Bottle gourd sabzi

Lauki Sabzi in Marathi

Time: 15 to 20 minutes
Serves: 2 to 3 persons



Ingredients:
2 cups bottle-gourd cubes (First, peel and deseed the bottle-gourd)
1 tsp + 1 tsp Ghee
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
2 to 3 tbsp roasted peanuts powder
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
Salt to taste
2 dried red chilies
1/2 tsp urad dal
Cilantro, finely chopped

Method:
1) Heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds and wait for few seconds. Add bottle-gourd cubes and little salt. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes.
2) Then add milk and let the bottle-gourd cook. Add peanuts powder after bottle-gourd is cooked. Simmer for couple of minutes.
3) Take a small tadka pan. Add 1 tsp ghee and let it melt. Break the chilies into 2 pieces. First, add urad dal and wait till the color turns to pink. Then add broken chilies and stir with spoon. Pour this tempering over bottle-gourd sabzi.
Serve hot with chapati.

Tips:
1) Some people eat bottle gourd for fasting. In that case, skip the tadka of ghee- cumin-urad dal. This sabzi may be eaten as a one bowl meal. Also, it tastes great if accompanied with sabudsana khichdi.

Dudhi Halwa

Dudhi Halwa in marathi
Time: approx 30 minutes
Servings: 3 to 4

Ingredients:
2 n 1/2 cup packed grated bottle gourd (First peel and deseed)
1 tsp ghee
3/4 cup condensed milk
1 tsp Chironji (Charoli)
1 tbsp Almond slivers, blanched and peeled
1 tbsp other dried fruits like cashews, pistachio, sliced
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Method:
1) Heat a pan, add ghee and wait till it melts. The add bottle gourd. Cook over medium high heat. Stir continuously.
2) After 5 to 8 minutes, the water in bottle gourd will evaporate. Then check a little thread of bottle gourd and taste it. If you feel its under cooked, cook for few more minutes.
3) Add condensed milk and let it cook until nice and thick. Add chironji, and dry fruits. Stir nicely. Add cardamom powder and mix well.
Serve warm or cold. Both way, it tastes great.

Tips:
1) Do not cover the pan when cooking grated bottle gourd.
2) Adjust the amount of condensed milk as per your preference.

Dudhi halwa using Milk and sugar

Dudhi Halwa (Lauki Halwa)

Dudhi Halwa in Marathi

Time: approx 1 hour
Serves: 4 people (yield: around 1 and half to 2 cups)

Ingredients:
3/4 Kg Bottle gourd
1 and 1/2 cup milk
2 tsp Ghee
3/4 cup Khoya
3/4 cup Sugar
1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder
Dry fruits pieces (I used Chirounji, cashew, almonds)

Method:
1) Peel and grate bottle gourd. Squeeze out and reserve the water. Use reserved water for making soup, sambar or Dal.
2) In a deep pan, heat 2 tsp Ghee. Add grated and squeezed bottle gourd and saute for 2 to 4 minutes. Then add 1 and 1/2 cup milk and let the bottle gourd cook over medium heat. Cover the pan while cooking.
3) Once milk is absorbed, check whether bottle gourd is cooked or not. If you get little rawness, add little milk and cook for some more time. Then add Khoya. Remove all the lumps from khoya.
4) Five minutes after adding khoya, add sugar, cardamom powder, dry fruits and stir well. Keep the flame low. After adding sugar, halwa will become little watery. But within 5 to 7 minutes it will start thickening. Keep stirring until you get perfect consistency dudhi halwa.
Serve Halwa hot or cold.

Note:
1) Bottle gourd should be fresh and seedless.
2) If you have leftover Pedha, use it instead of khoya. But reduce the quantity of sugar as pedha already have some sugar.