The Kokani Muslim happen to be a Muslim sub-ethnic group of Maharashtrian Muslims who are living in the Konkan region of India. Muslims from the Maharashtrian districts of Raigad, Thane, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg are generally regarded as Kokani Muslims.
Highlighting the significance of doodhi halwa, Shabana Salauddin, home-chef reviving the Kokani Muslim cuisine under the name Ammeez Kitchen says “Kokani Muslims are habitats from the coast of Maharashtra. Dependency on local and seasonal produces were extensive as access to many things were limited and hence our cooking till date reflects the same trend ingrained by elders as a family tradition.
One meetha that is a part of Kokani eid apart from the mandatory sheer qorma is prepared using coconut milk and bottle gourd. Coconut being available in abundance and bottle gourd an easy to find vegetable even in the remote part of the Kokan. And neither was it a rich dry fruits or saffron etc loaded dessert . Those eventually got included in the recipe. The richness comes with the slow cooking process of coconut milk that releases the fat and is absorbed by the veggie.
So, basically it was an inexpensive delicious meetha for Eid made using what was available.
Recipe of Konkani Muslim Style Doodhi Halwa By Shabana Salauddin
Ingredients
• 2 kg doodhi/ Lauki
• 100 gms desi ghee
• 500 gms sugar granules
• 1 big coconut (extract coconut oil)
• ½ green cardamom powder
• 50 gms chopped cashews almonds raisins
• 2 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 2 green cardamom
• Pinch of salt
Methid
• Peel the bottle gourd. Prick them and dessed them if there is any sees If you have bought a tender bottle gourd then they'll have few, tiny, tender seeds. You don't have to worry about deseeding a tender bottle gourd.
• Cut them along in 3-4 big pieces and dip them water so that they don’t turn black
• Then in a non stick pan add some ghee and let it melt. Then add al the whole spices cardamom, cinnamon and all. Sauté it for few seconds.
• Now add the Doodhi pieces. Stir them at intervals and make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Keeping on medium flame cook it for 10 mins without the lid.
• Now add the sugar and cook well till the sugar fully melts. Make sure you are cooking in low heat at this stage. As the sugar keeps melting keep stirring at regular intervals.
• Now cover it with a lid.
• At this stage add the coconut milk and pinch pf salt. Keep the lid half open so that the milk doesn’t spill. In the meantime, keep stirring the milk.
• Once the halwa is cooked and ready the coconut milk will get soaked on it’s own. The dried lauki will be soft and yet not mushy and the oil from the coconut can be seen on top.
• At this stage add the green cardamom powder, all the dry fruits and give it that one final mix.
• Serve it hot and your Eid special Kokani Muslim Style doodhi halwa is ready.