Wish you all a happy, colourful & flavourful Holi !

The festival of colours have arrived again and since Holi is a splash of colours and a bash of flavours, rejoicing and merrymaking on this occasion will also mean a culinary celebration. Amidst the plethora of alluring and popular items for the festival e.g., gujjiyas, thandaii, dahi vadas, kanji vadas, chaats, gulab jamuns and the endless list of goodies, we all will definitely crave for something different & special. Desserts are invariably the best part that in this occasion that I enjoy in particular. No doubt there are endless options in Indian desserts for everyone even including the vegans, yet our search seem endless when it comes to hunting more appropriate choices to satiate our sweet cravings. This time I tried a little to satisfy the palates of my vegan friends and thought of using ash gourd as my core ingredient which is considered a super food having numerous health benefits like accelerating weight loss, augmenting heart function, detoxifying the kidneys, enhancing digestive system, moisturizing skin naturally, preventing skin infections, promoting hair growth, controlling excessive dandruff, curing insomnia, joint illnesses, fever& jaundice and a lot more in the list that just goes endless. This wonderful ingredient is also known to regulate thyroid, uplift immunity and significantly enhance overall metabolism of the body. With so many health benefits in one component really makes Ash gourd as one of the most essential part of our culinary exploration. We must celebrate such a wonderful ingredient in ways as many as possible so as to help the vegetable reach the masses as a whole. I have also used poppy seeds in my dessert to give it a creamy feel without using milk, which is again a wondrous ingredient with innumerable health benefits that is from improving cognitive functioning, bone health, cardiovascular system, skin and hair health to treating insomnia, aiding digestion, regulating blood pressure and enhancing immunity etc. These two core ingredients together make this dessert a very healthy and comforting dish that can really meet the tagline of “taste bhi health bhi“, which means taste along with health. You may also pair ash gourd with any vegan milk of your choice like coconut or almond milk to make this dessert and can also flavour it with any mildly aromatic fruit of your choice, giving it your own touch & relishing it with your own flavours. So no wait anymore, just have a look at the recipe & give it a try.

RECIPE :

Ingredients:

1. Ash gourd (Safed Kaddu/Chaal Kumro/Kumura) :- Half of medium-sized gourd cut into medium sized cubes.
2. Poppy seeds :- 2 tbs.
3. Coconut (grated) :- 2-3 tbs.
4. Strawberries :- 7-8 or more (cut into small pieces)
5. Sugar :- 4 to 16 tbs. or to taste.
6. Flax seeds , Melon seeds (dry roasted together) :- 1 tbs.
7. Almonds (chopped) :- 2-3.   
8. Refined oil :- 2 tsp.
9. Bay leaf, green cardamom – 1 each.

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add the bay leaf & green cardamom to it and sauté.
2. Add the ash gourd pieces and sauté the pieces in the oil over a low flame.
3. Cook the pieces by stirring them continuously till they turn soft or cooked.
4. Bring down from flame, sprinkle some rose water and keep aside.
5. Grind poppy seeds and grated coconut together to make a smooth paste.
6. Melt two tablespoons of sugar with little water in a pan over a low flame by stirring continuously.
7. When the sugar turns syrupy, add the coconut poppy seeds paste to it and keep stirring over low flame till the extra water dries out. Do not overdo, otherwise the mixture will become dry. (Note:- If you feel the mixture has turned dry, give it a spin in a blender jar again to make it milky & smooth).
8. Bring down from flame, sprinkle some rose water, mix, cover & let it cool down completely.
9. Again, melt the remaining 3-4 tablespoons of sugar in another pan with some water over a low flame.
10. Keep stirring the mixture till it forms a syrup.
11. Add the strawberry pieces to it, mix well & let the strawberries cook in the sugar syrup over a low flame.
12. When the strawberries are almost cooked & forming a mash & imparting a nice colour, add the sauteed ash gourd pieces to the strawberry compote and let the gourd cook and blend well with the flavour of strawberry syrup. Do not break or disintegrate the gourd pieces to enjoy its bite. (Note:- You may use any fruit of your choice to make the compote and flavour the ash gourd)
13. Add little water to maintain its thick syrupy consistency, boil and bring down from the flame and let the ash gourd strawberry mixture cool down completely.
14. Now, take a bowl and add the poppy seeds paste to it, spread it uniformly and then pour the ash gourd strawberry mixture over it.
15. Top it with some roasted seeds of your choice (e.g., flax seeds, melon seeds etc.), chopped almonds and grated coconut.
16. Cover the bowl nicely and refrigerate for few hours or overnight to serve it chilled.
17. You may also serve it chilled along with any freshly cut fruits of your choice and garnish with some more freshly-added roasted seeds to make it more refreshing. Make your celebration memorable with this refreshing treat.

1. https://www.netmeds.com/health-library/post/ash-gourd-health-benefits-nutrition-uses-for-skin-and-hair-recipes-side-effects
2. https://www.netmeds.com/health-library/post/poppy-seeds-incredible-benefits-of-khus-khus-for-overall-health