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6 Min
25/02/2026
Every time you peel a bottle gourd or ridge gourd, you're throwing away something edible. The peels are loaded with fibre, vitamins, and minerals and with a little know-how, they can go straight into your paratha dough instead of the bin. This is noteworthy considering eco-conscious cooking and searches for scrap-based flatbreads are on the rise. Here's what you need to know about adding the peel to the parathas.
Most of a vegetable's dietary fibre sits close to the skin. When you discard peels, you're cutting fibre content before the vegetable even reaches the pan. Working peels into paratha dough keeps that fibre intact and adds texture to an otherwise plain flatbread. As for local food culture, Indian cooking has been practising root-to-stem cooking for generations, just that it wasn't called ‘zero-waste’ back then. From bottle gourd peels to cauliflower stalks, Indian kitchens have long had a tradition of turning what the rest of the world calls scraps into second helpings.
Wash the gourd well before peeling. Grate the peels finely. Coarsely grated peels won't integrate into the dough properly. Squeeze out excess moisture and reserve the water; use it to knead the dough instead of plain water.
Mix the grated peel into whole wheat flour with salt, turmeric, cumin, garam masala, and green chilli. The peel releases more moisture as you knead, so add the reserved water only if needed. Rest for 15-20 minutes, then roll out the paratha. Don't roll the dough too thin, as the lauki makes the dough prone to tearing. Cook on a hot tawa with ghee or oil until golden spots appear.
Ridge gourd peels are tougher and more fibrous than lauki. Scrub the ridges well, as there might be dirt lurking on them. Two prep methods work: blend the peels with a little water into a coarse paste, or sauté them on low heat until dry to reduce bitterness. Let them cool before using.
Mix the processed peel into whole wheat flour with salt, red or green chilli, ginger, cumin, and a teaspoon of oil. Unlike lauki, turai peels don't release much moisture, so you'll likely need to add water when kneading. Cook on medium heat, slightly slower than a regular paratha, so the peel softens fully inside.
Carrot peels are thin, dry, and low-maintenance and are the easiest of the lot. Wash and scrub carrots well before peeling (organic carrots can go unpeeled altogether). Grate the peels fine; no need to squeeze or sauté. They integrate into the dough cleanly.
Mix into whole wheat flour with salt, cumin, coriander, a little ginger, and green chilli. Carrots add a faint natural sweetness that works well with these spices. Since peels release less moisture than the flesh, add water gradually when kneading. Roll to 6 inches and cook on medium-high heat. These come together fast and are reliable for daily use.
Radish peels have a sharper, more pungent edge than the flesh. Grate them fine and mix with a pinch of salt; let sit for 10 minutes to draw out moisture. Squeeze well, as radish releases a surprising amount of water. Reserve this liquid for kneading the dough.
Add the squeezed peel into whole wheat flour with ajwain (carom seeds), green chilli, ginger, coriander leaves, and salt. Mix the spiced peel into the flour and let the flour absorb any remaining moisture before adding extra water. Knead to a firm, pliable dough and cook on medium heat. Radish peel parathas taste best fresh off the tawa.
Scrub the potatoes thoroughly before peeling, as the peels will go directly into the dough. Grate or blend the peels into a fine paste; they don't need salting or pre-cooking unless the peels are very thick.
Mix into whole wheat flour with salt, cumin, red chilli powder, garam masala, and a little ajwain. Potato peels blend seamlessly into the dough and give it a subtle starchy body without any detectable flavour, perfect for households with fussy eaters. Make sure that you add water carefully, as potato peels release a little starch as you knead, which can make the dough sticky. Roll the paratha as usual and cook with ghee on medium heat.
Aashirvaad High Fibre Atta with Multigrains is a smart choice for making nutritious vegetable-peel parathas. It combines the wholesome goodness of six grains – wheat, soya, chana, oat, maize and psyllium husk – into one high-fibre flour that supports healthy digestion and keeps you feeling fuller for longer.
Just three stuffed parathas made from this multigrain atta provide about 35% of your daily recommended fibre intake, offering roughly the same dietary fibre as six carrots or four beetroots, which makes it especially suitable for fibre-rich meals like vegetable-peel parathas. Best of all, it delivers this enhanced nutrition while retaining the familiar taste and soft texture associated with Aashirvaad Atta.
Peel parathas are a higher-fibre, lower-waste version of a flatbread you're already making. Bottle gourd and ridge gourd peels are the easiest entry points to experimenting with vegetable peels in your parathas. Both are mild enough to pair with standard paratha spicing and common enough to make this a regular habit rather than a one-off experiment.
