Sweet Paratha is a paratha variation that is made with sugar as a stuffing in a layered flat bread made with unleavened whole wheat dough. This paratha is actually known as ‘Chini ka Paratha‘ (where chini means sugar) and is generally made for kids when they refuse to eat anything else. Kids usually have sweet tooth and they easily agree to eat a sweet paratha !!!
About Sweet Paratha
As the name suggests these are sweet tasting parathas. They are also known as ‘Meetha Paratha’. The word “meetha” in Hindi translates to sweet or sweetened. Paratha is a layered flat bread.
I knew about sugar puri which my mother used to make for us when we were kids. But I never heard of sugar paratha until I met my mother-in-law who is a fabulous cook and makes awesome Punjabi food.
I learnt to make this sweet tasting paratha variant from my mom-in-law where the flatbreads are stuffed with sugar. I have learned many types of stuffed paratha variants from her like Aloo Paratha, Gobi Paratha, Mooli Paratha and Paneer Paratha.
Of course the sweetener in these meetha paratha is sugar, but you can also use jaggery powder or grated jaggery.
The sugar melts and caramelizes in the process of roasting these parathas. So you have a caramelized sugary taste in the paratha and this what makes these parathas unique.
While making this sugar paratha, you have to use fine sugar because if you use sugar with larger granules then they will come out of the paratha and will spoil your tawa or frying pan by getting caramelized or burnt and sticking on it.
The raw sugar which I use has very fine sugar granules and they don’t come out of the paratha and thus don’t make mess on the tawa or skillet.
If you have larger sized granulated sugar then you can powder them in your dry grinder or blender or spice grinder. As an alternative you can also make this paratha with fine jaggery powder. It is better to use organic jaggery powder as there are no impurities in it.
Like this sugar paratha, another common recipe in Punjab for kids is ‘Churi‘. In this dish, the roti is mashed along with sugar and some ghee and it becomes very soft, yummy and sweet and is served in a bowl.
My husband who loves Punjabi food has fond memories of eating these sweet paratha as well as ‘churi’ in his childhood days.
Few Points To Keep In Mind
- You have to eat this sweet paratha hot or serve it hot. Better to serve as soon as they are cooked. Because once they become cold or dry, they become hard and you won’t enjoy the taste and they become cold quickly. So maximum within 1 to 2 minutes you should start eating them. The sugar solidifies in the paratha once they get cooled and you might feel like you are eating a chewy, brittle sugar candy which is hard to bite.
- If you plan to make regular roti or chapati along with sugar parathas then make the roti/chapati first and in the end make the sugar paratha because once you make the sugar paratha then it leaves the traces of browned or charred sugar on the tava and then it becomes difficult to make roti on it unless you wash the tava again.
- I repeat again, use fine granule sugar or powdered sugar or fine organic jaggery powder.
- When you are making this sweet paratha then your kitchen and probably your house will be filled with the aroma of caramelized sugar. Don’t miss to enjoy this fragrance !!!
How to make Sweet Paratha
1. First knead a smooth and soft dough with 2 cups of whole wheat flour, about ⅓ to ½ cup water or as required, 1 to 2 teaspoons oil or ghee and with ¼ teaspoon salt or as needed. Cover the dough in a bowl and rest it for 20 to 30 minutes.
Later portion and roll the dough into medium sized balls. Cover and set aside.
Now dust a rolling board with some whole wheat flour. Place one medium sized dough ball on the dusted rolling board.
Roll this into a circle of about 3 or 3.5 inches with a rolling pin. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons fine or superfine sugar or more all over the rolled dough, except the edges.
2. Bring the edges together and press them in the center, like we do for stuffed parathas.
3. Roll the stuffed dough again evenly on a dusted board or work surface.
4. On a hot tawa or skillet or frying pan, fry the paratha till ¼ done on one side. Flip and apply oil or ghee on this partly cooked side.
5. Roast the other side till ½ cooked. Flip and apply ghee on this side now. Flip a couple of times more till the parathas are browned from both sides. They should be cooked well.
6: As you can see in the below photo, the paratha has many brown spots. Usually the sugar paratha has more brown spots. How much the paratha will become brown also depends upon the type of sugar.
I have made these parathas with different varieties of sugar. If we make it with jaggery powder then it is slightly more brown in color than when we make it with sugar.
Serve them hot as they are prepared. Do not let them rest or cool as the sugar will become chewy or harden after cooling. Make all parathas this way and serve hot for best taste and flavor.
If you are looking for more Paratha recipes then do check:
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Sweet Paratha (Chini Ka Paratha)
Ingredients
For paratha dough
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- ⅓ to ½ cup water or add as required
- 1 or 2 teaspoon oil or ghee
- ¼ teaspoon salt or as required
For sugar paratha
- 1.25 cups raw sugar or as needed. can use powdered organic jaggery or as required
- oil or ghee as required
Instructions
Kneading dough
- Mix the salt with the flour. Add the oil/ghee and water.
- Knead into a smooth dough. Add some more water if required.
- Keep the dough covered for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Take a medium sized ball from the dough.
Making sugar paratha
- On a dusted board or surface, roll the ball to a small disc of about 3 or 3.5 inches in diameter.
- Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoon sugar or as required all over the rolled dough.
- Bring together the edges.
- Join the edges and press them in the center.
- Roll again on a dusted flour to approx 5 to 6 inches in diameter circle.
- Heat the tawa or skillet until medium hot. When the tawa becomes hot then place the rolled paratha on it. Keep the heat to medium to medium-high.
- When the paratha becomes ¼ cooked then flip it. Spread oil or ghee as required on this side.
- When the second side is ½ cooked then flip again using a spatula or tongs. Now spread oil or ghee on this side also and continue to roast.
- Flip a couple of times to evenly roast the paratha until they are crisp and golden with brown spots.
- Once done, then remove and serve these sweet paratha immediately.
- Make all parathas this way and serve them hot.
Notes
- Use fine or super fine sugar so that it does not come out while rolling and roasting the paratha. You can also use powdered sugar or jaggery powder.
- Remember to serve these parathas hot as soon as they are made. So don’t prepare them in advance and let them rest.
- The recipe can be scaled to make a small batch or a large batch.
- The approximate nutrition info is for one paratha roasted with sunflower oil.
Nutrition Info (Approximate values)
This Sugar Paratha Post from the blog archives first published in April 2013 has been republished and updated on 22 July 2021.
Hi,
nice n easy recipe. I make a slightly different version of this for my son, I use the badam milk powder that u get in stores instead of sugar, and i smear ghee on the roti before i spread the powder on it. Healthier but still yummy!!!
Reena
thanks for the sharing the variation reena. next time i shall try with homemade dry fruits powder.
Ooh, you make this look so easy! Do you think I could serve this with ice-cream or custard, or is that a terrible idea?
hi rhianna. we just have these sweet parathas plain. i think they will also go well with some milk. ice cream and custard is really a new idea and i have never thought it this way. perhaps you can consider serving the flat breads with ice cream or custard. i can very well imaging the fusion of heat and cold along with flavors mingling with each other. try it… is what i would say. unless one tries, one never knows 🙂
Nice to see this recipe as my mom used to prepared and now I prepare it sometimes.