Dudhi Halwa/ Bottle gourd sweet

The so called autumn in India or Mumbai to be precise, comes and disappears while we keep huffing and puffing and complaining about the heat and unruly weather. But if you do take a pause and glance through the vegetable market you may spot a lot of tubers. This is the season of natural and fresh cucumbers, bottle gourds.
Personally I do not eat them a lot because we get them round the year and hence have to no major value in my head. But I have started believing the japanese principle of using the seasonal foods as much as possible in our daily diet.
For BM this month, I opted for the pressure cooker recipes and boy! I was so glad....for a working person this appliance is a boon. Imagine, your kid asking for a dudhi halwa at 8:00 PM when dinner is nearly ready to be served...I did just that...set the table and the cooker together...by the time we chatted and ate the dinner, and did a few chores my halwa was ready to be served



Ingredients
1.5 kg of peeled & grated bottle gourd
2 ltrs of full fat milk (reduce if you like, but I dont add any khoya)
2 cups of sugar (add more if you like sweeter)
1 tbsp of cashewnuts
1 tspn of cardamom powder
1 tspn clarified butter/ ghee
Method
1) In a large pan or pressure cooker, add a tspn of ghee and the grated bottle gourd and saute for 4-5 min until the bottle gourd dries up
2) Add about 1.5 ltrs of milk or full if your cooker has the capacity
3) Close the pressure cooker pan with lid
4) Let it cook on medium or low heat until your hear 2-3 whistles
5) Let the cooker release the pressure naturally.
6) Open the pan and continue cooking.
7) At this stage, 2 things may have happened - either the gourd has absorbed the milk and become soggy or it may have curdled the milk and have the whey separated
8) Either stage is fine, keep stirring and drying the halwa
9) Add the remaining, milk, sugar and cardamom powder
10) Toss in the cashews nuts (saute in ghee if you like before adding)
11) Cook in for another 10-12 min.
12) Taste and check for sugar.
13) Serve warm or cold. 

Tips - If the halwa appears watery or runny...fret not, it will still taste good. You can saute in a non stick pan for  another 5-8 min on high flame while stirring continuously. Alternatively you can add, milk powder to thicken to it.

Comments

Gajus kitchen said…
Delicious Halwa and with such little ghee. Bookmarking it.
vandana rajesh said…
This sounds so good and at 8 pm to make halwa:). Will definitely try this one.
Priya Suresh said…
Thanks god to the one who invented Pressure cooker, i cant live without it.
Doodhi halwa in pressure cooker,am yet to make, lovely texture and wish to relish a spoon rite now.
Unknown said…
Dudhi halwa is still in my to do list and you gave a great idea of making it in cooker.... now i have to try this...:)
Srivalli said…
Wow that's really such a comfort to cook in pressure cooker right..thanks will try it next time..
Anonymous said…
I remember eating this halwa for the first time at my reception. :) Yumm is the word. Thanks for sharing
Sravs said…
Halwa looks YUmmy !!
Padmajha said…
Oh yea, the pressure cooker is an absolute boon in the kitchen. I prepare many dishes in it.ButI took a differnt theme this time. Loved this halwa.
Anonymous said…
The pressure cooker's my MIL's best friend, she makes everything from sambhar & rasam to curries and sweets in it. Loved your 8 pm halwa. Looking forward to more!
Pavani said…
I think pressure cooker is the greatest invention of all times. Doodhi kheer in the cooker sounds convenient and delicious.
Chef Mireille said…
would never have thought of making sweet out of this vegetable...novel idea...I own a pressure cooker but hve to say I rarely use it - I need to dig it out and start to get used to using it
sushma said…
Delicious halwa.....bookmarked
Rajani S said…
You are right, this concept of 'seasonal' vegetables is just not there for me too. Will have to cultivate that habit :). The halwa looks nice, will have to give it a try sometime soon!
Jayanthi said…
I try to eat seasonal foods as much as possible too. The halwa looks amazing...and your recipe seems so easy with pressure cooker, need to try it for sure.

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