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.