April 27, 2011

Lauki Halwa /Bottle Gourd / Doodhi Halwa


Sweet dish made up of vegetables !! Yes ! It can be done and it can taste awesome too  :)  I had tasted lauki halwa  few years back at our office picnic when one of my friend had made it. And as expected  ,I was skeptical to taste it. But one bite and I was converted. I never tried to make it until today. I had lauki and an opened can of condensed milk which I had to use soon. Though I have used condensed milk, normal milk can be used too. The only slightly negative thing about lauki halwa is that it doesn't have a very appealing appearance. I had already thought of combating it using spinach puree to impart it some colour. The spinach puree idea was inspired by a coconut spinach barfi my another friend's father used to make [this was also few years back when I was still doing my post-graduation]. That barfi used to taste awesome so I was sure that adding spinach is no way going to spoil my lauki halwa. And I was right. It adds to the colour without adding anything to taste.

Ingredients
2 Cups Grated Lauki/ Doodhi / Bottle Gourd[ skin and seeds removed] -
1 tbsp ghee/ clarified butter
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk [ You can replace this with sugar and milk]
3 green cardamoms powdered
Dry fruits of your choice [cashwenut,almonds,pistachio]
3 tbsp spinach puree [ wash spinach and remove stems and blanch it in  an uncovered pan with little water for 3-4 minutes, and grind it when it cools]


Preparation
  1. Heat ghee/ clarified butter in a pan. Add dry fruits and fry till it slightly changes colour.
  2. Add grated Lauki/ Dudhi / Bottle Gourd and cook for 10 minutes on slow flame .
  3. Add condensed milk ,spinach puree and cook till all the condensed milk dries up. It will take around 10 minutes.  Add cardamom powder and mix well.Take off the stove and serve it warm or chilled.  
Notes :
If you are using  sweetened condensed milk there is no need to add sugar. If you are using normal milk, then let the milk dry up and add sugar once milk dries up.
If the colour is not to your liking, you can add more spinach puree.



9 comments:

aipi said...

The color is so appetizing- I can bet on the awesome taste as well!

US Masala

Priya Suresh said...

Halwa looks super delicious and inviting..

Raji said...

WOW..love the colour...adding of spinach is very new to me but it has given a fantastic colour to the halwa.
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SinFoodie said...

Thank you Aipi ,Priya and Raji. It tasted super awesome especially when it was chilled. :)

Prathima Rao said...

Nice one!!! Thats a wonderful idea of adding spinach puree..Gives a nice color with natural ings & not artificial coloring ;) Good one sweets!!
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner

Nisha said...

Loved the color and use of spinach for it

sanjeeta kk said...

Would love to taste the chilled halwa!

cinnamonNchillies said...

hey, meant to comment on this earlier. Am a spinach fan and a halwa fan. So u can imagine...I went gaga over this pic :-)

suma said...

Hey this sounds like a great idea! I shall try this next time I make it, thanks! Now a halwa this color is something I will love even more!!!

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