Sorekayi (Bottle Gourd) Halwa

 Ingredients: 

15 cups grated Bottle Gourd / Sorekayi
6 - 7 cups Sugar
7 - 8 Cardamoms / Elachi / Elakki
1/4 - 1/2 cup roasted Cashew nuts / Gerubeeja
11/4 - 1.5 cups Ghee / Thuppa
Pinch of Saffron / Kesari
2 - 3 tsp Milk

Recipe:

                                           

Cut the bottle gourd and remove the inner part, seeds and outer skin as shown in the picture below. (The inner part that can't be grated can be crushed in mixer and put it to Halwa)

Grate the bottle gourd pieces as shown in the picture below.

Put the grated bottle gourd in a pressure cooker container and cook it without adding water.(1-2 whistles) or directly put it a in a heavy bottomed vessel and cook it by covering a lid. Cook this until almost all the water content is evaporated.

Put saffron in warm milk and keep it aside. Remove the cardamom seeds from cardamom, mash them and keep them aside. Roast the cashew nuts and keep aside.

Once the water content is almost evaporated from the cooked bottle gourd, add the sugar and mix them well.

                                         

Keep the halwa in medium flame and stir this mixture once in 2-3 mins until almost all the water content gets dried up.
Add the saffron milk, ghee, roasted cashew nuts and mix them well. Stir the halwa continuously in medium flame until ghee starts separating.

Add mashed cardamom and mix well. Saute the halwa in low flame for about 5 mins.
Apply little amount of ghee to the plate, pour this halwa and spread it using one flat spoon as shown in the picture below.

Serve hot/cold.