Lauki Halwa or Bottle gourd halwa is a delicious dessert that is packed with nutrition. This dessert is mostly made during festivals when people fast as it fills then up and gives them enough nutrition. This sweet-dish is made with grated bottle gourd, milk, condensed milk or khoya, sugar and lots of dry fruits.
I have replaced sugar with sugar free Natura to make this dish healthier. Now even people who are calorie conscious can eat this dessert without any guilt. Sugar free Natura is a new generation sugar substitute. It contains sucralose which is a sugar derivative which guarantees the sweetness of sugar without calories. It is made from a unique process. This is the latest international Zero calorie substitute which is gaining popularity all over the world.
Diabetic people can opt for Sugar Free Natura and enjoy desserts without compromising for sweetness. Healthy dishes like Lauki Halwa can be made healthier if sugar content is reduced by replacing with Sugar Free Natura. 1 sachet is equivalent in sweetness to 2 teaspoon sugar and gives negligible calories as compared to 40 calories provided by 2 teaspoon sugar.
The best part is that it is highly stable, that is you can cook and bake with it without loss in sweetness. I thought of trying this dish after eating this at a restaurant in Bangalore during my office team lunch. The health benefits of bottle gourd are plentiful. It supports digestion, combats flatulence and constipation. It is also loaded with vitamins and minerals. It also keeps the heart healthy, reduces blood pressure and helps to loose weight. So why to load this halwa made with bottle gourd with sugar? Use Sugar Free Natura and enjoy all the health benefits.
Ingredients:
1 medium sized bottle gourd/2 cups grated bottle gourd
1 and 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup condensed milk
15 cashewnuts
15 almonds
10 sachets Sugar free natura
2 tablespoon ghee
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
Few more chopped almonds, cashewnuts and pistachios for garnish
Pinch of salt
Procedure:
1) Chop almonds and cashewnuts and microwave it in 1/2 cup water for 2 Mins and keep them aside.
2) Wash, peel and grate the bottle gourd by discarding the husk and seeds.
3) Heat a kadai and add ghee.
4) When ghee gets heated, add grated lauki and stir fry for 10 Mins.
5) Then add milk and let it simmer for 20 Mins on low flame.
6) Keep stirring in between to ensure that bottle gourd does not stick to the bottom of the kadai.
7) Add condensed milk, stir and let it simmer. Keep stirring in between.
8) Add the microwaved dry fruits. Do not add water if which remains after microwaving dry fruits.
9) After 15-20 Mins, you will notice that the milk would have reduced to 1/4.
10) At this stage stir continuously till lauki starts separating from the edges of the kadai.
11) Add the sugar free sachets, stir well and keep stirring continuously.
Add a pinch of salt.
12) Garnish with finely chopped almonds, cashewnuts and pistachios and few strands of kesar/saffron.
Note: Increase the sweetness by adding more Sugar Free Natura sachets.
Usually bottle gourd is slightly bitter. To remove bitterness, you can squeeze the water completely. I did not do this step.
I did not add any artificial color to the halwa. If you want the halwa to look green like how you get in restaurants, you can add a pinch of edible green food color.
Serve it hot or chilled. Try other dessert recipes by clicking here. Check carrot halwa recipe by clicking here.
This post has been written for Sugar Free Dessert Challenge by Indiblogger and Sugar Free Natura - http://sugarfree-india.com/1 medium sized bottle gourd/2 cups grated bottle gourd
1 and 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup condensed milk
15 cashewnuts
15 almonds
10 sachets Sugar free natura
2 tablespoon ghee
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
Few more chopped almonds, cashewnuts and pistachios for garnish
Pinch of salt
Procedure:
1) Chop almonds and cashewnuts and microwave it in 1/2 cup water for 2 Mins and keep them aside.
2) Wash, peel and grate the bottle gourd by discarding the husk and seeds.
3) Heat a kadai and add ghee.
4) When ghee gets heated, add grated lauki and stir fry for 10 Mins.
5) Then add milk and let it simmer for 20 Mins on low flame.
6) Keep stirring in between to ensure that bottle gourd does not stick to the bottom of the kadai.
7) Add condensed milk, stir and let it simmer. Keep stirring in between.
8) Add the microwaved dry fruits. Do not add water if which remains after microwaving dry fruits.
9) After 15-20 Mins, you will notice that the milk would have reduced to 1/4.
10) At this stage stir continuously till lauki starts separating from the edges of the kadai.
11) Add the sugar free sachets, stir well and keep stirring continuously.
Add a pinch of salt.
12) Garnish with finely chopped almonds, cashewnuts and pistachios and few strands of kesar/saffron.
Note: Increase the sweetness by adding more Sugar Free Natura sachets.
Usually bottle gourd is slightly bitter. To remove bitterness, you can squeeze the water completely. I did not do this step.
I did not add any artificial color to the halwa. If you want the halwa to look green like how you get in restaurants, you can add a pinch of edible green food color.
Serve it hot or chilled. Try other dessert recipes by clicking here. Check carrot halwa recipe by clicking here.
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