Bottle Gourd Payasa | Lauki Kheer | Sorekayi Payasa | Long Melon Payasa

Bottle Gourd is one of those vegetables which are available throughout the year. Here in Australia, it is commonly available not only in Indian grocery stores, but also in most of the Asian grocery stores. Bottle gourd is a good of vitamins and minerals and hence, regular consumption of this veggie is good for our health.
In our home, we would prefer typical Indian style food most of the time. We buy bottle gourd more frequently to prepare different Indian dishes. I have shared the recipe of Bottle Gourd Palya / Spiced Bottle Gourd long back. Here is one more delicacy made with Bottle Gourd. Do try this Bottle Gourd Payasa when you buy bottle gourd next time and let me hear your feedback! 😊

Time required: 35 - 40 minutes
Serves - 3
Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:

• Sugar - 3/4 cup (1 cup = 
• Bottle gourd peeled, seeded and chopped into small or medium pieces - 2 cups
• Semolina (medium) - 1/3 cup
• Jaggery - 2 tbsp (see Tips)
• Salt - big pinch 
• Ghee / clarified butter - 1 tsp
• Milk - 2 1/2 cup
• Water - 2 1/2 cup
• Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
• Saffron strands - 8 to 10 (optional)

Method:

• Heat the water in a pan. Once it becomes nicely hot, add a teaspoon of ghee and chopped bottle gourd. Continue cooking till bottle gourd pieces become soft.
• In the meanwhile, wash the semolina by adding some water and drain it off.
• Add this semolina to the cooked mixture and mix it continuously for 2 - 3 minutes to avoid lumps.
• Add sugar, salt, jaggery (optional), milk and saffron strands. Allow the Payasa to boil for 8 - 10 minutes. 
• Add cardamom powder before switching off the flame.
• Serve this delicious Payasa hot or cold. This Payasa goes well with Poori, if you are a sweet lover.

Tips:

• If you don't like jaggery, you can replace it with sugar. If you like to use jaggery, use more jaggery and reduce the quantity of sugar accordingly. If using more jaggery, no need to add saffron as the flavour will be dominated by jaggery.