Monday, 15 March 2010

Lauki ka Halwa / Sweet dish made with Bottle Gourd




Halwa is basically a sweet dish made either from grains, flours, vegetables or fruits along with milk or condensed milk and sugar as its main ingredients.

I was introduced to the Lauki ka halwa / Doodhi ka halwa ... after I got married. Before that I had no idea what else could be done with the humble lauki other than a curry / torkari or a raita. In fact I wasn't even interested in the vegetable ... and if it was made with shrimps, just picked out the shrimps from the dish and left it alone.



But later I was introduced to North Indian cuisine ... mainly Rajasthani cuisine. And Rajasthanis are known for their love for sweets as much as their love for savoury and deep fried things.

So there I was, just married, ... a Bengali who did not care for sweets at all ... having jalebis for breakfast, halwas at lunch and kheer at dinner.
I can't say if I had more sweets or more savouries then ... all kinds of kachoris and namkeen ... just to get rid of all that sweetness in my throat.



Anyway ... now I know how to make sweet dishes at home.

So when the call from home came on Holi , the question had to come too ... " So what did you make for Holi?"
We were having a very busy time during Holi ... in fact had almost forgotten about it ... leave alone to go the kitchen and cook up sweets.

I had glanced around ... body language you know ... when you are about to fib :-p .... and saw a lauki in the vegetable bowl .... so blurted out "Lauki ka Halwa".
There was a sound of smile in the further conversations and I was relieved.

So set about making the halwa ... can't stay a liar for long. :-)


I make this halwa like the way I make Gajar / Carrot ka Halwa. The best part is the Lauki does not take as much time to cook as the gajar ... so this is quicker ... well ... just a little quicker.



Need :
Lauki / Bottle gourd - 1 medium sized
Milk - around 2 cups ( whole cream milk works best ... but you can use skimmed milk too )
Sugar - around 10 tbsp ( you might need more ... depends on the amount of lauki ... so taste to adjust)
Elaichi / Green Cardamom - 2 whole and 3 powdered
Saffron - a few strands ( optional )
Ghee / Clarified butter - around 1 tbsp ( just enough to toss the lauki in )
Cashewnuts - as per your wish ... whole or broken

How to :

Heat the ghee in a deep pan or a wok / kadahi ... preferably non stick. Stir fry the cashewnuts for a while .... do not brown ... and remove.

In the same ghee, let in the whole elaichi. Then add the grated lauki and stir well.
( You can add a pinch or .... less than ... a pinch of salt ...actually very, very little ... so that the water drains out and the lauki cooks quickly).

Add the milk and let it boil. Remember to keep stirring to avoid it getting burnt at the bottom.

When the lauki is well done and the halwa turns thickish, add the cashewnuts, sugar and the elaichi powder.

It will release water. Let it cook till it has dried up well .... make sure the sides do not burn.



Serve hot or cold.
Enjoy !! :-)

Blogspot is acting crazy ... shows one comment waiting to be moderated ... and yet refuses to display it. This has been going on for the past two days and is driving me bonkers. :-(
Hope this does not go on for long.

Other Halwas on Kichu Khon
Gajar Ka Halwa / Carrot Halwa
Moong Dal Halwa

20 comments:

  1. I never knew we could make halwas with this veg.

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  2. Moong dal, lau, etc halwas were completely alien concepts to me when I landed here. Yours looks like the best I have seen :)

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  3. Sharmila,
    wow! lao diye halwa..amaar ma lao diye payesh banae ..ekto dry korle hi bodhaye halwa hoye jaye bodhaye ..
    hugs and smiles

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  4. Hi Sharmila,

    U have a wonderful blog. We too make this halwa in the same way which is very good from health point of view. I am prathiba from "The indian food court".

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  5. I have the exact same feelings about bottle gourd. But sweeten anything and I will eat it. This has been long pending one.

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  6. Its completely a new recipe..Looks great..

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  7. Ami kono din Lauki Halwa khai ni !!! Shunechi tobe, lauki juice o naki ekhon India te khub popular

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  8. Thanks for sharing a veggie based halwa.

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  9. Thanks Happy! And I thought I was the only one who did not know about it. :-)

    Thanks Kalyan! Arey ... onek vegetables diye halwa hoye ... ekhane ashar age ami nijei jantam na. :-)

    Thanks Jaya! :-)

    Thanks Prathiba! Lauki is indeed good for health .. but going by the amount of sugar in this, I really doubt if the lauki stays healthy any more. :-)

    Thanks ISG! Go on ... give it a try. :-)

    Thanks Tina! :-)

    Thanks Sandeepa! Ami nijei biyer por khelam. Haan ... ekhane lauer juice shokale khawar khub trend hoyeche. :-)

    Thanks Srimathi! :-)

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  10. amra bangalira bodh hai suji aar gajar chara aar kono halwa khai na..amio kono din banai ni, lauki halwa, tabe sunechi...dekhte darun hoyeche, Sharmila..try karte habe ekbar..I love lau any way, and it's very healthy arr garam ese geche

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  11. Just when I was told about lauki ka halwa:-) Amio kono din aage shuni ni till MIL told me. Worth a try. I have had lau er payesh someplace long time back, and did not dislike it. So this should be good too esp. with the almonds on it!

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  12. I always thought carrot/beetroot halwa..this looks nice..will try soon..

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  13. Thanks Indrani! Try koro .. beshi shomoy lage na. :-)

    Thanks Soma! Eta draft e chilo ... tumi mention korte post koredilam. :-)

    Thanks ruchikacooks! :-)

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  14. Never heard of it Sharmi !! Lot of new recipes from ur kitchen with my regular ingredients. Glad I'm following you.

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  15. I am not a sweet addict, I can barely tolerate sugar but mom-in-law and husband are typical Bengalis and love anything sweet.
    It seems easy to make and worth a try. Incidentally, Rajasthani cuisine is awesome and I love their savouries. And I love the various rotis they make.

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  16. Sharmila, apart from laur tarkari (veg and non-veg preparation)and throwing in big pieces into dals I've never cooked lauki. I had tasted Lauki ka kheer at a friends place, but didn't like it.

    Can try this new recipe...lau ekhon khoob payoa jaya bajare.

    Gouri

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  17. I love this halwa more than gajar ka halwa, mom makes this very often as bottlegourd seems to be very good for brains :)

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  18. Yummy recipe!It like sweet dish very much.Even we can take carrot instead of lauki.The sweet dish is full of nutritional values.

    coupons for Olive Garden

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  19. I made it today n it tastes yummmm...in fact this is one sweet dish that both my ma n didima used to make...thanks!

    Sanghamitra

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  20. nice recipe but whats with the scary display pic?????

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