Paratha is to Pakistanis what Hamburger is to Americans.
Today, I am going to tell you about one of the most underrated, yet delectable food inventions; Paratha. Paratha is an amalgamation of the words “Parat” and “Atta” which collectively mean “layers of cooked dough”. It is a pan fried flatbread made from the regions’ traditional staple, wheat.
I consider Paratha to be my soul food. Every weekend when I’m at a loss to decide my breakfast, Paratha always seems to be the solution. I can have it with any leftover curry, or I can make omelette and if my heart desires, a fried egg. When I was a child, we never stayed at one place for too long. After every year or two, we packed our bags and moved to another city, leaving behind the friends and memories we had made. Eventually, I came to understand a very important truth about life; people and circumstances would always change but Parathas were here to stay, and I want to share this truth with everyone.
Parathas deserve all the praise and attention. The fact that so many places keep popping up with sole focus on providing their own unique version of parathas is a testament to their popularity. There are Aalu (potato) parathas, Meetha (sweet) parathas, Nutella parathas, Coconut parathas and even Pizza parathas.
For these, I would recommend a cute little place known as What a Paratha! It is located in the sector F-7 of Islamabad and serves one of the best varieties of parathas. It also has an outdoor sitting so you can enjoy the weather with your loved ones.
Years ago, a genius or a very hungry person in a hurry, decided to wrap the Paratha around different things like a roll and turned it into one of the most affordable meals on the go. This marked the invention of The Paratha Role (spelled: roll) in our food history. You can find paratha rolls almost everywhere; be it a university cafeteria or a small food stall at the corner of your street. The parathas are usually wrapped around kebab or chicken tikkah (spicy grilled chicken) along with chopped vegetables and chutneys (sauces). Mint and tamarind chutneys are the most popular among them. Some places even add cheese or garlic mayo to it to give it a western touch. Regardless, the blended taste of sweet and spicy ingredients is hard to beat. As a Google guide, I decided to conduct an intensive market research which meant stuffing my body with as many versions of parathas as I could find (not that I am complaining), and finding THE one. If you were dying tomorrow and had the time to try just one paratha roll, I would recommend a place called Mirchi 360 in the sector F-10 of Islamabad. This is a relatively new place but offers one of the best paratha rolls. Especially their Chicken Behari roll is to die for. The spicy grilled chicken topped with a tangy sauce, wrapped in freshly fried paratha is something you won’t forget for a long time. All this comes at an unbelievable price of one US dollar.
So the next time you are in Islamabad, don’t forget to give these a try and keep me posted about your experiences.
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