Bottle gourd, Laukhi, or sorakayi is a common household vegetable that is used in Indian cuisine in varied dishes ranging from a simple raita to a complex kofta, delicious halwa, and spicy subji. The recent craze, thanks to viral social media posts, this vegetable in the form of juice has been elevated to a superfood….superfood for weight loss and diabetes. The high fibre load in this humble gourd be it a subji, raita or juice has an inherent trait to kill hunger and delay glucose absorption. The 96 percent water in the vegetable, makes it a great diuretic and has a low GI thus helping in initial weight loss. But sustenance of this decreased weight which has primarily occurred due to water loss from the body depends on continued lifestyle modification.

A word of caution – These gourds can be bitter at times and carry a highly toxic compound called Tetracyclic Triterpenoid called cucurbitacins which are responsible for the bitter taste and toxicity. The plant produces this toxin as a defence mechanism against herbivore animals, which can cause serious side-effects such as abdominal pain, vomiting … especially if consumed in large doses, like you would in a glass of juice. Hence the best way to exploit the goodness of this vegetable is to cook and eat it the traditional way…make it as a part of your meals. Discard if bitter and forget the juice. And definitely do not go for the bottled variety of juices because we do not know what standards were adopted during the manufacturing process and what did go into them.

Foodialogues shares a delicious laukhi paratha ….eat it with a pickle or a pat of butter, the delish quotient is super high. To get that picture-perfect circle, I used the lid of a stainless steel box as a paratha cutter!

Laukhi Paratha Recipe

Ingredients for Laukhi Paratha:

• Wheat flour 2 c
• Grated laukhi 1 c
• Green chilly 4
• Ginger grated 2 tsp
• Salt as required
• Coriander leaves few
• Garam masala 1tsp

Preparation Method for Laukhi Paratha:

• Grind green chilly, ginger, and coriander leaves to a paste without water.
• Take a large bowl. Add the flour, grated laukhi, and all ingredients.
• Mix into a firm dough without addition of water.
• Roll immediately into parathas and pan-fry with a smear of oil till browned on both sides.
• Serve hot with pickle/raita or butter.