Lauki Halwa is a popular North Indian dessert made with lauki (bottle gourd), milk, sugar, and ghee, and flavored with aromatic saffron and cardamom.
This recipe is a perfect balance of sweetness and creaminess in a bowl, giving this halwa a divine taste and flavor.
Lauki ka halwa or dudhi ka halwa, is a simple dessert made with grated lauki, milk, and sugar, and flavored with cardamom. This dessert is easy to prepare and requires very few ingredients to make.
I have a fond memories of this Lauki Ka halwa, me and my brother use to help my mom grate the lauki, since this was the only time consuming part in making of this halwa.
The rest was pretty easy, I remember my mom used to cook this halwa in a pressure cooker, making it a quick and anytime dessert, we didn't have to wait for any festival to enjoy this delicacy.
Lauki Ka Halwa is mainly served during the fasting (vrat), such as Navratri, and Ekadashi, but my mom used to make this halwa quite often as it was one of my favorite desserts.
Besides lauki halwa, this pressure cooker Carrot Halwa, and Basundi, thickened sweet milk flavored with some cardamom and saffron, are my absolute favorite.
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What is Lauki
Lauki also known as doodhi, opo squash or bottle gourd is one of the healthiest and quite versatile vegetable full of water (about 92%) and minerals and keeps our body hydrated.
Lauki or Bottle gourd is high in water content and is a rich source of vitamin C, K and calcium. It also helps in maintaining a healthy heart and also helps lower bad cholesterol levels.
The bottle gourd juice is also beneficial for diabetic patients as it helps stabilizes the blood sugar level and maintains blood pressure.
Love lauki? Here's an amazing collection of Indian Lauki recipes.
How to pick a perfect Lauki
Lauki or bottle gourd is easily available in most Indian/Asian grocery stories. When picking a lauki, choose young, firm lauki for best results.
The skin of the lauki is light green in color and the flesh of the lauki is white. Lauki comes in various sizes and thickness.
How to prep lauki for Lauki Ka Halwa
Peel the skin and discard the end portions of lauki, and scoop out and discard any large seeds or white part that is soft or soggy before cooking. If lauki is fresh, there may not be as many seeds, and also the white part will be quite firm.
Medium grate the lauki, if grated too thin the halwa will turn mushy and if grated too thick the halwa will have bigger chunks. You can hand grate it using a hand grater or even use a food processor to grate the lauki.
Note: Do not keep the lauki for a long time after grating, as it will start to loose moisture (will turn watery) and will also start to turn black in color.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to make lauki halwa vegan (dairy-free)?
- Use vegan butter or coconut oil
- substitute full fat milk and heavy cream with nut milk like almond milk, or even coconut milk works great.
- substitute non-fat dry milk powder instead of full fat dry milk powder.
How to make lauki halwa nut-free?
For a nut-free lauki ka halwa, simply skip the almond flour and garnish with nuts. Instead you can use some pumpkin seeds for garnish. It will still taste delicious.
How to make lauki halwa sugar-free?
For a sugar-free lauki ka halwa, substitute sweetener of your choice instead of condensed milk.
Why use almond flour?
Adding almond flour is optional, you could also add some handful of crushed almonds, which will work just fine, or make it nut-free, will totally do.
How To Store Lauki Halwa
Lauki Ka Halwa stays fresh in refrigerator for about a week. You can easily freeze this too. It stays good for upto a month in a freezer. Thaw before using and warm it up before you serve.
Serving Suggestions
Lauki halwa can be served warm or cold, it tastes yum either way. Some prefer warm Lauki ka halwa with a scoop of a vanilla ice-cream. Enjoy this North Indian delicacy, Lauki Ka Halwa with your loved ones and cherish good moments!!
More Indian Desserts
Lauki Ka Halwa - Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups firmly packed medium grated lauki bottle gourd
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 cup full fat milk
- 2 tablespoon warm full fat milk
- 15-20 saffron strands
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ½ - ¾ can (14 oz) condensed milk or to taste
- 1 cup full fat milk powder
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup almond flour
For garnish:
- 10 - 12 silvered almonds add more if desired
Instructions
How to make Lauki Halwa in Instant Pot
- Soak saffron strands in 2 tablespoon of warm milk, keep it aside.
- Turn on Instant Pot to saute mode (high).
- When it displays "HOT", add 1 tablespoon of ghee, grated lauki.
- Saute for 3-5 min, sauteing occasionally. Add cup of milk. Mix well. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Turn on Manual/Pressure cook mode (high), 5 mins, vent sealed. When Instant Pot beeps, quickly release pressure. Open the IP lid.
- Turn on saute mode (high), add cream, milk powder, condensed milk, saffron soaked in milk, cardamom powder, almond flour. Mix well.
- Saute on high until all the moisture is evaporated, around 5-7 mins.
- Switch off Instant Pot.
- Lauki Ka Halwa is ready to be served. Garnish with some silvered almonds. Enjoy!!
For Stovetop Dudhi Halwa
- Add milk, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce, and cook until all the moisture has evaporated, around 10-15 mins, stirring occasionally to prevent any sticking to the bottom. The rest of the steps remain the same as Instant Pot. Note: Use a Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot for cooking halwa on a stovetop. Helps prevent the sticking of halwa at the bottom.
Notes
- Grate the lauki to a medium thickness, if grated too thin the halwa will turn mushy and if grated too thick halwa will have big pieces.
- Adjust the sweetness as per taste.
- Almond flour is optional, you can substitute crushed almonds instead or make it nut-free. Nuts of choice such as cashews, raisins may also be added.
- Halwa stays good for a week in a refrigerator and upto a month in a freezer.
- Cardamom powder and saffron gives lauki ka halwa a nice aroma.
- Instead of condensed milk, you can also use sugar, condensed milk gives halwa a nice rich taste. You may also substitute khoya to enhance the flavor.
- Few drops of green food color may be added to get the green color halwa.
- For Vegan / dairy free options please refer to - How to make Lauki Ka Halwa vegan/dairy-free? discussed earlier in the post.
- For nut-free options please refer to - How to make Lauki Ka Halwa nut-free? discussed earlier in the post.
- For refined sugar-free options please refer to - How to make Lauki Ka Halwa sugar-free? discussed earlier in the post.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
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