Healthy, filling and summer friendly Bottle Gourd Theplas or Lauki Theplas for breakfast, lunch and 4 pm snack with tea. Dairy Free, Vegan Recipe.
Lauki Thepla or Dudhi thepla is a traditional Gujarati flatbread recipe made with whole wheat flour and dudhi or ghia. This is a delicious way to include dudhi in your diet.
Lauki, also known as Dudhi, Ghia, Calabash, Sorakkai (Tamil) and Bottle Gourd is a vegetable that's high in water content. You can make delicious sabzi, kootu, kofta and halwa (pudding).
Similar to Gujarati Methi Thepla, serve Lauki Thepla anytime of the day. Pack thepla for kids lunch box as it stays soft even at room temperature.
Our favorite way of enjoying lauki thepla is with a mug of masala tea. Serve it with curd or yogurt and pickles.
This recipe is perfect for those looking to include Lauki / Dudhi in their diet.
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Ingredients
Lauki, Dudhi or Calabash - Use a long and slender variety. Peel the skin and cut into half. If the seeds are mature, discard them. Grate the lauki, squeeze the excess water and keep aside.
Pro Tip - How to spot fresh Lauki or Bottle Gourd in the market? The skin should be light green without any cuts, bruises or soft spongy spots. It should be firm to touch.
This is a dairy-free thepla recipe. I have not used curd or yogurt for kneading the dough. Traditional Gujarati thepla recipes include yogurt for soft texture.
The recipes uses 100% whole wheat flour.
Flax Seeds - Feel free to adjust the quantity. You can also dry roast and coarsely grind the flax seeds so that the kids won't notice.
How to make Lauki Thepla Recipe
Prepping the lauki - Rinse, peel the lauki. Cut into half. Grate the lauki. Note - if the seeds are not mature (as shown below), do not discard the white portion.
Squeeze out the excess water. Do not discard the water. Use it to knead the dough.
In a bowl, add whole wheat flour, lauki, spices, flax seeds, sesame, kasuri methi (crushed between palms), asafoetida and salt to taste.
Mix the ingredients and slowly add water (leftover water from squeezing lauki) and knead into a tight dough. Add oil, knead. Cover and keep aside for 10 mins.
After 10 minutes, knead the dough gently and make 12 equal balls. Dust it with flour and flatten.
Use a rolling pin to shape the theplas.
Heat a griddle or cast iron pan, cook the thepla on both sides by applying oil. Thepla is ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Dudhi thepla with Dal, Indian curries and/or Raita.
Lentils / Dal - Serve lauki thepla with Dal for lunch. Toor Dal, Brown Lentils (Whole masoor) or Chana Dal.
Sabzi - Serve thepla with Baingan Bharta, Aloo Gobhi or Cauliflower Tikka Masala.
Raita - Vegetable Raita or Beetroot Raita instead of plain yogurt or curd.
For breakfast, we love eating thepla with mango pickle and hot masala chai.
Other Lauki recipes
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Lauki Thepla Recipe | Dudhi Thepla
Equipment
- Non Stick Griddle or Tawa to cook Theplas
- Rolling Pin and Board to roll out the theplas
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups Whole Wheat Flour + Extra for dusting the theplas
- 1 Lauki, Dudhi or Bottle Gourd medium
- 2 tablespoon Flax Seeds or Alsi
- 3 teaspoon Sesame Seeds or Safed Til
- 1 tablespoon Kasuri Methi
- ¼ teaspoon Hing or Asafoetida
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder or Haldi Powder
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Red chilli powder
- ¼ teaspoon Amchur Powder or Dry Mango Powder
- 2 teaspoon Oil for kneading the dough + extra as required to cook thepla
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Prepping the lauki - Rinse, peel the lauki. Cut into half. Grate the lauki. Note - if the seeds are not mature, do not discard the white portion.
- Squeeze out the excess water. Do not discard the water. Use it to knead the dough.
- In a bowl, add whole wheat flour, lauki, spices, flax seeds, sesame, kasuri methi (crushed between palms), asafoetida and salt to taste.
- Mix the ingredients and slowly add water (leftover water from squeezing lauki) and knead into a tight dough. Add oil, knead. Cover and keep aside for 10 mins.
- After 10 minutes, knead the dough gently and make 12 equal balls. Dust it with flour and flatten.
- Use a rolling pin to shape the theplas.
- Heat a griddle or cast iron pan, cook the thepla on both sides by applying oil.
- Serve Thepla piping hot with curd, pickles and / or tea for breakfast.
Notes
- I was left with some bottle gourd juice / water after kneading the dough. I used it to adjust the consistency of the dal I was serving for lunch. You can use it to knead dough, add it to buttermilk or use it while cooking dal or any curry to adjust consistency and add nutrition value.
- Please note if you are not using the water immediately, then it is ideal to discard it. Do not stock the water in the refrigerator. It turns bitter and will not be of any use. Unless you are going to use the water immediately, discard the balance juice after making the dough.
- Even though we squeeze the water from the lauki, there are chances that the dough might get sticky. Ensure you knead a tight dough so that after resting also it remains manageable to roll out. In case you find the dough too sticky or you have accidentally added more water, use a bit of whole wheat flour and knead again. Keep aside for a few more minutes and then roll out the theplas.
- You can adjust the quantity of flax seeds and sesame seeds used in the recipe.
- Kasuri Methi lends a lovely aroma to the theplas. If you have fresh methi, you can add that as well. Just ensure it is not too much else theplas might tear.
- Bottle Gourd discolours easily so keep all the ingredients ready and then begin grating the bottle gourd.
- You can knead the dough the previous night (tight dough) and wrap it in a cloth, refrigerate it. Roll out the theplas the next morning. 8 to 10 hours max is good to store this dough in the refrigerator.
- The cooked theplas can be stocked for 3-4 days in the refrigerator and can be heated and eaten for breakfast or lunch. Theplas make tasty leftovers.
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We will be back again with yet another exciting recipe .. Until then, stay healthy and happy!
Vidya Narayan
Love such nutritious and wholesome recipes.. with curd and chutney this makes a delicious light meals for anytime of the day.
Thank you Swati, we enjoy this over regular methi theplas as they are quite filling.
This is the best way to make kids and hubby eat Lauki who otherwise hate to even look at it. My kids and hubby just loved it. I served it with your another super easy Lauki Raita recipe. Absolute Hit combination
Geeta, thank you for trying the recipes and sharing your feedback. I am so glad the recipes could change the way your family looks at Lauki. It certainly made my day! Thanks again.
Simple, healthy and best .
Thank you so much