Bottlegourd Halwa
Bottlegourd halwa is made with grated bottlegourd (lauki, doodhi, ghiya, sorakaya) and milk and makes a healthy dessert. This is an easy recipe. Although it takes a while to make this dessert, it’s worth it.
This is a different way to use this vegetable. As the cooked bottlegourd is slightly sweet, it’s well-suited for desserts. Bottlegourd can help ease indigestion.
Servings: 6-8
Cooking Time: 45-60 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 cups grated bottlegourd
- (1 medium bottlegourd)
- 3 cups milk (whole milk or low-fat)
- 7-8 tsp vegetable oil or ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 4-5 drops rose water or 1 tsp green cardamom powder
- almonds slivered, a few
- raisins, a few
- cashew nuts, a few
Preparation
- Peel the bottlegourd and and grate it. In a blender, pulse 3 cups of the grated bottlegourd into a coarse paste, and combine with the remaining grated gourd.
- In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil or ghee and add the bottlegourd and sauté for 6-7 minutes on medium heat until lightly aromatic, taking care not to burn it.
- Add milk and cook until it’s evaporated, stirring frequently.
- Add sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until the bottlegourd halwa starts to pull off from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat.
- Stir in the rose water (or cardamom powder).
- Serve the bottlegourd halwa warm or chilled, garnished with raisins, cashews and almonds.
Category: Sweets and Desserts, Vegan Sweets and Desserts
