"Lauki (Gardudde / Bottle Gourd / Doodhi / Sorekai) Halwa with Jaggery~Mawa" served with "Sweet and Spicy Kuttu (Buckwheat)~ Lauki (Bottle Gourd / Doodhi) Poori" on the occasion of Karwa Chauth and Sankashti Chaturthi ... Stay Blessed, Spread Happiness ...
** Karwa Chauth is a festival observed mostly by North Indians by fasting through the day and eating only after the appearance of moon, that too when fed with love by their hubby’s. Again, it is also Sankashti Chaturthi day so it is observed by many of us too as Lord Ganesh is worshiped on this day maintaining fast in their own ways. Coming to Karwa Chauth, though I myself have never been to a Karwa Chauth festival or seen anyone of my friends observe the same, I have always heard a lot about it and I am sure all those who watch Hindi movies have too. This is one festival that usually is shown in full glory in the Hindi movies and I like many grew up watching the same. I salute all the women who observe this fast for the welfare and long life of their hubby’s which is the basic concept of the fast observed. Food I believe is taken before sunrise and later the married women of the home do not eat anything, not a morsel of food nor drink water through out the day. The fast is broken by a ritual of celebration by all women together, then seeing the moon on its appearance and then the face of the husband through a sieve. The husband then offers water and sweets to his beloved who held this fast for his sake. To many women activists this may be amusing and some may even fight saying women’s rights etc. which is in vogue now. But for me, it is such a beautiful and lovely bonding between the man and his wife. Love always means trust, faith and sacrifice otherwise that love is simply meaningless, and a day of fasting with true faith means a lot in this ritual. God Bless all those brides who do so, as goes the saying, if you believe its God or else its just a stone or idol for some. I have always loved watching it in movies and it really fascinates me and I am just waiting for an opportunity to watch this ritual live someday, God willing.
As a tribute to all those women who really do this with so much of love and affection, I thought of preparing a combo dish that is observed during fast on Sankashti Chaturthi day too. So today, I have prepared a buckwheat poori, that I believe can be consumed on fasting days and doodhi halwa a sweet as an offering to Lord Ganesha, with earnest faith that his will shower his choicest blessings on all of us. Kuttu / Buckwheat is a millet and is considered to be very healthy and is prepared during fasting by many North Indians. I am however, trying it for the first time and I found it similar to nachani / finger millet in nature. Lauki / bottle gourd / sorekai or gardudde as you all know is very famous all round India for preparation of halwa and I am sure no foodie is ignorant of this dish. I am sure many of you have relished it sometime or the other at least at some functions, as it is usually served during marriage functions too. I have already posted a different version of this gardudde halwa to which I will share the link at the bottom of this recipe. This recipe is slightly different as here I have used mawa / khova ie solidified full fat milk. I purchased it from stores as it is a laborious work of continuous stirring of milk for an hour or so, and also it is freely available in Mumbai, so no point in going through the hard task. Again I have used organic jaggery here instead of sugar and the taste really is awesome. In all a delicious halwa that can be relished as it is or with poories, yumz.
** Here is my recipe for “Lauki (Gardudde / Bottle Gourd / Sorekai/ Doodhi) Halwa with Jaggery and Mawa” …. My Style ….
** Wash and wipe dry one large sized say about 700 gms of bottle gourd. The bottle gourd should be very tender and not have large sized seeds within. If there are large seeds formed within, sometimes there are chances of the same turning bitter. Now slice off the edges and cut the lauki into 4 to 6 vertical pieces. If they are too length cut them into two.
** I have added a collage of picture to easy knowledge and understanding of the same, do check it out. Now grate the inner white flesh portion only of the bottle gourd on a large holed grater. Do not grate the skin part, once you reach the outer skin portion as you grate, stop grating and keep it aside. You can discard it or prepare chutney out of the same if you wish. You can follow the recipe of ridge gourd chutney recipe posted earlier if you wish, the method is same.
** In all you should have about 8-10 glasses of grated bottle gourd. Now add this into a thick large sized kadai with 2 tblsp of fresh homemade ghee and fry on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Then pour 2 cups of boiled milk and cook on high heat till you see bubble appearing all over, keep mixing in between. Now lower the heat, cover and cook on low to medium heat for a good 10 minutes, till the bottle gourd is cooked well. The bottle gourd will have softened and turned mushy.
** Now add in about 2 cups of grated or powdered jaggery / gud / goda and mix well. Cook on medium hot, the halwa will thin out when jaggery has melted. Let simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes. You can add a small pinch of yellow or red color if desired now. Meanwhile crumble well into powder form 100-150 gms of khova / Khoa / Mawa / Solidified Whole Milk. Add this to the cooking halwa, along with a tablespoon of ghee and mix well. Cook till the halwa thickens out and leaves the sides.
** The Bottle Gourd / Lauki Halwa is done now, add in a large pinch of finely powdered cardamom powder. Heat a tsp of ghee in a small pan, add in a few charoli, cashew nut pieces and slivered almonds stir for a minute and add this to the halwa and mix well. You can even add a teaspoon of rose water or kewra essence if desired, I have not as I prefer cardamom powder flavor. You can also add in kesar / saffron melted in little bit of hot water while cooking, again I have not as my stock of saffron was over.
** "Lauki (Gardudde / Bottle Gourd) Halwa with Jaggery~Mawa” is done and ready to be served. You can either serve this hot or at room temperature as it is or as a side dish with any poori you desire. I served it with “Sweet and Spicy Kuttu (Buckwheat)~ Lauki Poori" of which link I am sharing at the bottom of this recipe. The combo is a good one as a Naivedyam and on days of fasting. Do try out this awesome combo and enjoy with your family and friends. Do give me a feed back on both the recipes if possible, it keep me motivated to do that much more.
** Given below is the link for the Sweet and Spicy Kuttu (Buckwheat) Bottle gourd poori ….
** Given below is the link to bottle gourd recipe with sugar ….
** Plz. Do Check out on an Article written by me on Poori, sharing the link below …
** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of different types in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and Enjoy them with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible. I have also started a food group for by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" where in you will find many more recipes by members and you too can share some of your own. The link to the group is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring" … Thank You ….
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