Lauki Halwa or Bottle Gourd Pudding
On February 19, 2014 by Meghalee Das
Lauki Halwa is an Indian pudding-like dessert, where grated bottle gourd is cooked with dried fruits, clarified butter, sugar and milk. It is also called Lauki Kheer or Doodhi Halwa, depending on which part of the country it is being prepared in. Bottle gourd is used extensively in various savory dishes in India. It can be prepared as a light summer dish, used in gravies as a thickener and also as deep fried balls for a rich kofta recipe. In fact, my mom even uses its peel and chops it finely to make a quick stir fry with nigella seeds called “chechki”.
But a lot of people don’t know that lauki tastes delicious in desserts too! Since it is a delicate vegetable and does not have a strong flavor of its own, it takes on the flavor of what you are cooking it with, in this case milk and sugar. I prefer getting medium-sized “young” bottle gourds, because they are tender, have a slightly sweeter taste and don’t have any big seeds. Some people add a few drops of green food coloring while cooking the halwa, but that is just for aesthetic purposes. You can serve it by itself or with hot puri (fried flatbread).
Ingredients:
Grated lauki or bottle gourd: 2 cups
Ghee or clarified butter: 4 tbsp
Sliced almonds: 1 tbsp
Raisins: 1 tbsp
Sliced cashews: 1 tbsp
Milk: 2 cups
Sugar: ½ cup
Khoya: ¼ cup
Method:
1. Peel the bottle gourd or lauki, grate it and keep on paper towels so that the excess water gets soaked.
2. Heat ghee or clarified butter and saute almonds, raisins and cashews till they just start to brown.
3. Add the lauki and cook on medium heat by stirring it frequently.
4. When most of the moisture dries up, pour the milk and keep stirring gently.
5. Now add the sugar and khoya and stir it till it starts to thicken and becomes sticky.
6. When you can see the oil oozing out on the sides, remove from heat and serve warm or cold. Garnish with a few toasted almonds.
- Grated lauki or bottle gourd: 2 cups
- Ghee or clarified butter: 4 tbsp
- Sliced almonds: 1 tbsp
- Raisins: 1 tbsp
- Sliced cashews: 1 tbsp
- Milk: 2 cups
- Sugar: ½ cup
- Khoya: ¼ cup
- Peel the bottle gourd or lauki, grate it and keep on paper towels so that the excess water gets soaked.
- Heat ghee or clarified butter and saute almonds, raisins and cashews till they just start to brown.
- Add the lauki and cook on medium heat by stirring it frequently.
- When most of the moisture dries up, pour the milk and keep stirring gently.
- Now add the sugar and khoya and stir it till it starts to thicken and becomes sticky. When you can see the oil oozing out on the sides, remove from heat and serve warm or cold.
