Kumbalakayi Halwa / Kashi Halwa

Ingredients:
6 cups grated Ash Gourd / Budu Kumbalakayi
3.5 - 4 cups Sugar
4 - 5 Cardamoms / Elachi / Elakki
1 - 2 tsp Cashew nuts / Gerubeeja
1 tsp Raisins / Ona Drakshi
3/4 cup Ghee / Thuppa
Pinch of Saffron / Kesari
2 - 3 tsp Milk

Recipe:

Cut the ash gourd and remove the inner part, seeds and outer skin as shown in the picture below.

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

Put the grated ash gourd in a pressure cooker container and cook it without adding water.(1-2 whistles) 

Put broken cashew nuts, little amount of ghee, fry them for few mins until they turn light golden in colour. Add raisins and fry them together for about 2-3 mins until raisins get puffed. Transfer this to another bowl and keep it aside.

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

Once the pressure goes off, transfer this to a heavy bottomed vessel and cook until almost all the water content is evaporated.

Once the water content is almost evaporated from the cooked ash 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 and mix them well. Add the ghee little by little and stir the halwa continuously in medium flame until ghee starts separating.

Add fried raisins, cashew nuts, mashed cardamom and mix well.

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.