Lauki barfi (with mawa)| How to make lauki barfi

Lauki ki barfi recipe with step by step photos and a video recipe. Lauki is the Hindi name for "Bottle Gourd" and Barfi means "milk-based sweet".

In this post, I am sharing the recipe for lauki ki barfi using mawa. You can make instant mawa within 5 minutes at home and then add it to the burfi.

Lauki ki barfi made with only 5 ingredients bottle gourd, sugar, mawa, ghee/clarified butter & cardamom powder.

Why Mawa is used in this recipe?

The mawa used for making the burfi gives it a soft texture and helps it to solidify.

Also, it reduced the cooking time of making burfi. You are not going to reduce milk & wait until it thickens.

Also, it enhances the flavor of lauki ki burfi too. You can also add condensed milk instead of Mawa and then cook it until the mixture thickens.

Can you make Lauki burfi without Mawa?

Yes, you can make lauki burfi without mawa too.

Place the grated lauki in the pan & add 1.5 cups of full cream milk. Cook until the milk is reduced & lauki is cooked.

Add sugar & cook until the mixture reaches a thick consistency. Finally, add some roasted dry fruits & cardamom powder. Lauki burfi without mawa is ready.

Lauki barfi can be made within 15 minutes. Once you peel and grate the lauki then it takes only 15 minutes to cook it.

How to make Lauki ki Barfi

Preparations

1. Grease an Aluminum tray/Thali with sufficient ghee/clarified butter and keep it aside.
2. Wash the bottle gourd and pat it dry. Peel off the skin. Remove the top and the bottom part. Cut it in half.  Remove the soft seed part in the center. You can also watch the video for easily understanding the process.
3. Using a grater/food processor grate the bottle gourd/lauki. Make sure to grate it finely.
4. Gently squeeze out the excess water. Use this water to make any curry/soup. Do not throw it. Also, do not squeeze it hard. We need some amount of juice to be retained in lauki so that it is cooked in its own juices. Keep it aside.
5. Heat a pan and add ghee/clarified butter. Roast almonds & cashews till it is golden in color & turns aromatic. Keep it aside. Also, roast the raisins in ghee till it puffs up. Keep it aside.

Making Lauki barfi:

1. Heat 2 tablespoon ghee/clarified butter. Add grated lauki and sauté it for a minute. Now cover and cook it till it is soft. It will take around 10-15 minutes. Keep stirring it in between.
2. Remove the lid and cook it uncovered for 2 more minutes or until all the moisture from it evaporates.
3. Add sugar and mix it well. Once the sugar dissolves the mixture will become thin & liquidy. Again keep stirring it until the moisture from the mixture evaporates.
4. Now to it add mawa. You can grate the mawa & then add it (if it is hard). Mix it well. The mixture will start to solidify, becomes thick and will start to leave the pan. You can see it forms like a lump.
5. Add some roasted cashews, almonds and raisins (reserve a few to be used later). Mix and switch off the flame.
6. Finally, add cardamom powder to it and mix it.
7. Pour the mixture in a greased mold. Sprinkle some cashews and almonds on the top. Press it with a ladle.
8. Let it sit for an hour.
9. Cut lauki ki burfi in the desired shape and serve.

Cooking Tips

1. Taste a small piece of bottle gourd and if it is bitter discard it. It is advised to check the bottle gourd before making its juice or any dish. Bitter bottle gourds are toxic.
2. Grate the lauki finely. This will reduce the cooking time and also you will get melt in the mouth burfi.
3. Remove the seed part while making lauki ki burfi. You can see it in the photos in the step by step process of making lauki ki burfi.
4. Gently squeeze out the excess water from the lauki. If it has too much moisture, then it will take a long time to cook. Do not throw the water, it's nutritious. Use it for making curry or soup.
5. Do not squeeze it hard as we need a little bit of juice in lauki so that it can cook in its own juices.
6. Do not cut lauki in advance as it may turn black. When you are making lauki ki burfi then only peel, cut and grate it.
7. Cook lauki until soft and then add sugar to it. If lauki is not cooked well then it will spoil the entire taste of the burfi.
8. Adding mawa/khoya enhances the flavor of the lauki ki burfi. Also, it reduces the cooking time too. If you want to make it flavorful then add mawa to make the burfi.
9. Add dry fruits to it. Roasted dry fruits add a crunch to the burfi. But if you are allergic to nuts then you can avoid it.
10. Add cardamom powder to the burfi. It gives a nice aroma to the lauki ki burfi.
11. You can add green food color to the recipe. It will make the burfi look more appealing. But I avoid adding food color.

