Dumrot / Kashi Halwa/ Ash Gourd Halwa

Dumrot or Kashi Halwa is this decadent dessert that is also a standard feature in Kannada wedding feasts. It is mostly served with Idli and Pongal for breakfast and I love such a lavish breakfast spread. But otherwise it is a mostly made as offerings for gods during festivals and special occasions. In my place, this is one of the offerings made during the 9 days Navaratri/Dasara festival when we are supposed to make offerings twice a day all 9 days. But this time around I made it Janmastami. Because I was quite bored with just the used raveunde, Hesarunde, Chakkli, Karjikai etc.. This dish is one of the easiest to make and I love it for this. It is also a a great fit for Janmastami for the recipe calls for Cream and Milk and Ghee all of which were Lord Krishna's favorite foods..



Ash Gourd 2 lbs or about 2 cups grated and drained and squeezed thoroughly
Sugar 1 1/2 cups more if you like it sweeter. (I use 2 cups if I am serving my FIL)
Whole Milk 1 cup
Cream 1/2 cup
Ghee a little over 1/4 Cup
Saffron a few strands soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
Raisins 1/4 cup fried in ghee.


Method:

1. Heat the ghee in a think bottomed pan. I generally use my small cooker. It is somehow perfect for this kind of recipes.
2. Throw in the grated and squeezed Ash Gourd. Toss well and cook till the vegetable is almost transparent.
3. Now throw in the remaining ingredients. Cook till the mixture thickens to a jam like consistency. Finis with the raisins. Serve warm

P.S: A note on the cream.
I prefer to use home made cream, (cream that has been accumulated for a couple of days or so.) the cream that is sold in supermarkets tends be have a higher percentage of fat and a lower percentage of milk solids that the texture of the finished dish gets altered to a great extent and definitely not to my liking. Also if Khoa is available, grated khoa can be used instead of cream. That gives the dish a better finish.

Sending it out to FIL Milk . Dedicating this dish to my Honey.. He loves the dish. It had once happened during Dasara festival that I had as usual prepared this dish and had placed it in front of the deities as offering. Half an hour past the pooja, I see the offering is all gone.. My Honey then started blaming stray cats. We all knew which was that cat. So it is for him