BOTTLEGOURD (LAUKI) HALWA

22.08.2020: These dates indicate the date on which I cooked the dish.

S reminded me that I had made apple crisp on Gowri Habba, the festival celebrated a day before Ganesha Chaturthi or as Skip and I call it, Ganapathy’s mommy’s birthday (almost every festival for Skip and me is an opportunity to wish a deity a happy birthday). As far as I can recall, I have never made a special or a sweet dish on any festival. Laddoos and Payasams (Kheer), Puliyogare( Tamarind rice) and Gujjiyas (Karjikai/Karanji) find their way home either from my in-laws’ or my parents’ place.

Every year, we celebrate Ganesha Chaturthi at a local Ganesha temple my father-in-law help build. A day before, a delicious aroma wafts out in the evening as we have cooks stirring tamarind rice in huge pots, deep frying Gujjiays and preparing the prasada with flattened rice in our house. Skip and I hang around like two hungry puppies, taking in the aromas of the sweet and  the savoury.

This year was different. There was no grand celebration though we still did manage to eat Gujiya (I LOVE Gujiyas) and Modak and my mother in law sent Puliyogare for us. S asked me what I was making for Ganesha and I decided to make the Bottlegourd Halwa.

This was the first time I was making Halwa, ever. I thought of the carrot halwa I was supposed to get on my birthday in March (my grandmother makes fantastic carrot halwa) but never did due to the lockdown but my thoughtful mother did send me a picture of them eating it!

The Halwa did not turn out soft and fluffy as I may have left it on the flame longer than intended but it did taste delicious, having a more caramelised taste than the regular halwa. While I liked the kheer better, I will definitely be making this Halwa again. 

I got this recipe from Hebbar’s Kitchen. This recipe calls for adding Khoya unlike the other recipes that I found on the net. Hence, I picked this. You will also find the recipe for homemade Khoya below. I have reduced the quantities of ghee and sugar in this recipe. The original recipe calls for 1/4th cup of each. 

Do you love Gujiyas and Carrot Halwa as well? You know what to do. @Lucidlucent.

BOTTLEGOURD (LAUKI) HALWA (serves 4 people with tiny appetites)

Ingredients:

Bottlegourd – 1 (mine weighed 450 gms)

Ghee/clarified butter –  2 tbsps

Cashews (chopped) – 1 tbsp

Almonds (chopped) – 1 tbsp

Raisins – 1 tbsp

Milk – ½ cup

Sugar – 3 heaped tbsps

Cardamom powder – 1/4^th tsp

For the Khoya:

Ghee – 1 tsp

Milk – 1/2^th cup

Milk powder- 1/4^th cup

Method:

1.   For the Khoya: Heat the ghee and milk in a pan. Add the milk powder and stir immediately. Break the lumps and mix it till the mixture separates from the pan. Remove from flame. Do no fry for too long else the khoya gets too crumbly.

2.   In another pan, roast the dry fruits in 2 tbsp ghee until they brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3.   Grate the Bottlegourd and add to the same pan. Sauté it for about 10 minutes until the gourd shirnks.

4.    Add the milk and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring it at regular intervals. The milk should have thickened and the gourd completed cooked.

5.     Add sugar and mix well and let the milk boils for 5 minutes.

6.   Add Khoya into the cooked gourd mixture and keep stirring until the Khoya is well mixed.

7.     Add the roasted nuts and cardamom powder and mix well.

8.     Done.

Recipe Notes:

·  Adjust the quantities of other ingredients to suit your taste and weight of the bottlegourd.

·       You could also dry roast the dry fruits. If you are roasting them in ghee, be quick to remove them from flame. They brown quick.

·     Do not overcook the Khoya. I did and it got a bit crumbly, the halwa still tasted good but it wasn’t soft.