Photo: Sutapa Pal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kerala · Breakfast

Thalassery Malabar Parotta

Traditional 75. Thalassery Malabar Parotta recipe

🧺 Ingredients

• 400g maida (all-purpose flour)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp coconut oil or vegetable oil (for dough + more for layers)
• 200ml warm water (approximately)
• Ghee or oil for cooking (3-4 tbsp total)

👩‍🍳 How to make Thalassery Malabar Parotta

1. Make dough (10 mins): Combine maida, sugar, and salt. Add 2 tbsp oil and rub in with fingertips until the flour resembles breadcrumbs. Add warm water gradually, kneading for 8-10 mins until the dough is very soft, smooth, and slightly tacky — softer than chapati dough. If you press a finger in, the indent should spring back slowly. Cover with a damp cloth and rest 2 hours minimum.
2. Divide and oil (5 mins): After resting, knead briefly for 1 min. Divide into 8 equal balls (about 70g each). Coat each ball generously with oil, place on an oiled surface, and rest covered for 15 mins more.
3. Stretch and layer (15 mins): Take one ball and roll flat with a rolling pin or press with hands. Continue stretching by hand — pulling the dough gently from the centre outward until it is thin and almost translucent, about 30-35cm across. Drizzle 1 tsp oil over the stretched dough. Gather one edge and fold into accordion pleats (like a fan), creating a long rope of folded dough. Coil the rope into a tight spiral. Press down lightly. Rest 5 mins while you repeat with remaining balls.
4. Roll and cook (10 mins, medium-high heat): Take a rested spiral and roll into a 15-18cm circle, about 3mm thick. Heat a tawa or flat griddle over medium-high heat until a drop of water dances on the surface. Place parotta — it should sizzle immediately. Cook 1.5-2 mins until the underside develops golden-brown patches. Flip and cook 1.5 mins. Drizzle a few drops of ghee on both sides and cook 30 seconds more until deeply golden and fragrant.
5. Flake the layers (1 min): Remove hot parottas and immediately stack 2-3 together. Clap the stack firmly between both palms 3-4 times — this breaks the interior into flaky, irregular layers. The parotta should look shaggy and layered, not flat.
6. Serve: Serve immediately with mutton kurma, chicken curry, or vegetable stew. Parottas toughen as they cool — eat right off the tawa.

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