Interested in more Indian sweets recipes:

1. Rava Gulab Jamun
2. Besan ke laddu
3. Til ladoo
4. Besan burfi

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Recipe Card

Lauki ki barfi recipe | How to make lauki barfi (step by step)

Lauki ki burfi recipe - Make this delicious lauki ki burfi within 15 minutes. Lauki barfi made with lauki, sugar, mawa, ghee and cardamom powder.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 9 burfi

Calories: 197kcal

Author: Preeti Nayak

Equipment

• ▢
  Heavy bottom pan

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cup grated bottle gourd/lauki tightly packed, after squeezing out the water
• ▢ 3 tablespoon ghee/clarified butter
• ▢ ½ cup sugar
• ▢ ½ cup mawa
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
• ▢ 2 tablespoon almonds/badam sliced
• ▢ 2 tablespoon cashews/kaju sliced
• ▢ 2 tablespoon raisins/kismis

Instructions

Preparations to be done for making lauki barfi recipe:

• Grease an Aluminum tray/Thali with sufficient ghee/clarified butter and keep it aside.

Grate the lauki/bottle gourd:

• Wash the bottle gourd and pat it dry. Peel off the skin.
• Remove the top and the bottom part. Cut it in half.
• Remove the soft seed part in the center.
• Using a grater/food processor finely grate it.
• Gently squeeze out the excess water. Do not squeeze it hard. We need some amount of juice to be retained in lauki so that it is cooked in its own juices. Keep it aside.

Roasting almonds, cashews & raisins

• Heat a pan and add ghee/clarified butter.
• Roast almonds & cashews until it is golden in color & turns aromatic. Keep it aside.
• Also, roast the raisins in ghee until it puffs up. Keep it aside.

Making the Lauki burfi recipe:

• Heat 2 tablespoon ghee/clarified butter. Add grated lauki and sauté it for a minute.
• Now cover and cook it until it is soft. It will take around 10-15 minutes. Keep stirring it in between.
• Remove the lid and cook it uncovered for 2 more minutes or until all the moisture from it evaporates.
• Add sugar and mix it well. Once the sugar dissolves the mixture will become thin.
• Again keep stirring it until the moisture from the mixture evaporates.
• Now to it add mawa. Mix it well.
• The mixture will start to solidify, becomes thick and will start to leave the pan.
• Add the roasted cashews, almonds and raisins (reserve a few to be used later). Mix and switch off the flame.
• Finally, add cardamom powder to it and mix.
• Pour the mixture in a greased mold. Sprinkle some cashews and almonds on the top. Press it with a ladle.
• Let it sit for an hour.
• Cut lauki ki burfi in the desired shape and enjoy.

Video

Notes

1. Taste a small piece of bottle gourd and if it is bitter then discard it.
2. Cook the lauki properly. It should be soft before you add sugar to it. If remained uncooked it will not taste good. 
3. Do not skip adding mawa while making the burfi. It enhances the flavor of burfi.
4. If the mawa is hard then grate it before adding it to the recipe. 
5. Be careful while adding sugar to the recipe. In this recipe, I have added half a cup of sugar. The mawa that I have used for making lauki ki burfi is sweet. But if you are using unsweetened mawa then you have to increase the quantity of sugar to ¾ cup or 1 cup.

Nutrition

Calories: 197kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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