A ghee paratha is an unleavened whole-wheat flatbread rolled out with ghee, folded or coiled so that the ghee sits between layers of dough, rolled again and shallow-fried on a tawa with more ghee until the layers brown and separate. The plain version is folded into a triangle; the lachha version is pleated, coiled into a spiral and rolled out again.
At a glance
- Wikipedia's entry on paratha describes a wheat dough "folded and rolled with ghee, forming multiple layers, and shallow fried".
- A Chemistry LibreTexts module on bread says the dough "needs to be elastic enough to relax when it rests".
- USDA FoodData Central lists ghee at 900 kcal and 60 g of saturated fat per 100 g, and whole-grain wheat flour at 340 kcal and 0.43 g per 100 g.
- On those figures, a paratha from 50 g of atta with two teaspoons of ghee is about 260 kcal and 6.2 g of saturated fat.
- ICMR-NIN's 2024 guidelines say to limit ghee or butter to 1 to 2 teaspoons a day, and weigh a teaspoon at 5 g.
What is a ghee paratha, and what does lachha mean?
A paratha is a layered, unleavened flatbread from the Indian subcontinent; a ghee paratha is one where ghee is the fat between the layers and on the tawa. Lachha paratha is the version with many thin spiral layers, made by coiling the dough before the final rolling.
Wikipedia's entry on paratha defines it as "a wheat dough, typically whole wheat, that is folded and rolled with ghee, forming multiple layers, and shallow fried". The bread "is rolled out with oil or ghee, then folded. This process of lamination is performed two or more times." Lachha paratha has "many circular layers, formed by shaping a circle of dough into a coil before rolling it out again".
How do you make the dough, and why should it rest?
Mix atta, salt and water into a dough that is soft, not stiff, knead it until smooth, then cover it and leave it for 20 to 30 minutes before rolling. In our experience a rested dough rolls thin without springing back, which is what the folding and coiling need. Times and quantities are our starting point.
As far as a textbook source goes: a Chemistry LibreTexts module on bread, by Kate Graham, says that as dough is kneaded "the glutenin and gliadin begin to form chemical crosslinks between the proteins", forming gluten, and that "the dough needs to be elastic enough to relax when it rests". That module is about yeast bread and goes no further on the rest; we opened no source that does.
Why does ghee between the folds give separate layers?
Because a film of fat between two sheets of dough stops them fusing back into one. Each fold or coil traps ghee between dough surfaces; rolled again, those surfaces stretch together but stay apart, and on the tawa they brown separately. That is our reading; the sources say less.
A food science course page on Medicine LibreTexts, from Kansas State University, describes puff pastry as "a laminated dough" that "is cooked at a high temperature thus creating steam from the layers of fat and dough. The steam causes the dough to rise". That is oven pastry, and we opened no study of parathas. It supports only this: in a laminated dough, heat turns water into steam between the layers of fat and dough, and the steam lifts them apart.
Our starting point is a teaspoon of ghee spread over the rolled sheet for a lachha paratha and about half a teaspoon for a plain one. Our article on how to use ghee in cooking, dish by dish covers when ghee is the cooking medium and when it is a finishing spoon.
How do you make a plain ghee paratha by the fold-and-roll method?
Roll a 50 g ball of rested dough as thin as a roti, spread about half a teaspoon of ghee over it, dust with atta, fold it in half, spread a little more ghee, and fold again into a triangle. Roll the triangle out, keeping its shape and stopping while it is thicker than a roti, then cook as below.
In our experience, rolling it as thin as the first circle presses the layers back together.
How do you make lachha paratha by the coil method, step by step?
Roll the dough thin, spread it with ghee, pleat it into a strip, coil the strip into a spiral, rest the coil, then roll it out gently and cook it with ghee. The steps make one paratha; quantities are our starting point.
- Roll thin. Roll a 50 g ball of rested dough as thin as you can, larger than a roti.
- Spread the ghee. Spread one teaspoon of ghee over the whole surface, then dust lightly with dry atta.
- Pleat. From one edge, fold the circle back and forth on itself in narrow pleats into one long strip.
- Stretch and coil. Pull the strip gently a little longer, then wind it round itself into a tight spiral and tuck the end underneath.
- Rest the coil. Press it flat and rest it under a cloth for five to ten minutes.
- Roll gently. Dust and roll with light strokes from the centre outward, stopping while the spiral still shows.
- Cook. Lay it on a hot tawa, cook until the surface bubbles, turn, add ghee round the edge and on top, and press lightly until golden on both sides.
- Crush. While hot, clap it once between your palms so the spiral opens into flakes.
How hot should the tawa be, and how much ghee goes in the pan?
