Lauki Paratha /Bottle Gourd Paratha

Lauki paratha is a good alternative to your plain old parathas. Also you can serve them with pickle and that saves the time to make a curry to go with the paratha as well. Also if your family does not like bottle gourd and still you want to feed them this nutritious vegetable...this paratha will be your saviour in that quest. So without much ado just hop on the recipe and make it your next breakfast.

Lauki paratha Bottle Gourd Paratha

Makes 10-12

Ingredients:

2 cups of atta / whole wheat flour

1 medium size lauki / bottle gourd

2 green chillies – finely chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped ginger

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp ajwain / carom seeds 

Salt

1 tsp sugar

¼ cup of chopped coriander leaves

2 tsp oil

A pinch of hing / asafoetida

Ghee to baste the parathas

Method:

Peel the bottle gourd and grate it using a grater. We need around 1 or 1 and 1/ 2 cup of bottle gourd / lauki. Do not grate the white part it tends to have more water in it and hence will moisten the dough more than we need.

In a large bowl add the grated lauki, atta / whole wheat flour, jeera / cumin seeds, salt and sugar, chopped ginger, chopped green chilli, hing / asafoetida and oil.

Start mixing the ingredients to make a dough. If required add a little water little by little. When finally you have a smooth dough cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes make 10-12 balls from the dough (depending on the size of the paratha you will be making.)

Start heating a tawa on medium flame.

In a separate bowl take some more atta for rolling the parathas.

Dust one ball in atta and roll it into a medium thick size chapatti. Sprinkle more atta is the paratha tends to stick while rolling, 

Heat a tawa and fry the parathas on medium flame.

Once you can see air bubbles forming up flip them over.

After a few seconds drizzle some ghee around the paratha and bast the upper part as well.

Now you can flip the paratha again.

Fry the paratha until they become crisp and brown from both the sides.

Follow the same method with the rest of the dough.

Serve with some pickle and raita.