Sweet Dessert with Bottle Gourd (Bottle Gourd Halwa)

 

Sweet Dessert with Bottle Gourd (Bottle Gourd Halwa)

INGREDIENTS: 

Full cream milk powder - 3/4 cup

Fresh milk - 1 1/2 cup

Finely grated fresh young bottle gourd - 3 cups tightly packed

Brown sugar - 3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons

Saffron - a small pinch

Cardamom - 4 pods

Chopped nuts - 2 tablespoons (optional)

Clarified butter or ghee - 5 tablespoons

METHOD:

1. First, rinse, peel and grate bottle gourd finely. Before you cook, taste the bottle gourd, if it has sour or bitter taste, discard it and don't cook it. Sour bottle gourd will curdle the milk and bitter bottle gourd will toxify your body. Always choose freshly harvested young bottle gourd and taste it before using.

2. In a heavy pan, add 4 tablespoons of ghee, after it has become warm, add grated bottle gourd. Using medium flame, keep stirring until all the moisture from the bottle gourd has evaporated. You have to cook bottle gourd in ghee until you don't taste the raw smell of the vegetable and also it has soften to perfection. This stage is crucial and don't take any short cut. It took me approximately 15 - 20 minutes. 

3. While frying the bottle gourd, I use another heavy deep bottom pan to cook the fresh milk, cardamom pods, saffron and I diluted 3/4 cup of full cream milk powder for extra richness and creaminess. I used low flame and continuously stirring the milk because I didn't want the milk to have any burnt taste at the bottom. I did the sautéing and boiling of milk simultaneously. The milk has to thicken and become half in quantity. 

4. So now, I have hot thickened milk and piping hot well-cooked bottle gourd. Now, pour the milk into the bottle gourd. Keeping both milk and bottle gourd hot is really necessary as to prevent the milk from curdling. 

5. Keep stirring the milk mixture on low flame until it thickens further and some moisture evaporates. 

6. Lastly, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of ghee and allow it to marry all the wonderful creamy flavor. The consistency of the halwa is slightly thick and it has to be eaten by spoon. 

7. Last step is optional. Scatter some silvered almonds and roughly chopped pistachio for extra goodness of nuttiness. 

8. Serve hot or cold. I like the combination of chocolate ice cream, potato chips and this halwa. It's a weird combo, but cocoa and salt work perfectly well as they cut down the creaminess of the halwa.

Thank you

Abby