Hot enough that the paratha sizzles as it lands and bubbles within a minute, over a medium to medium-high flame. No source we opened gives a tawa temperature, so we give none. In the pan, our starting point is one teaspoon of ghee for a lachha paratha and half to one for a plain one, added after the first turn.
In our experience, ghee on a bare tawa before the paratha makes it slide and fry unevenly; added after the first side has set, round the rim so it runs underneath, it browns the layers without soaking them.
How much ghee is in one paratha, in grams and calories?
One teaspoon of ghee is 5 g and 45 kcal; two teaspoons 10 g and 90 kcal; one tablespoon 15 g and 135 kcal. With 50 g of atta, the whole paratha comes to about 215, 260 or 305 kcal. Spoon weights are ICMR-NIN's (teaspoon 5 g, tablespoon 15 g); the rest is USDA FoodData Central.
The USDA record for Butter, Clarified butter (ghee) gives 900 kcal and 60.0 g of saturated fat per 100 g: 9 kcal and 0.6 g of saturated fat per gram. Its record for Wheat flour, whole-grain gives 340 kcal and 0.43 g of saturated fat per 100 g, so 50 g of atta is 50 × 3.40 = 170 kcal and 50 × 0.0043 = 0.215 g; water and salt add nothing. The table counts all the ghee as eaten, so these are upper figures.
| Ghee per paratha | Grams (ICMR-NIN) | Energy (g × 9) | Saturated fat (g × 0.6) | Whole paratha (with 50 g atta: 170 kcal, 0.2 g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon (half between, half in the pan) | 5 g | 5 × 9 = 45 kcal | 5 × 0.6 = 3 g | 170 + 45 = 215 kcal; 0.2 + 3 = 3.2 g |
| 2 teaspoons (one between, one in the pan) | 10 g | 10 × 9 = 90 kcal | 10 × 0.6 = 6 g | 170 + 90 = 260 kcal; 0.2 + 6 = 6.2 g |
| 1 tablespoon (two between, one in the pan) | 15 g | 15 × 9 = 135 kcal | 15 × 0.6 = 9 g | 170 + 135 = 305 kcal; 0.2 + 9 = 9.2 g |
The ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines for Indians (2024) say: "Limit ghee or butter to just 1 to 2 teaspoons/day or avoid, if possible." On saturated fat: "Use of SF is considered high when more than 10g/day of visible saturated fats (for a 2000 Kcal diet/ day) is consumed in the form of ghee, butter or due to excessive use of palm oil, coconut oil in the preparation of snacks or sweets." A two-teaspoon lachha paratha carries 10 g of ghee, the whole of the ghee line, and 6.2 g of saturated fat. If a doctor or dietitian has set your fat intake, follow their figure. Our guide to ghee spoon measures in grams explains the spoon weights.
Why does a ghee paratha turn stiff as it cools?
Because the ghee inside it sets. Ghee melts over a range that overlaps room temperature, so on the tawa every layer is coated in liquid fat; as the paratha cools below that range, the fat between the layers turns semi-solid and holds them stiffly together.
The figures come from a 2020 laboratory study by Lamsal and colleagues, who reported "the melting of α and β′ between 15 °C and 25 °C, a transformation of β′ to β around 30 °C and β melting above 35 °C". Our article on why ghee melts over a range rather than at one temperature sets out that study.
The set ghee is our explanation; we found no study that measured parathas as they cooled. For parathas we use a curd-churned ghee; Himdhara's A2 bilona ghee is churned from curd on a wooden bilona and clarified over a wood fire, and every jar carries a batch code.
The short version
A ghee paratha is a soft, rested atta dough rolled thin, spread with ghee, folded or coiled, rolled again and shallow-fried on a hot tawa with more ghee. The ghee between the folds keeps the layers apart; the ghee in the pan browns them. On USDA figures a paratha from 50 g of atta with two teaspoons of ghee is about 260 kcal with 6.2 g of saturated fat, the whole of ICMR-NIN's suggested daily ghee. It stiffens as it cools because the ghee sets.
Sources
Further reading behind the figures above. Himdhara's own numbers — yields, batch results — come from our production records and the batch reports on the lab reports page.
- Wikipedia contributors (2026). Paratha. Wikipedia.
- Graham, K. 1.12: Bread. Fermentation in Food Chemistry, Chemistry LibreTexts.
- Rink, T. and Thibodeaux, W. R. 6.4.1: Types of Pastry and Storage. Medicine LibreTexts (Kansas State University).
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (2019). Butter, Clarified butter (ghee) and Wheat flour, whole-grain (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program). FoodData Central (SR Legacy).
- ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (2024). Dietary Guidelines for Indians. ICMR-NIN, Hyderabad.