First rinse, peel and then grate the lauki in a bowl or tray or large plate. Grate about ¾ to 1 cup lauki. NOTE: Before your grate, check the taste of lauki. If it is bitter to taste, then throw it away.
Add the spices - ginger-green chili paste, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder salt.
Mix the spices, salt very well with the grated lauki and keep covered aside for 5 minutes. The lauki will release its juices.
Then add whole wheat flour and besan or gram flour. If you don't have gram flour, then skip or you can add chickpea flour. You can also simply make these with whole wheat flour. Mix well.
Add yogurt and oil.
Mix and then begin to knead into a dough. Make a smooth soft dough.
Rolling
Make medium sized balls from the dough.
On a dusted rolling board, take each ball and begin to roll it.
Sprinkle some more whole wheat flour, if required while rolling.
Roll to a round of about 5 to 6 inches in diameter.
Roasting
Place the rolled dough on a hot tawa or griddle.
When you see air pockets, flip it.
Spread some oil all over. Flip again.
Spread some oil on this flipped side now.
Flip once or twice until they are roasted well.
Serve these hot, warm or at room temperature with mango pickle or curd/yogurt.
Notes
Bottle gourd: Fresh, tender, juicy bottle gourd is the best in this recipe. If your bottle gourd has a sour or bitter taste, then discard it.
Curd (yogurt): Use fresh yogurt and not sour. If you do not have yogurt, then replace it with buttermilk or water, adding as required to make a soft dough.
Spicing and seasonings: You can make these lauki theplas spicy if you prefer. Increase the quantity of green chilies and red chili powder.
Flours: Gram flour (besan) can be skipped if you do not have it. Simply add 1¾ cups of whole wheat flour if you decide to omit gram flour. To make these flatbreads more healthy and fiber-rich, make them with some millet flours like sorghum or pearl millet flour.