Dudhi Barfee ( Bottle Gourd Sweet Squares)

Last week when I went to the mall the freshest and to be very frank the most reasonable priced  vegetable available was the bottle gourd. I just couldnt control myself and bought 2 bottle gourds. One I used for making normal vegetable but I still had the other one and so I planned making dudhi barfee out of it.

Usually I dont have the patience to make barfee as it requires stirring continuously for a long time and so I end up making dudhi halwa which is an alltime favourite in our house.

But then I wanted to try something new and so made two different flavours. One with the Kairi (raw mango flavour ) and one with Gulkand ( Rose flavour). Though both the barfies turned out to be awesome I personally liked the gulkand variety more .

Linking this to  Vijis -  SYS - Bottle Gourd  
                     kids-delight   at   nivedhanams
     foodabulous-fest-celebrate-april at dailychoresrecorded

So here is the recipe for both the varieties :

Ingredients :

4 cups .......................Grated bottle gourd ( peel the skin and deseeded)
3 cups .......................Mawa
3 cups .......................Sugar
1 cup..........................milk powder ( Nestle)
1 cup .......................Grated Raw mango ( peel the skin and remove the seed)
2 tbsp........................Gulkand
1tbsp........................ghee
few drops .................green food colour
few drops..................pink food colour
1 tbsp......................cardomom powder
1tsp..........................almond slivers
1tsp..........................pistachio slivers

Method :

Crumble the mawa and stir fry it in a non stick pan till it gives out nice aroma.
Remove it in a plate and keep for further use.
Now in a same a non stick pan heat ghee and stir fry the bottle gourd till the raw smell goes away.
Add sugar and continue stirring.
First the sugar will melt and the mixture will become watery.
Continue stirring on a medium flame till almost all the water evaporates .

The mixture will start leaving the pan.
Now add the crumbled and stir fried mawa and againg stir contiuously.
Now divide the mixture into two portions.
To one add the grated kairi and green food colour and stir .
When mixture becomes almost dry and leaves the side add 1/2 cup milk powder .
Mix well and spread the mixture on a greased plate.
Sprinkle cardamom powder and almond slivers and keep in the fridge for 6 to 8 hours.
To the remaining half portion add Gulkand and pink food colour .
Stir and when dry add milk powder and mix well.
Spread on a greased plate and sprinkle pistachil slices and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours.





Now the barfi will be hard enough .
Cut into desired shapes.
Keep it in the fridge or it will become soft.
It stays well for almost a week.

Kuvale Bhaji ( Ash Gourd vege gravy)

During my previous post regarding Kuvale Randho I have already mentioned about the nutritional values of Ash gourd and its medicinal properties. Here's one more dish. This time a vegetable which is simple and yummy . It tastes great with rotis or hot rice.




Ingredients :

3 cups ............... Kuvale (skinned and cut into cubes)
1 cup.....................fresh coconut grated
3 to 4 ...................green chillies
1 tsp.......................turmeric powder (optional)
2 -3 .....................dry kokam pieces
2 tsp.....................cumin
1/2 tsp....................asefotida (hing)
1 tsp........................mustard seeds
8 to 10....................curry leaves
1 tbsp ......................coconut oil
jaggery as needed
salt as needed



Method :

Peel the skin of Kuvale and remove the inner seeds and pulp if not tender.
Cut it into cubes.
Add little water to kuvale and cook for 5 to 10 minutes or till half cooked.
Add turmeric powder, salt , jaggery and  kokam.
Grind together coconut, chillies and cumin seeds.
Add this ground masala to the cooked vegetable and cook till done.
Heat coconut oil in a small vessel , when hot add mustard seeds let them splutter.
Add curry leaves and asefoetida  and temper the vegetable.
Serve it with rice or roti.

Kuvale Randho ( Ash Gourd Halva )

We all have certain dishes made in our homes which are considered very healthy and nutritious. They are usually given to children for their health, old people and others in their sickness. One such vegetable or fruit vegetable is Ash Gourd . Its juice is said to increase the memory and concentration, the vegetable itself is very easy to digest and is given to people who have less appetite or intestinal problems. It also has cooling effect on our body system. When such an ingredient is made into a sweet dish it surely vanishes into the stomach in no time and you feel great that the family has had its nutritional quota of the day.



Ingredients :

Ashgourd - 1 small
milk - 2 cups
Fresh cream - 2 to 3 tbsp
Milk powder - 2 to 3 tbsp
Sugar - as needed
Ghee
Raisins
Kesar
Chironji

Method :

Peel the outer skin and grate the ashgourd.
Don't throw the peel it can be used in making a tasty chutney (see the recipe here)
Heat ghee and add the grated ashgourd and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
When cooked add sugar and again cook for 10 minutes.
Then add milk and cream and raisins.
Cook till milk evaporates.
Add milk powder and mix well.
Serve decorated with chironji and kesar strands.

Sending this to entry to  Jagruti 's event super-food super power