Lauki Ka Halwa | Dudhi Halwa | Bottle Gourd Pudding

Lauki Halwa, also known as Dudhi Halwa, is a delicious Indian dessert recipe made with bottle gourd, milk, sugar & ghee (no khoya, no condensed milk used). It is an easy & light dessert recipe that can be made at home with just few ingredients.

This succulent dudhi halwa or ghiya halwa is made without mawa, khoa or condensed milk. It is a great dessert option to serve on festivals like Diwali, Holi or RakshaBandhan. It is gluten free & can also be consumed during Navratri Vrat also.

Indian sweets are mostly deep fried & often rich in fats & sugar. If you are a weight watcher and like to keep calories in check, then this lauki halwa is relatively light dessert. You can also adjust the sugar in it as per your taste to make a mild sweet dessert.

Lauki or bottlegourd is one of the most common vegetables available in Indian markets during summer season. It is considered to be rich source of fibre, low in calories & hence often included in weight loss diet also. It is known by other names like ghiya, dudhi or long melon. This vegetable is used in curries (subzi), stir fry, soups and desserts.

As a kid I used to despise Lauki sabzi (curry) but I loved eating it in the form of halwa or barfi (lauj). The halwa tastes so juicy and creamy that someone eating it first time would not even guess that it is made using a vegetable.

How to make dudhi halwa?

To make this lauki ka halwa, bottle gourd is first peeled, grated and then slow cooked in full fat milk. Slow cooking imparts it a peculiar creaminess and richness which I often find missing from its quick version. However if you are in hurry and don’t have time, you can reduce the quantity of milk and add some khoya or condensed milk once the milk is slightly reduced.

Cardamom (elaichi) & rose water (gulab jal) adds a divine aroma to dudhi halwa. You can skip rose water or use kewra water instead. Almonds, Cashews, Pistachios- any type of nuts can be added as they add a lovely crunchy texture in halwa.

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Hope you would like this easy delicious lauki halwa recipe. More Indian sweets recipes :

Ingredients:

Lauki (Bottlegourd)- ~650 grams
Ghee (Clarified Butter)- 3 tbsp
Milk (full fat)- 2 cups (500 ml)
Sugar- 6 to 8 tbsp (to taste)
Chopped Nuts- 10 to 15
Cardamom (Elaichi)- 2
Rosewater- 2 to 3 drops (optional)

Note :

Please taste a small piece of lauki before you start making halwa as sometimes it has a slight bitter taste. Don’t use if it has bitter taste as the end result will not be good.
Use any nuts of your choice – almonds, cashews or pistachios. Adding rosewater is optional. You can even use some Kewra.
Start by adding 6 tablespoon of sugar in the halwa and taste it. Increase the quantity as per your taste.
Full fat milk makes halwa rich & thick. If you are using toned milk, you can add khoya or condensed milk for thickening the halwa.

Directions:

Step 1:
Wash & peel the lauki. Discard its top part and grate it using a grater. Don’t grate the pulpy inside part where you see the seeds. If you are using food processor de-seed the pieces first & then grate them. (Grated lauki weighs around 250 grams)

Step 2:
Heat ghee in a pan & add this grated lauki to it. Sauté it for 4-5 minutes on medium flame till it starts to soften up.

Step 3:
Turn to flame to low or switch it off. Add milk to the above pan & keep mixing it. Let the mixture cook on medium-low flame now for 20-25 minutes. Keep stirring in between.

Step 4:
When the milk starts to thicken, add sugar to it. Mix well. If you are using food colour add in this step. It might look liquidy again but keep cooking on low flame while stirring. Cook for 5-10 minutes more.

Step 5:
Add chopped dry fruits, crushed cardamom seeds & rose water to the halwa. Mix well. Cook till there is no more liquid left in the pan & you start noticing glaze on top of halwa.

Garnish with some rose petal, chopped nuts or edible silver leaf before serving. Serve it hot or warm.

Tips :

Add rose water or cardamom toward the end of the cooking process as these are delicate aromas which tend to evaporate when cooked for long.
Sometimes when milk is added to bottlegourd or lauki while cooking, it tends to split up. To avoid this use boiled milk for making halwa.
Always taste small piece of lauki before you start making its halwa as sometimes it has bitter taste. Proceed to make halwa only if lauki has slight sweet or bland taste.
Please make sure to be little quick after grating lauki as it tends to oxidise quickly on coming in contact with air.
If you want to reduce the cooking time, use 1 cup milk and when it thickens up add 1/2 cup condensed milk to it. Either skip or add a very minimal amount sugar as condensed milk is sweet in itself.
You can add little bit of green food colour if you want a brighter colour.

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(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)