Lauki Ka Halwa or bottle gourd sweet is a perfect food for fasting days. It can be made in two different ways and in both ways, it tastes just amazing.
Every year the arrival of the month of October brings with it the golden hues of the Mother nature, the onset of the winters and the cheer of the festive season. Navratri in northern India, Durga Puja in Bengal, Garba in Gujarat, Golu in South India…all these and many more festivities bring a happy fervour all around us.
During the Navratri fasting, which is kept for nine days, and a few other fasts like Shri Krishna Janamashtmi and Maha Shivratri, only falahari food is eaten. Kuttu ke aate ki Puri, Aloo ki sukhi aur raswali sabzi, raita, fruits, sama k chawal, kaddu ka mitha, sabudana ki khichdi and Lauki ka Halwa are a few things that I have seen being prepared in my homes during these fasting days. I have recipes of a few of these fasting delicacies in my YouTube channel “flavourhome by Sutiksha”. Do check them out.
Important points for Lauki Ka Halwa
Lauki ka Halwa is made with Lauki ( bottle gourd ). Lauki is one easily digestible and very healthy vegetable. Unlike any other halwa (sweets), it can be made in a very healthy manner. It doesn’t require many things and whatever little goes in it has a healthy alternative also. So basically, you can enjoy a sweet and still feel not very guilty about it.
Lauki – Lauki or bottle gourd, that we will take for this recipe should be soft and not ripe. That is to say, it should not have hard seeds. Only the outer portion of it is used for making halwa but you can definitely use the whole of it too, if it is soft.
Ghee – I use desi ghee (clarified butter ) for most of the sweet preparations. I recommend using only ghee for the best taste of this halwa too. You can however, reduce the quantity, if you wish.
Dry Fruits – In this recipe, I have used almonds, cashew nuts, Pistachios and raisins. You can add walnuts too. More the crunch of nuts, better it tastes. I have roasted them in ghee but you can dry roast them, if you like.
Sugar – I have used white sugar for this Lauki Ka Halwa, as I was out of gur (jaggery). You can use brown sugar or any other alternative of it, like, shakkar, khandsari etc.
Lauki ka Halwa – Two ways
Lauki ka Halwa can be made in two ways. The one I have shown here and another one with milk. I will tell you about both, so you can decide which one would you like to try. Both ways the halwa tastes differently, but totally delicious.
Without Milk – I mostly make lauki ka Halwa without milk. I do not like lot of creaminess in this halwa and like to keep it comparatively light and crunchy. The complete method is explained below, so I will just skip to the second method of making this halwa.
With Milk – To make lauki ka halwa with milk, after roasting lauki for about 2 min in ghee, add in 2 cups of milk. Now cook lauki in this milk and let the milk evaporate completely. And then add in the sugar and dry fruits. Alternatively you can use 1 cup milk and 1/4 or 1/2 cup khoya. The halwa thus made is pretty heavy because of the added milk solids.
Some other interesting recipes from my YouTube channel and blog;
- Crunchy Samosa recipe
- Chocolate Biscuits without Oven
- Semolina Bread
- Ladi Pav
- Besan Barfi
- Gol Gappe (crunchy and with lot of tips)
Recipe Video Of Lauki Ka Halwa
I have made a short video for you to understand this recipe better. Do take a look and Subscribe to my YouTube channel, so that you get the recipe notifications as soon as I upload them. Also like and share these recipe videos, if you find them good.
Ingredients
- Lauki (Bottle gourd) – 1 kg (after grating, it was 650 gm)
- Ghee (clarified butter) – 1/2 cup (100 – 120 gm)
- Sugar – 1/2 cup (100 gm)
- Dry fruits ( mix) – as required
- Elaichi (cardamom) powder – 1/2 tsp
NOTE : The quantity of ghee, sugar and dry fruits can be adjusted as per your taste.
Method
1.Heat 2 tbsp of ghee and roast the chopped dry fruits in it. Once roasted, take them out and keep aside. Now, in the same ghee add the grated lauki (bottle gourd). Roast it for about 2-3 min on medium flame and then cover and cook it, until soft. Keep the flame low when it is covered.
2. In between, do keep checking it and stir it well for even cooking. Also keep adding 1-2 tbsp of ghee, as and when required. Again cover and cook on low heat, until the grated lauki is soft. Then add sugar, elaichi powder and half of the roasted dry fruits. After this do not cover it. Cook it uncovered. The sugar will melt. Cook until all the moisture is dried up.
3. Serve it hot with roasted dry fruits on top.
I would love to hear from you if you try this Lauki ka Halwa. Do mention it in my comments section how you liked it or if you made it in any other way. Also if you make this and share on social networking sites, remember to add #flavourhomebysutiksha and tag me there, so that even I can appreciate your efforts.
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Very nicely prepared.
Thank you so much!!