“Lauki Hara Masala Paratha (Bottle Gourd/ Gardudde Spiced Roti)” … veggie parathas served with raita or plain curds is one the most loved dish from northern states of India … there are plenty of combinations to chose from and lauki paratha with addition of spices is just one of them … I served it for meals with gajar raita (carrot- curd salad), kulitha saaru (horse gram saar) and Kulith- Magge- Bimbul Ambat (Horse Gram- South Indian Cucumber/ Southekayi- Tree Sorrel Fruit Onion Seasoned Curry and it was an excellent combination … Yummilicious …
** Though Mooli (Radish) or Aloo (Potato) Parathas are the most famous parathas be it in the state of Maharashtra or in other parts of Northern parts of India one must acknowledge that there are plenty of other veggies too that taste wonderful when included into preparation of parathas. One such simple and easily available veggie is bottle gourd (gardudde/ lauki) which tastes not only wonderful but is also healthy.
** In my home, just like in other parts of Maharashtra State. we love parathas with inclusion of veggies be it methi, lauki, moringa, vatana, aloo, mooli etc. I have prepared this particular paratha with grated lauki along with coarsely ground spices and it tastes wonderful served as it is with some chutney/ raita or with any curry of your choice. As I have written plenty on parathas, I will not repeat them often and bore my friends here.
** Do try out various options of parathas, they do taste wonderful served hot from tava and are considered great for health when served spread with a liberal spread of homemade cow’s ghee. My mouth always water when I mention parathas and before I go ga- ga over it let me move on to the preparation of this simple paratha. Before I forget I served it with kulith- magge- bimbul ambat which is shared just before this recipe.
** There are plenty of GSB Konkani Saraswat curries and other dishes in my Blog that are not only easy to prepare but healthy, safe and good on tummy too. Life is all about enjoying good food with family and friends. Whosoever said that the family that dines together stays together definitely knew that the way to peoples heart is with good food, so go ahead, prepare and enjoy good family bonding for generations to come.
** Here is my own simple recipe “Lauki Hara Masala Paratha (Bottle Gourd/ Gardudde Spiced Roti)” … My Style …
** In a mixer grinder add 1 inch piece of roughly chopped ginger (adrak/ alle), 10-15 fresh curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu), 5-6 green chillies (hari mirchi/ tarni mirsanga) roughly chopped and grind to a coarse paste without adding water.
** Note : You can add some fresh coriander leaves while grinding the above coarse paste too, I did not have it, so skipped the same.
** Peel the outer skin and grate one medium sized lauki/ gardudde/ bottle gourd/ sorekayi and put it in a large wide stainless steel bowl. You should get at least 3 heaped cups of grated lauki in proportion for this recipe.
** Add into the bowl coarsely ground paste, ½ tsp haldi (turmeric) powder, ½ tsp red chilly flakes, salt (namak/ meeta) to taste. Crush ½ tsp ajwain (vonvo/ bishop seeds) between palms and add to the same and mix well.
** Add in about 2-3 cups of wheat flour (atta/ gonva peeta/ godhi hittu) and mix well to make crumbled texture. Knead all together to a very smooth and soft dough sprinkling water in between only if necessary.
** Note : Do not add wheat flour in one go. The amount of flour needed to prepare the dough depends upon the freshness and the quantity of water content in the lauki. So add in about ¾ of the mentioned wheat flour and then keep adding little by little as you go through kneading the flour as required. Remember lauki leaves out water as you knead the dough and in case you find the dough turning too brittle at any point only then you can sprinkle some water. I have given an approximate quantity of ingredients; you may need more or less of the wheat flour or water. Do use your judgment while preparing the dough. In all we need the dough to be kneaded smooth and soft but not too dry.
** Cover and keep the dough aside for 10 minutes. Then add in 1-2 tblsp of any edible oil you prefer and further knead for 4-6 minutes until the dough turns soft- elastic in texture. Once again, keep it aside covered for about 20 minutes, as this helps the gluten in the wheat flour to be released and make the roti that much more softer and tastier. Now prepare large lemon sized balls out of the dough for rolling.
** Roll prepared balls in wheat flour, seeing to it that it is fully dusted with flour before rolling it out into a round shaped paratha with the help of a rolling pin. Do not roll out the parathas too thin or too thick in texture. For lauki parathas to remain soft and delicious you should keep it slightly thicker than the texture of plain roti/ chapati.
** Note : You can dust in more flour as your roll the ball if you find it difficult to roll the roti. You will get a round roti/ paratha of about 8 -10 inches in diameter. Again if you find difficulty in rolling directly with rolling pin you can place the dough ball in between two plastic sheets and then roll with rolling pin. Just spread a film of oil to the sheet before doing so and then roll it out. Rolling of roti to perfection is always by practice.
** Heat a Iron/ Non-stick tava, when smoking hot lower the heat to medium, wait for a few minutes and then gently place in the prepared paratha on tawa. When bubbles appear on top, flip over and cook on other side too. Brush a little bit of ghee/ toop on paratha and cook on both sides for 1-2 minutes each and when you see nicely browned specks remove and keep them aside. Repeat the procedure with remaining prepared dough balls by rolling into paratha and frying them on tava in similar manner.
** “Lauki Hara Masala Paratha (Bottle Gourd/ Gardudde Spiced Roti)” is done and ready to be served. Parathas taste best served hot from tava with any type of raita/ bhaji/ curds or side dish of your choice. I served them for meals with gajar raita (carrot- curd salad), kulitha saaru (horse gram saar) as a soup and Kulith- Magge- Bimbul Ambat (Horse Gram- South Indian Cucumber/ Southekayi- Tree Sorrel Fruit Onion Seasoned Curry (side dish) and it was an excellent- tasty and tummy filling combo meal.
** These parathas can be served as it is too for dinner time or meals with a little bit of pickle/ curds or chutney of your choice for a light and simple meal. I sometimes relish it with just homemade butter and it tastes simply awesome. Do try out this delicious-healthy paratha and enjoy immense health benefits for your family. See to it that your children/ family always eat something healthy as many a times today’s generation are reluctant to eat freshly prepared homemade dishes. So in order to avoid future health issues you should see to it that they are habituated to eating good food from childhood. This way the traditional healthy food will always be continued for generations to come.
** Please browse through common link shared below for more “Salad/ Raita” Recipe which includes gajar raita (carrot- curd salad) along with many more …
** For “Kulitha Saaru/ Horse Gram Saar” shared in the picture, you may follow the link shared below for the recipe …
** For “Kulith-Magge-Bimbul Ambat (Horse Gram- South Indian Cucumber/ Southekayi- Tree Sorrel Fruit Onion Seasoned Curry)” recipe, please follow the link shared below …
** Check out the common link shared below for more “Roti/ Paratha” recipes which also includes step by step procedures for parathas if need be ...
** There are plenty of delicious easy to prepare dishes included in the blog. You can access them using search option or the label section on the left side of the Blog. If you are still not able to find it or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and enjoy them with your family and friends and give me a feedback if possible. I am sure your family will love them, they are all tried and tested in my kitchen … Thank You ….
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