Lauki ka Halwa or Dudhi ka Halwa is a famous Indian sweet made using bottle gourd and milk. Ideal dessert idea for special occasions and festive gatherings.
This unqiue sweet dish made using a vegetable is rich in flavour, is tempting looking, has a luscious texture and full of nutrition.
Easy to make with few ingredients. Choose long bottle gourd aka lauki. Grate it thickly and immerse in water, immediately. Drain well and then cook in thick bottomed pan on a medium flame. Stir continuously, do not allow to scorch at the bottom. Continue till the vegetable softens.
Add in rest of the ingredients one by one and cook well over low flame, stirring continuously till everything comes together and forms a homogeneous mixture resembling a Halwa.
Halwa, is simple to make with handful of ingredients but can get tedious due to long time in allowing the dish to come together.
I personally like this recipe as it yields a very flavorful Halwa, the slow cooking and simmering is the key.
One can also choose to pressure cook the bottle gourd to prepare the dish faster. The vegetable can also be cooked and kept handy day or 2 before or even frozen and then used when required. Cooking the bottle guard takes up half the time in the dish, so it can be a good idea to keep it ready in advance incase of quick preparation.
LAUKI HALWA RECIPE
Indian Bottle Gourd Sweet
2 cups grated lauki (dudhi/ bottle gourd)
1/4 cup mawa
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ghee
4 tablespoons assorted chopped nuts
Green food colour, few drops, optional
Milk, optional
1) In a thick bottomed pan, melt ghee.
2) Add in grated bottle gourd and cook over low flame, stirring continuously till water evaporates and the vegetable is soft. This might take around 20 to 30 minutes.
3) Add in sugar and cook till it melts well.
4) Add in mawa and mix. Cook over very low flame, stirring continuously till the mixture comes together. If mixture feels very dry adjust the texture by adding few teaspoons of milk.
5) Add in colour at this stage, give a good mix.
6) Serve the sweet warm or cold.
Being a Mommy 