Dudhi Halwa

Dudhi Halwa (or Lauki Halwa in Hindi) is a delicious dessert made from bottle gourd/calabash/squash. In India, my mom makes halwa at least once a week and over the years, I learned the recipe through her. The great thing about this dessert is that it requires only a few ingredients and it doesn't take too long to make!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serving: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of dudhi, peeled and shredded (remove the seeds before shredding)
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 to 5 threads of saffron (soaked in 1 teaspoon of warm milk)
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground cardamon seeds
• 2 tablespoons almonds, peeled and sliced (boil the almonds for 2 to 3 minutes to remove the skin)
• Edible silver leaf/Vark (optional)

Ingredients:

1. Remove the water from the shredded dudhi buy squeezing it out. Set aside about 2 packed cups of dudhi
2. Boil 2 cups of milk in a pot until it reduces to about 1 cup and set aside
3. Melt the ghee in a frying pan on medium heat, add dudhi and saute until it is tender.
4. Pour in the milk to the bring dudhi milk mix to a boil
5. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture becomes thick, stir occasionally in between to prevent sticking
6. Add sugar, cardamon, saffron and 1 1/2 spoons sliced almonds. Stir continuously until the mixture gets to a consistency of a soft sticky dough. It will take about 4 to 5 minutes.
7. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon sliced almonds
8. Apply silver leaf/vark on top of the halwa (optional)
9. Serve hot or at room temperature