Bottle gourd Doodhi halwa Lauki ka halwa
Doodhi halwa lauki ka halwa is bottle gourd pudding recipe. It is a popular/ easy Indian sweet/ dessert. Doodhi halva can be served as a dessert, snack/sweet dish with a main meal. Make Doodhi halva in advance and keep in the fridge for more than a week. Dudhi halva can be served hot or cold. I add most of the times, homemade full cream that I collect a few days in advance when I heat milk at home. Khoa or condensed milk or homemade full cream is optional. If you are adding sweet khoa or condensed milk, adjust the sugar quantity accordingly.
Ingredients
How to make Doodhi Halwa – Lauki ka halwa
Ingredients for Doodhi halwa for 4-6 servings.
- Doodhi bottle gourd / lauki – 500gms
- Milk full cream – 2 cups
- Sugar -1/2 cup or more according to taste.
- Ghee – 1 or 2 tbsp as your diet permits
- Raisins – 10-15
- Khoa/condensed milk/Fresh Cream -100 gms I usually add homemade fresh cream which I collect from milk
- Cashew nuts almonds, pista – 4-5 each, chopped fine
- Cardamom powder- 1 teaspoon.
Instructions
Preparation before making Doodhi halwa
- Wash and peel Doodhi (lauki, bottle gourd).
- Grate doodhi using a fine grater.
- You may also use food processor to grate doodhi to make is faster and easier.
Making Doodhi halva – Cooking method:
Frying dry fruit
- Heat a deep thick bottomed pan.
- Add ghee and chopped nuts. Fry the nuts and raisins for a few seconds.
- The raisins will become plump.
- Do not let the nuts brown too much.
- Remove from ghee on a small plate or a bowl.
- Keep the raisins and nuts aside.
- We will use them later.
Cooking doodhi - bottle gourd
- Add grated Doodhi to the same ghee.
- Stir well and mix doodhi in ghee.
- Cover and cook grated doodhi about 2-3 minutes.
- Add milk to the grated bottle gourd.
- Stir and cook on low fire till the mixture thickens.
- It may take about 15-20 minutes.
- Do not cover after you add milk.
- When most of the milk is absorbed in bottle gourd, add sugar. Mix well and cook some more till sugar dissolves.
- When the sugar dissolves, the mixture will release some liquid.
- Keep cooking and the mixture thickens again.
- Add khoa/condensed milk/cream(whichever you are using). Mix well. I added home collected cream.
- Cook for another 5-8 minutes stirring occasionally till all the liquid is absorbed.
- Add the nuts, raisins which we kept aside. Add cardamom powder.
- Mix well and switch off the flame.
- Doodhi halva is ready to serve.
- Serve it hot or at room temperature or cold as you like. You may put it in fridge for cooling and serve chilled.
Notes
Tips:
- You may fry cashew nuts in ghee if you wish or add them without frying.
- You may add more condensed milk or khoa or fresh homemade cream to make it richer.
- You may also use some milk powder.
- You may roast khoa separately before adding to the doodhi mixture.
- I usually start collecting fresh cream a few days before any festival and store in in the freezer. Then I use it in carrot halwa, beetroot halwa or this doodhi halwa. I also use it to top curries that my family likes, such as palak paneer.