Bottle Gourd / Lauki / Duddhi ka Paratha.

“Bottle Gourd / Lauki / Duddhi ka Paratha” Served with Homemade Curds, Dalitoy and Onion-Beetroot-Potato-Carrot Upkari (Bhaji) … A delicious and healthy whole wheat parathas with the added goodness of grated bottle gourd / garduddhe … Simply awesome to have with thick homemade curds … Yummy Yumz ….. 

Parathas are famous worldwide and needs no introduction. There are so many variations in preparing this that your imagines can run riot and there will still be some more combinations. The addition of grated duddhi / lauki / bottle gourd is a famous one in and around Maharashtra state. It gives added nutrition to the paratha also making it both soft and tasty and yummy too. Bottle gourd is good for health and should be consumed by young and old alike. I am sure all of you here are fully aware of the benefits of the same. It has soothing properties and is very good in case of acidity. Low on calories, but since it lacks in taste of its own, many a time we are reluctant to eat it unless they are prepared in appetizing manner. Children are more reluctant to eat them in curries etc. But ready to eat the duddhi ka halwa. So actually the problem is not bottle gourd but how the dish is prepared that bothers them. It has to be appealing or else we just cant make them eat. It’s always a delima for parents as to adapt new ways of making the child eat nutritious veggies. Here is one such method where you can relax and enjoy one dish with whole family. Bottle Gourd / Lauki / Duddhi ka paratha. I am sure you kid will eat this without a murmur if served hot. Go ahead and give it a try.

** Peel off the skin of 1 small sized bottle gourd / duddhi / lauki and grate it on medium sized grater. Now add in 1 tsp of red chilly powder, 1 tsp hing / asafoetida powder, ½ tsp haldi / turmeric powder, salt to taste along with a pinch of ajwain / oam. Mix all slightly. Now add in 3 cups of wheat flour and mix all ingredients. Add in 1 large tablespoon of oil and mix in well to form a crumble sort of texture. Do not add in any water unless needed. Knead to a semi soft dough sprinkling in water as and when necessary. The amount of water depends on the bottle gourd as it contains enough water in itself. Add in flour if necessary. The dough should be tight but smooth.

** Cover and keep this aside covered for about 20 minutes. Remember to always cover and keep aside the dough for about 20-30 mins as the gluten in the wheat gets released and the dough also become softer. Remove the dough and knead it again. Divide the dough into large lemon sized portions and roll it into smooth balls and keep them aside. Roll the prepared balls in wheat flour, seeing to it that it is fully dusted with flour and roll it out into a round shaped roti / chapati / paratha with a rolling pin. You can dust in more flour as your roll the ball if you find it difficult to roll the paratha. Do not roll the roti very thin like chapati, keep it a little bit thick. You will get a round paratha of about 6-8 inches in diameter.

** Heat a tava on high, when hot, lower the heat to medium, spread some ghee / oil on the tava and gently place the rolled paratha. There should be no creases. Apply ghee / oil on the top surface and spread it with the back of the spoon or with the help of a brush. When paratha gets cooked on bottom side, ie you will be able to see some bubbles on the top, then flip over and cook the top side too till you get brown spotted crispy paratha. Remove and keep it aside. Repeat the procedure with the remaining prepared dough balls, by rolling into paratha and frying them on tava on medium heat in similar manner. Parathas are ready. Serve them hot with any side dish curry or bhaji of your choice. You can relish this roti with only chutney or pickle too. But they taste best with simple homemade curds. You can also enjoy this paratha simply with a blob of butter as I do sometimes. It tastes yummy. 

** Note :

** For learning the method of rolling and step by step procedure of making roti and parathas please check on the search options for Roti and you will get many more recipe with detailed techniques and information.

** For the Recipes of 1. Onion~Beetroot~Potato~Carrot Upkari / Bhaji. 2. Dalitoy. 3. Curds Please use the search option in the blog or the under the label section. 

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