A beautiful, pale green doodhi halwa made with bottle gourd and no milk or dairy products.
You might also like these recipes for vegan butternut squash halwa and vegan zucchini halwa.
Doodhi Halwa is a delicious Indian sweet that is not at all difficult to veganize and which, in its animal-free avatar, ends up being both healthier and more delicious.
A doodhi or lauki or bottle gourd is a pretty, pale-green squash that is a known cholesterol fighter and makes delicious subzis. Because the doodhi is very neutral-tasting it lends itself beautifully to a halwa.
The process of making a doodhi halwa is very similar to that for making a vegan carrot halwa. You grate the veggie, you reduce the milk, you add the sugar, and you have an incredibly fabulous sweet made of something that's actually good for you.
Besides, there really is no way to mess this one up. All it takes is a bit of patience.
I use almond milk instead of regular milk in my doodhi halwa. Cup for cup, almond milk contains about ⅓rd the calories in a cup of regular milk. Also, I like substituting nut milks rather than soy milk in Indian sweets because I find they add tons of flavor and no aftertaste, which can ruin a sweet. And because most Indian sweets including this one usually incorporate nuts, the flavor of almond milk lends itself naturally to these dishes.
That said, if you can't find almond milk or refuse to make your own (yes, you're allowed to be a rebel), you can go with vanilla soymilk. The halwa would still be delicious.
More vegan Indian sweets
Recipe card
Vegan Doodhi Halwa
Ingredients
- 1 medium bottle gourd , peeled (the thin skin peels easily with a regular vegetable peeler), seeded, and then finely grated. It should yield around 4-5 cups.
- ⅓- ½ cup sugar
- 3 cups almond milk
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 tablespoon raw cashews , chopped
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil + 1 tsp
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wide-mouthed skillet.
- Add the bottle gourd and stir-fry for about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the almond milk, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so the mixture simmers and allow the halwa to reduce until all the liquid has evaporated, which may take about 60-90 minutes. Stir frequently while the mixture is reducing.
- Add the sugar and stir well.
- In a small saucepan, heat 1 teaspoon of oil and add the cashewnuts to it along with the cardamom powder. Turn off the heat as the cashews turn lightly golden-brown and pour everything into the halwa.
- Mix well and turn off the heat before the halwa gets too dry. You can also add some raisins along with the cashews and let them plump in the oil before adding to the halwa. .
- I think the halwa tastes best slightly chilled, but if you can't wait, dig in
Nutrition Information
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Filed Under: All Recipes, Gluten-Free Recipes, Indian Sweets, Vegan Indian