Gardudhe / Lauki / Bottle Gourd Paratha

Gardudhe / Lauki / Duddhi / Bottle Gourd Paratha With Red Bean + Plantain Stem + Hog Plum ~ Curry ........ A delicious soft and yummy parathas which goes very well with a spicy curry .........

Gardudhe / Lauki / Duddhi / Bottle Gourd is considered to be a storehouse of healthy benefits. The health benefits from lauki is known world wide. Lauki is a staple item as far as Indian cuisine is concerned. It is a vegetable with pale, smooth and waxy green surface and white spongy pulp within. Lauki is added to many vegetables or dals. It is also one of the key ingredients in making of koftas and parathas. Lauki paratha is very famous in the Northern parts of India. I will not run into the details of the benefits of this vegetable as I am sure all of you are well versed with the same. Here is a simple but deliciously prepared paratha with lauki. Serve it hot with a spicy curry.

For Lauki Paratha. Wash and cut the lauki vertically into 4 cuts. Now grate the inner white spongy flesh and put them in a bowl. You should have about 4 cups of the grated lauki. Discard the outer light green skin. Add 1 tsp of red chilly powder, ½ tsp haldi powder, ½ tsp hing powder, large pinch of ovam, salt to taste, 1 tblsp of oil and mix well with the grated lauki. Now add in about 5 cups of wheat flour / atta to the mixture and mix it with fingers to crumble texture. Now add more atta if necessary and mix well. Knead to a tight / firm dough. Do not add any water while kneading. The lauki has enough water content in it which is enough to prepare the dough. The amount of atta needed depends upon the lauki and its water content. So you have judge the same yourself and add more or less as per the requirement. The kneaded dough however should be tight, firm and smooth. Cover and keep aside for at least 30 minutes. This releases the gluten in the wheat flour and softens the dough to smoother texture. Knead the dough once again and divide them to equal portions. Each portion should be the size of the tennis ball. 

Now roll the kneaded portion into the wheat flour to dust it all round and roll to a round flat even roti / paratha the size of about 8 inch in diameter. Do not roll the paratha very thinly like we do for roti. Parathas should always be rolled a little bit thick. You can dust with the flour in between by sprinkling some atta on top of the paratha while rolling, if you find it sticking to the rolling pin. This will ensure you roll a smoother paratha.

Heat a thick bottomed tava, When hot smear it with a little bit of oil, all round and gently place the rolled paratha on the tava and cook on medium flame. When you see bubbles appearing on top surface, apply / brush a little bit of oil on the surface and flip it over with the help of a flat spatula and cook on that side too. 

The paratha should be evenly cooked on both sides. Remove and put it on a plate. Repeat with the other rolled portions of dough in similar pattern and prepare the parathas. You can apply melted butter or ghee on the parathas before serving. Serve the lauki parathas hot with any spicy dish / raita of your choice. I served this with Red Bean + Plantain Stem + Hog Plum ~ Curry .... A typical medium spicy Amchi dish.