September 10, 2019
Bottle gourd is also known as Calabash, Lauki, White-Flowered Gourd, Long Melon, or Tasmania Bean. It is a long, pale green fruit consumed as a vegetable. They have a wide culinary use across Asia, Central America, the Middle East, and Europe.
To prepare the vegetable, peel it, slice it in half, and scrape the seeds out. The remaining flesh can then be cubed, sliced, or grated. The taste is a mild squash flavor with a cucumber like texture. Do not eat it if it tastes bitter. One cup of bottle gourd contains 3.6g of carbohydrate, 2.9g of which is fiber.
This vegetable is great in soups, stir fries, and curries. It can also be prepared as a sweet dish, such as Indian halwa, as follows. You can make this dish dairy-free using coconut milk only.
Chai Lauki Ka Halwa
Ingredients
- 1 medium bottle gourd 2 packed cups grated
- 3 cups cream
- 1/4 cup monk fruit
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp pistachio nuts slivered, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the cream in a large saucepan over medium high heat until it is reduced by half, about 30 minutes. While the cream cooks, prepare the bottle gourd and spice mix.
- Peel the bottle gourd, cut in half, remove and discard the seeds, and grate.
- Add the grated bottle gourd to the reduced cream and stir well to mix. Add the spices, salt, and monk fruit and cook, stirring often until little to no liquid remains, another 20-30 minutes. Off heat, add vanilla.
- Serve hot or cold, garnished with pistachios.
