Pudina Paratha | Mint Flatbreads

Pudina paratha are crispy, flaky, layered, mint flavored whole wheat flatbreads. ‘Pudina’ is the Hindi word for mint leaves and paratha is an unleavened flatbread made from whole wheat flour. Basically pudina paratha is a Paratha variant with some herby minty flavors together with some fragrant spices.

Whenever we go to restaurants, I always end up ordering pudina paratha. First I like the fresh minty flavor of pudina and as an accompaniment, it goes very with a dal tadka or a veg gravy.

Usually I make simple pudina paratha at home for breakfast or lunch. Since they taste so good you can consider making them for special occasions or guests also.

In this recipe post, I am sharing the restaurant-style version. Here the mint paratha is layered like the Lachha paratha. They are crisp as well as flaky and need to be served hot. If you plan to serve in the tiffin box, then just make simple paratha without the layers.

The recipe does not have too much minty taste and flavor. With a balanced flavor coming from the mint leaves, the aroma and taste of other spices also go well.

The best taste and texture comes due to the layers. If short of time, you can make square or triangle parathas, but these will be like regular parathas with the flavor of mint. They won’t have the punch in them.

In the recipe, I have used fresh mint leaves. Though you can also use dried mint leaves. If using dried mint leaves then don’t roast them.

You can add more mint leaves. But do not add less. As mint leaves are the hero ingredient here and bring so much flavor and taste to these parathas.

You can serve this pudina paratha hot or warm with a mango pickle, curd (yogurt) or with any veggie or paneer gravy of your choice.

How to make Pudina Paratha

1. Begin with rinsing the mint leaves and keeping them aside. We will use 1 cup of tightly packed fresh mint leaves, of which half is added to the dough and the other half is added to the spice mix.

2. Then start with the dough preparation – in a mixing bowl or pan, take 2 cups whole wheat flour (240 grams), 2 teaspoon oil or ghee or butter and ½ to 1 teaspoon salt or add as per taste.

3. Stir and mix very well.

4. Then add ½ cup tightly packed fresh mint leaves, which have been chopped finely.

5. Again mix very well.

6. Now add water in parts. Initially, you can add ⅓ to ½ cup water.

7. Mix and begin to knead the dough.

8. Add more water as required and knead to a smooth dough. Overall I used ⅔ cup of water to knead the dough. Depending on the quality of flour, you may need to add more or less water. So don’t add all water at once. Always while kneading the dough add the water in parts, mix and knead and then add some more water if needed.

The dough should be smooth, soft and pliable as shown in the below photo. Cover the bowl with a lid and keep it aside for 20 to 30 minutes.

Making spice mix for pudina paratha

9. When the dough is resting, you can prepare the spice mix. In a pan, add ½ cup tightly packed fresh mint leaves.

10. On a low heat with frequent stirs, roast the mint leaves.

11. Some mint leaves will darken, but continue to roast them till they turn dry and become crisp.

12. Once the leaves are roasted and dried, then remove and keep aside. If you have dried mint leaves, then you can use them instead of roasting mint leaves.

13. In the same pan, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and ½ teaspoon fennel seeds. Roast for half a minute on a low heat.

14. Next add 1 dry red chili (broken and seeds removed). Red chili is optional, but I do add for the bit of heat it provides in the parathas. You can even add ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper instead of the red chili.

15. Roast till the cumin and fennel seeds become fragrant.

16. Remove them aside and add them to a dry grinder or a spice grinder. When the cumin and fennel seeds become warm or cool down, add the dried mint leaves.

17. Grind or blend to a semi-fine mix or a fine powder.

18. Remove in a plate. Also add 1 tablespoon chaat masala powder.

19. Mix both the spice blends very well. Keep aside.

20. After 20 to 30 minutes, make medium-sized balls of the dough.

Rolling pudina paratha

21. Take the dough ball on the rolling board and sprinkle some flour on both sides.

22. Roll the ball to a large thin chapati of about 9 to 10 inches.

23. Here is the rolled chapati.

24. Spread or brush some oil all over. You can also use ghee instead of oil.

25. Sprinkle some flour evenly.

26. Now sprinkle the spice mixture that we had prepared.

27. Begin to fold from the edges like a fan with pleats.

28. Fold towards the end and then roll tightly to a circle.

29. Press the loose end at the center downwards.

30. Prepare the pleated roll balls like these and keep aside covered for 12 to 15 minutes.

31. Now take one pleated ball and dust some flour on both sides.

32. Roll to a paratha of about 5 to 6 inches.

Cooking pudina paratha

33. Place the rolled paratha on a hot tawa or griddle. Keep the heat medium high to high. Don’t roast them on low heat as then they will become hard or chewy.

34. When you see the paratha puffing up at some places and is ¼th cooked then flip using tongs or a spatula.

35. Here is the partly cooked side.

36. Using a spoon spread some oil or ghee on this side. You can add oil or ghee as much as you like. For a vegan version use any neutral flavored oil instead of ghee (clarified butter).

37. Flip again when the next side is half cooked.

38. Again spread some oil or ghee on this side too.

39. Flip a couple of times to get even roasting and cooking of the parathas.

40. Press the edges with a spatula so that they are cooked well. Sometimes the paratha edges remain slightly undercooked. So ensure that are also evenly cooked.

41. You can make these parathas more crisp or Karara as we call them in Punjabi language by cooking for some more time.

42. Remove and place them on a plate or tray. Crush them between the palms, taking care of the heat, so that the layers separate.

43. The pudina paratha is ready to be served now. Make all parathas this way. If you are unable to serve them immediately, then stack them in a casserole or a roti basket and serve them once you have made all the parathas.

Do note that these parathas have to be served hot or warm.

44. Sprinkle the remaining spice mix on the pudina paratha and serve them plain with some mango pickle or curd or with a dal fry or a veg curry or gravy of your choice.

Some recipes you can serve these parathas are paneer butter masala, dal makhani, chana masala, veg kadai, matar paneer, aloo matar, kadai paneer, dal tadka etc.

You can also have them as it is with a cup of tea.

More Paratha recipes

• Peas paratha
• Mooli paratha
• Lauki paratha
• Peas paratha
• Aloo paratha

This Pudina Paratha post from the archives (January 2016) has been updated and republished on 20 October 2021.