thanks for liking the recipe. Yes, we also feel “royal” on every saturday morning, breakfast time, because every saturday AN and my two kids want nothing but this!!
Belinda@Zomppaa, thank you so much. This paratha really tastes yummy!
Daksha, Thank you for your kind words…
Nami, you would love the taste…Thanks for liking the recipe!
June 21, 2011 @ 8:21 am
Quite a nice detailed post dear. Thanks for visiting my blog and making me discover your lovely space! Will browse more of your space to discover more gems.
June 21, 2011 @ 10:46 am
Ohh this sounds like an indulging slice! I love paratha… I definitely gonna make this 🙂
June 21, 2011 @ 11:22 am
This looks amazing and delicious! : ) Congratulations on the awards…well deserved! : )
June 21, 2011 @ 11:26 am
Wow…wat a flavorful n filling paratha.,,mughalsi keema paratha is new to me n thanx for your clear explanation n pictorials..,this is such a lovely blog with yummy delights,thanx for leading me here…n thank you so much for your sweet words at my space 🙂
June 21, 2011 @ 11:30 am
Congrats on all your well deserved awards n wishing you many many more milestones…glad to follow you 🙂
June 21, 2011 @ 5:35 pm
wow..this is a delicious recipe..liked ur version..Thx for stopping by kothiyavunu and for ur kind words..Hope to see ur updates with many more yummy treats..
Cheers!!
June 22, 2011 @ 1:25 pm
I’d take this royal dish ANY day! 😀
June 22, 2011 @ 11:41 pm
Hi Purabi! I’m so glad you found me and now I ‘ve found you. Indian cuisine is one of my absolute favourite go to meal. If I can I would love to have thosai/ tosai/ dhosai every day with chutney.. Of course I love the other curries too. Being M’sian it’s blessed to have a versatile palette. Hahahah.. Apologise for the minor self gloating. Your pictures are making me hungry!! Cheers, Jo
June 23, 2011 @ 1:18 am
That looks absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing! And Thank you for your sweet comment on my site! So nice to meet new foodie friends!
June 23, 2011 @ 4:33 am
wow! your Parathas look so delicious and flavorful. I love all the spices you put in and thanks for explaining the whole process. Could you tell me what Ghee is? I have never seen it before. Thanks again for sharing such a wonderful recipe.
June 23, 2011 @ 5:03 pm
I love parathas too! This looks very delicious 🙂
June 24, 2011 @ 8:39 am
Wow…paratha looks so tempting….wonderful recipe, looks absolutely delicious.
June 24, 2011 @ 9:54 am
thanks dear for your thoughts…they really mean a lot to me..:)
happy blogging..
Tasty Appetite
June 27, 2011 @ 6:32 am
Looks delicious!!!
June 28, 2011 @ 6:28 am
Super interesting and informative post! Congrats on all the awards Purabi! You definately deserve it. =)
June 28, 2011 @ 11:29 am
its so mouth-watering!just by the look of it! wish I could do the same. I think I have to grab all the spices in the supermarket.I’m so thrilled!
This is yummy!
June 29, 2011 @ 7:38 am
Omy i love it…and hubby a total fan of mughlai partha,…thanks for sharing…will definitely make.Awesome description…
June 29, 2011 @ 4:38 pm
Wow this looks amazing and sounds soo delicious!! Great blog you have here and so glad to be your newest follower! 🙂
July 16, 2011 @ 10:56 am
Looks so gorgeous and so very delicious… U have a great blog… Happy to follow u…
July 19, 2011 @ 2:05 pm
your paratha looks yumm…so tempting
you have a lovely blog.
happy to follow you.
Do check my space when time permits
Binitha
yourstastefully.blogspot.com
July 22, 2011 @ 4:46 pm
Absolutely wonderful recipe,Purabi!Thanks for sharing it with me on my event,make me so glad:)
Just a small request – would be great if you could please link back your recipe to my event page and use the event badge on your post on anywhere on your blog just to help spread the word!Thanks so much!
Cheers,
Wit,wok&wisdom
May 12, 2015 @ 12:14 pm
A perfect and healthy dish when hungry. I tried this recipe today… It came out very well…
June 15, 2015 @ 12:07 pm
Superb…..
And tasty……………
Thanks for detailed information & recipes……..
July 2, 2015 @ 11:11 am
Excellent round up of all the delicious recipes. Wonderfully prepared.
Traditional Bengali Delicacies: Kosha Mangsho (Slow-Cooked Bengali-Style Mutton with Spices)
October 19, 2015 @ 12:17 pm
[…] for a modern Bong (Bengali). We often go overboard with scrumptious street-food stalls selling Mughlai Paratha, Mochar Chop, Chicken Cutlets, Kosha Mangsho with Luchi, and so […]