Lauki Ka Halwa or Doodhi Halwa is a traditional Indian dessert that is made in almost all the North Indian households during festivals or special occasions. Made using bottle gourd or dudhi, this is a delicious halwa that will surely satisfy your taste buds.
Here are some more Halwa Recipes, that you can make for your upcoming festivals – Aate Ka Halwa, Suji Ka Halwa, Aloo Ka Halwa, Rajgira Halwa, and Besan Ka Halwa.
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About This Recipe
Lauki Ka Halwa is a simple Indian Sweet, where Bottle Gourd is the star ingredient.
It is a popular Indian dessert recipe, that is made in almost all the Indian households especially in North India during festivals, special occasions, or just for an occasional treat after your everyday meals.
Bottle gourd is cooked in ghee with an added flavor from cardamom powder, rose water, and dry fruits. Also always taste the Lauki before making halwa, because if it tastes bitter it will ruin your halwa too.
If you love Gajar Ka Halwa, I am sure you will love this one too. It is so easy to make, that you don’t need to wait for an occasion to savor this sweet and creamy Dudhi Halwa.
I often make it at home to enjoy it after our weekend meals, as it is loved by everyone in the family. Also, you do not have to wait for fresh carrots like Carrot Halwa, as lauki/bottle gourd is available throughout the year, you can make it any time you want.
This Lauki Halwa is,
- Delicious
- Easy to make
- Prepared during festivals
- Perfect for weekend sweets
Ingredients
Lauki – Lauki or as it is called Doodhi/Bottle Gourd is a summer vegetable that is high on water content and is apt for your summer desserts too. This is the key ingredient in this Halwa, which will be further flavored with more ingredients.
Milk and Khoya – The addition of milk adds to the creaminess of this Halwa. I have also added Khoya for a rich taste. If you don’t want to add Khoya, you can make it just with Milk.
Also, always use full-fat milk for the best creamy texture and taste. You can even make it with low-fat milk or skim milk, but the results will be a bit different.
Cardamom Powder – I really love the taste cardamom powder adds to my desserts and therefore this is my favorite ingredient to include in my Halwa recipes too.
If you do not have cardamom powder, you can crush the cardamom seeds and add them to the Halwa.
Dry Fruits – This is a must in any Halwa. I have just added almonds and cashews, but you can even add raisins, pistachios, walnuts, etc. I have garnished the Halwa with slivered pistachios.
Other Ingredients – Other than these, we will need ghee, rose water, and sugar. Rosewater adds a nice flavor and makes the halwa aromatic.
Always use a good quality ghee fort the best taste.
Step By Step Recipe
Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan.
Add almonds and cashew nuts and fry till golden brown.
Add lauki and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Now add milk.
Simmer the heat and cook till all the milk has reduced. Add cardamom powder and rose water. Cook for a minute.
Add khoya and sugar and cook till the desired consistency is reached.
Garnish with almonds and pistachio slivers.
Frequently Asked questions
If you are looking for a Lauki Halwa Recipe without Khoya, you can skip the khoya and cook lauki only in milk.
Cooking in milk also lends a beautiful flavor to this halwa. You can add some milk powder too for richness.
In case, you want to make a vegan version of this halwa, you can substitute dairy milk with almond milk or coconut milk and ghee with vegan butter.
Peel the Bottle Gourd/Lauki, make a cut, and discard center part with seeds. Now, take a grater and start grating from the sides. Make sure you use a bigger sized grater, as you don’t want your lauki to be mushy.
If you are looking for other variations, then you can use Carrot and Beetroot. Just peel and grate the vegetables and then follow the same process to make the Halwa.
To make it with condensed milk, reduce the amount of milk to half, and use condensed milk instead. You do not need Khoya in these versions.
You can also avoid adding sugar or reduce the amount of the same if you are adding condensed, as it is sweet enough.
Storage Suggestions
You can store Lauki Ka Halwa in an airtight container for upto a week in the refrigerator. Reheat in the pan or in the microwave for about a minute or two before serving. You can even enjoy this Halwa chilled.
Pro Tips By Neha
Always saute grated Lauki/Bottle Gourd for 2-3 minutes in ghee, to avoid the moisture and raw taste of the vegetable.
Taste the Lauki before using, because sometimes they turn out to be bitter, which will ruin the taste of your Halwa. If it has a slight tang, then it’s ok, it will reduce once it gets cooked with milk and sugar.
To increase the richness of this Halwa, add in chopped dry fruits.
Always use full-fat milk or full cream milk to make the Halwa. If you add skim milk or low-fat milk, there are high chances of milk getting curdled.
Always cook the Halwa on low medium flame and keep stirring it, so that it doesn’t get browned from the bottom.
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Recipe Card
Lauki Ka Halwa Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Ghee
- 10-12 Almonds (broken into small pieces)
- 10-12 Cashew Nuts (broken into small pieces)
- 3 cups Lauki (Peeled, seeded and grated using medium size grater)
- 3 cups Full Fat Milk
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder
- 1/4 tsp Rose Water
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 200 g Khoya (cooked till slightly browned)
- Dry fruits for garnishing
Instructions
- Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan.
- Add almonds and cashewnuts and fry till golden brown.
- Add lauki and fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Now add milk and cook until it comes to a boil.
- Simmer the heat and cook till all the milk has reduced.
- Add cardamom powder and rose water and cook for a minute.
- Add khoya and sugar and cook on low heat until the desired consistency is reached (Approx 35-40 minutes)
- Garnish with almonds and pistachio slivers.
sangeetha pn
Wow.. looks delicious.. Glad to follow you.. Try visiting me in your free time!
Manjula Bharath
love the festive presentation 🙂 and halwa looks super delicious , make me drool dear 🙂
Anonymous
Why is there aluminum foil in the dish? Does this do some enhancement to the dish? Does it help the flavors blend?
Brian Taylor
How to make Lauki Ka Halwa at home visit for Recipe – Click Here
Sonia
Can we add readymade gulukand to this recipe
Neha Mathur
Yes sure, you can, Adjust the sugar accordingly.