Lauki ki Barfi is a delicious,
melt in mouth traditional Indian sweet. A fudge often made on festivals like
Krishna Janmashtami , Dushera and Diwali. This fudge can be easily prepared at
home ahead of the festival as it has a shelf life of about a week.
Bottle gourd / lauki is
considered as a Sattvik food ( food which are fresh , juicy , light ,
nourishing and which offer calmness and add vitality to our body system. Hence
it is consumed during fasts / Vrat. Bottle gourd happens to be a happy vegetable
at my home and I usually make Bottle Gourd Raita / Doodhi chi Koshimbir, Lauki Ki Kheer / Bottle gourd Pudding apart from the Doohi thalipeeth and doodhi chi bhaji. This
time I tried this fudge and this was also a big hit in my family.
Bottle gourd fudge can be
prepared in many ways. Grated bottle gourd is either cooked and reduced in milk
, or condensed milk is added to grated bottle gourd. Milk powder can also be
added. Here, I am sharing a recipe which calls for use of Khoya / Mava / Milk
Solids. Usually this fudge is flavored with cardamom and Saffron , this time I
tried flavoring it with Gulkand ( Rose Petal Jam ) and it turned out super
yum.
Serves: 25-30 square fudge pieces
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time : 30 minutes
Ingredients: Measurements-
1 cup =200 ml
·
2 Cup grated and
squeezed Bottle gourd
·
1 Cup Sugar
·
1 cup Khoya /
Mava / Milk Solids
·
2 tbsp. Ghee
·
2 tbsp. Rose
petal jam (gulkand)
·
2-3 tbsp. chopped
nuts of your choice
·
1 tsp cardamom
powder
·
Silver leaf /
Chandi ka Varq (Optional)
Method:
1. Wash, peel and grate the Bottle gourd using a grater.
Discard the large seeds if any. Keep it aside for 10 minutes.
2. Squeeze out all the juice from the grated bottle gourd
with your hands. This will save both time and gas. This juice can be used in soups or dal.
3. In a heavy bottom wok, heat ghee on medium flame. Add
the squeezed out grated bottle gourd and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Now cover
cook for 2-3 minutes or until the bottle gourd is dry .
4. Now add sugar and Gulkand ( Rose petal jam ) and mix
well. Cook the mixture for 5 -7 minutes.
5. Add crumbled khoya to this mixture. Mix well and
cook on a low flame for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped Nuts at this stage. Cook until the mixture thickens and leaves the sides of the pan. This will take another 7-10 minutes. Keep stirring continuously to ensure the mixture does not catch the bottom of the wok.
6. Add cardamom powder . Mix well and
put off the flame.
7. Pour the fudge mixture to a greased tray. Tap it from
top with the bottom of a greased bowl to give flat surface. Add silver Varq to
the fudge and allow it to set. After 10-15 minutes cut the fudge into desired
shapes.
I hope you would love to give this fudge recipe a try this festive season. Do not forget to give your valuable feed back.
For more fudge recipes , do check my posts on
