Lauki aka Bottlegourd aka Doodhi Paratha

 (From Banu's cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 Medium Sized Lauki - Peeled and cut into small pieces.

1 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/2 Tsp Red Chilli powder

1/2 Tsp Chaat Powder

2.5 cups of Wheat Flour

2 Tsp of Ajwain Seeds

Salt to Taste

2 Tbsp of Oil

Oil for Cooking

Method:

1. In a pan, heat a little bit of oil, add the chopped Lauki Pieces and let them cook on medium low fire. Once they are almost done, add a bit of salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and chaat powder. Mix well and saute for a few more minutes. 

2. Lauki has lot of water in it, so you do not have to add any extra water to cook the lauki.  Let the cooked lauki cool down. Make it into paste in the blender or food processor without any extra water. 

3. To this paste, add dry wheat flour, a bit more salt, Ajwain seeds and 2 tbsp of Oil and mix well until it is all incorporated and you get a smooth kneaded dough. I did not need to add any water to make the dough, just the paste was sufficient. But if you feel like you need some water, add it in very little by little, almost with a tea spoon. It is very easy to add more water and you will end up with a very water dough. 

4. Spread some oil on the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

5. Heat the Griddle. Make lemon sized balls from the dough and roll it out. Cook it on the Griddle on both sides with a bit of oil. You can use ghee as well to cook the paratha.

6. Serve it hot with some pickle and raita. 

Notes:

1. If the lauki is very tender, you do not have to remove the seeds. Just peel and chop. If you feel like the seeds are hard, then you can remove it.

2. You can add additional seasoning to Lauki per your like, like Amchur powder or Jeera Powder etc.

3. The paste though thick looking is more than sufficient to form a good dough. So be careful with adding more water to make the dough.