Lauki Halwa

Ingredients:-

2 tbsp ghee
1 cup grated lauki (bottle gourd)
1 cup full fat boiled milk
3-3.5 tbsp sugar or add as required
A few saffron strands
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1.5 tbsp chopped nuts- almonds, cashews
4-5 raisins

Method:-

1. First, rinse, peel and grate the lauki. Simply taste lauki before grating. If the lauki tastes sour, then do not cook it. You will need tightly packed grated lauki.
2. Heat ghee in a kadhai on medium-low flame. Add the grated lauki.
3. Mix the grated lauki very well with the ghee. Saute on a medium-low flame till the moisture from the lauki dries.
4. Then add a cup of boiled milk. The milk should be at room temperature. Mix very well.
5. Cook on a medium-low flame till the milk comes to a boil. Keep stirring in between.
6. As soon as the milk starts boiling, be very attentive and keep stirring so that the milk does not spill from the kadhai.
7. Keep on stirring and cook till 75% of the milk has been reduced and absorbed by the lauki.
8. Now, add sugar and mix well. Then add a few saffron strands, chopped nuts (almonds, cashews) and cardamom powder. Mix them well.
9. Keep on stirring and cook till the halwa mixture starts coming together and the halwa thickens.
10. You will know that your halwa is ready when you see some ghee being released from the sides. There should not be any liquid in the halwa.
11. Switch off the flame and add raisins. Give the halwa a mix.
12. Garnish with some chopped nuts and serve lauki halwa either hot or warm.