Paratha Calculator for Flour, Water and Filling
This paratha calculator works out the flour, water, salt, fat and filling for a batch of plain, layered or stuffed parathas, or tells you how many parathas the flour you have will make.
Calculate your paratha batch
Example values are shown. The 55% water is only an example, not a recommendation, because flours absorb different amounts of water. Replace them with your own.
How does the paratha calculator work?
The paratha calculator turns a count of parathas and the weight of one dough ball into grams of flour, water, salt, dough fat, layering fat and filling. Water and salt are written as a percentage of the flour weight, the way bakers write them. The formula is:
flour = (total dough − total dough fat) ÷ (1 + water% + salt%)
water = flour × water%, salt = flour × salt%, total dough = parathas × dough ball weight
This paratha calculator uses one clear rule. The dough ball is flour, water, salt and the fat kneaded into the dough, so the dough fat is taken off the total first and the rest is shared between flour, water and salt. The filling and the fat used for layering or cooking are extra: the raw weight of one paratha is the dough ball plus the filling plus the layering fat. Leave salt, fat and filling blank and they count as zero. Water has no default, because it is the one number that changes with your flour.
Worked example: 12 stuffed parathas
Take 12 aloo parathas with an 80 g dough ball, 55% water, 1% salt, 5 g of fat in the dough, 5 g of fat for layering and cooking, and 40 g of filling. The total dough is 12 × 80 = 960 g and the dough fat is 12 × 5 = 60 g. That leaves 900 g to split, so the flour is 900 ÷ 1.56 = 576.9 g.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total dough (raw) | 960 g |
| Flour | 576.9 g |
| Water (55% of the flour) | 317.3 g |
| Salt (1% of the flour) | 5.77 g |
| Dough fat | 60 g |
| Layering or cooking fat | 60 g |
| Filling | 480 g |
| Total raw weight | 1,500 g (1.5 kg) |
| Raw weight per paratha | 125 g |
Because the answers are rounded for display, the parts can differ from the totals by a fraction of a gram.
How many parathas will my flour make?
Choose “What I have”, enter the flour you have and the same settings, and the paratha calculator divides your flour by the flour one paratha needs. The count is rounded down to a whole paratha, and the plain dough left over is shown. With 1,000 g of flour, an 80 g ball, 55% water, 1% salt and 5 g of dough fat, each paratha needs 75 ÷ 1.56 = 48.1 g of flour, so you get 20 parathas. They use 961.5 g of flour, and 38.5 g is left, which is 60 g of plain dough before any fat.
Why does water vary between flours?
Different brands and grinds of atta absorb different amounts of water, and so does the same flour in dry and humid weather. That is why this paratha calculator will not fill in a water percentage for you. A softer dough has a higher percentage and a firmer dough a lower one. Note the percentage that gave you the dough you like, and enter it each time. To price a batch, the recipe cost calculator can cost the flour, ghee and filling you use.
Does 1 g of water equal 1 mL?
For plain water, 1 g is about 1 mL, so the paratha calculator shows the same figure in millilitres. This holds only for plain water. Milk, yogurt and other liquids are different, so weigh them rather than reading the grams as millilitres. To switch between kitchen units, use the kitchen unit converter.
Tips for even parathas
- Weigh the balls and the filling. Equal balls and equal portions of filling stop stuffed parathas from tearing or cooking unevenly.
- Remember the weights are raw. Parathas lose water on the tawa, so cooked ones weigh less than the raw weight shown.
- Keep a little flour spare. Dusting and rolling use some flour that is not in the dough.
- Measure the layering fat once. Weigh the fat for one paratha and use that amount each time, so the batch total matches.
To resize a full recipe, use the recipe scaler. For the plain flatbread version, read our guide to one roti’s calories and nutrition. For a quick batch, the paratha calculator gives you the flour, water, fat and filling to weigh out.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the dough ball weight and the water and fat you use. For 12 parathas with an 80 g dough ball, 55% water, 1% salt and 5 g of fat in each dough ball, the tool gives 576.9 g of flour, 317.3 g of water and 5.77 g of salt. A heavier ball or a wetter dough changes these figures.
There is no single right amount, because flours absorb different amounts of water. Water is set as a percentage of the flour weight: at 55%, 500 g of flour takes 275 g of water, and at 60% it takes 300 g. The 55% in the example is only an example. Start with a figure you have used before and adjust by feel.
With an 80 g dough ball, 55% water, 1% salt and 5 g of fat in the dough, 1 kg of flour makes 20 parathas, using 961.5 g of flour. About 38.5 g of flour is left, which is 60 g of plain dough. The count is always rounded down, so a part-paratha is never promised.
No. In this calculator the dough ball is flour, water, salt and the fat kneaded into the dough. The filling and the fat for layering or cooking are extra, so a stuffed paratha weighs the dough ball plus the filling plus the layering fat before it is cooked. With an 80 g ball and 40 g of filling, the raw filled paratha is 120 g before any layering fat.
No. Every weight here is a raw weight, measured before cooking. Parathas lose water on the tawa and take up some of the cooking fat, so a cooked paratha does not weigh the same as the raw one. To find your own cooked weight, cook one, weigh it and compare it with the raw figure.