Lauki Parathas with Carrots

Lauki Parathas or Bottle Gourd Parathas are nutritious and easy to make Indian whole wheat flat breads with healthy bottle gourd/lauki, carrots and exotic, good for you and aromatic Indian spices! Paired with any curry or even just a bowl of raita, they make for a delicious meal!

Parathas are the quintessential flat breads that everyone craves for besides rice in India. Being rice eaters from the southern part of India, parathas or rotis were never in our recipe repertoire but with family craving for a variety of different cuisines and tastes, they were the easiest and healthiest dish I could whip up for my kids and of course like any kid, they loved it.

When stuffed or mixed with spices and vegetables, it becomes a complete meal, especially when all you need is a side of yogurt raita and a spicy Indian pickle or just a simple stir fry or curry to dip in!

Some flat breads that we enjoy are Gobi Parathas, Paneer Cheeses Stuffed Parathas, Mixed Vegetable Parathas to name a few.

NOW, WHAT IS LAUKI?

Lauki or bottle gourd (from the gourd family) has always been considered a nutrient rich vegetable which has anti-inflammatory properties, has loads of water content, very good for diabetics and is a wonderful addition to your diet when you are trying to lose weight.

Lauki juice first thing in the morning is considered to be absolutely good for you!

I love the texture and the ease of making anything with it (as it cooks easily) that I have made a few delicious dishes over the years like Vegan Lauki Kheer (a delicious coconut milk based dessert), a halwa (another Indian dessert), a delicious curry – Lauki Kofta curry which is absolutely heavenly with any flat bread and why, even a soup – Light and Healthy Lauki Soup!

HOW TO MAKE LAUKI PARATHA:

This delicious paratha (totally vegan, plant based and vegetarian), has grated lauki (or you can use pureed), carrots and some spices mixed in with whole wheat flour (or you can use multigrain flour too).

Make a soft and pliable dough with grated lauki, carrots, spices and salt.

Rest the dough for about 15 to 20 minutes, and then just roll, roast on a hot griddle (either using oil or ghee)

If rolled properly, they puff up beautifully to like regular phulkas or chapatis!

Time to bite into hot, soft and nutritious Lauki Parathas (with Carrots) for a delicious meal!

Isn’t this a great way to make your family (especially kids) get their veggies hidden in a paratha?

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

With all those spices and nutritious veggies in them, I was enjoying them with some Indian pickles (smeared with pickles and rolled up) but to make it a complete meal, I served a lip smacking Baingan ka Bhartha (roasted eggplant chutney) to dip my parathas in along with a cooling and nutritious Pomegranate Lassi !

Or you can make some easy, delicious and lip smacking Vegan Kaju Matar Masala and enjoy with them.

You can choose to enjoy these healthy and mouthwatering parathas with any curry you like and some suggestions would be:

Do give this super delicious paratha a try the next time you get any watery gourd like bottle gourd or make then with any veggie you like and enjoy with your family!

Enjoy and Happy Eating!

Yum

Lauki Parathas with Carrots

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Serving Size: 2

Lauki Paratha or Bottle Gourd Parathas are nutritious and easy to make Indian whole wheat flat breads with healthy bottle gourd/lauki, carrots and exotic and aromatic Indian spices! Paired with any curry or even just a bowl of raita makes for a delicious meal!

Ingredients

1 medium lauki/bottle gourd
1 carrot
1 green chili/jalapeno
1 cup multigrain atta/flour or whole wheat flour
½ tsp to 1 tsp ajwain/carom seeds
½ tsp garam masala powder
¼ tsp haldi/turmeric powder
Dash of black pepper powder
Salt to taste
Extra flour for dusting
Oil/ghee for shallow frying the parathas

Instructions

Wash, peel and grate the lauki to get 1 cup grated lauki. If there are large seeds, remove and discard them.
You could puree to and add to the dough.
Wash, peel and grate carrots.
Finely chop the green chili.
Alternatively, you can grate chunks of lauki, carrots and the green chili in a food processor in one go.
In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, grated vegetables and the rest of the ingredients except the oil/ghee and make a soft and pliable dough using some water.
Initially, just mix the dry ingredients and then add water as needed to make soft dough as the bottle gourd has some water too.
Add a couple of teaspoons of oil if needed to make a smooth dough.
Cover and set aside for about 15 to 30 minutes to rest.
Just before making the parathas, knead the dough again and divide into large lemon sized balls.
Heat a griddle (iron or non stick) to shallow fry the parathas.
Using some flour for dusting, roll the dough balls into a large disc of 6 to 8 inches diameter and roast on the hot griddle on both sides, pressing with a ladle to cook evenly.
Drizzle some oil or ghee over the almost cooked paratha, cook thoroughly on both sides until you see brown spots and remove from the pan.
Continue making the rest of the parathas the same way.
Serve hot, soft, delicious and healthy Lauki and Carrot parathas with any curry or side dish you love.
It is so tasty, just some pickles and yogurt are all you need.
We enjoyed it with some Baingan ka Bhartha (Roasted Eggplant chutney) and a tall glass of pomegranate lassi!
Happy Cooking and Eating Foodie friends!