Suraikkai payasam (Bottle gourd payasam)

Suraikkai / Bottle Gourd is one of the healthiest veggie.. We used to make kootu or curry some times make suraikkai adai also. I learned this recipe during my initial days of cooking after marriage. In recent days, I have made some changes than the original recipe, and liked my own way of preparation, and stuck to this method. I made this delicious payasam on Tamil new year. And it was a grand success this time too.

I am giving the measurements based on which I have made this time.
The general ratio is, 1:1:1/3
1(cup of finely chopped bottle gourd) : 1(1 cup milk):1/3 (1/3 cup of sugar)

Ingredients:

Finely chopped bottle gourd- 1 and 1/2 cup
Milk - 1 and 1/2 cup
sugar - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 2 tea spoon
coconut- few small pieces (say 2 table spoons coconut pieces)
cashews - 10 + 8
elachi powder - a pinch

Preparation:

1. Boil milk and keep aside.
2. In a sauce pan, heat 2 tea spoons of ghee and fry the cashews, and keep aside.
3. in the same pan, saute the chopped bottle gourd until its raw smell leaves.
4. then add about 3 cups of water (2 times your quantity of veggie) and let it cook in low flame.
(If you need a mashed consistency of bottle gourd in payasam add an extra cup of water. I liked to have the bites of bottle gourd pieces, so just cooked until soft)
5. Let it cook well until they turn soft, and let all the water evaporated.

6. In the mean time, in a blender, add 8 cashews,coconut and a table spoon of boiled milk (use from 1 and 1/2 cup mentioned above) or the required amount of milk, and grind it to a fine paste, and keep aside.
7. now add the remaining milk to the cooked veggie and let it cook for few minutes,
8.Once they are blended add sugar and give a stir.
9.then add the ground paste, and elachi powder, let the mix cook for a minute and switch off the flame.
10. add/Garnish with the fried cashews, serve warm or chilled.

Notes:
1. you may even pressure cook the veggie, if you want to make it quickly.
2. If you Pressure cook, adjust the water level accordingly.
3.All the water should be evaporated, before adding milk.
4. if you want to mash the bottle gourd completely, you can either pressure cook or give a quick pulse in blender once it is cooked softly.

This month, I have got the veggie to cook in SYS-W series is bottle gourd. Hence linking this recipe to Viji's SYS-W event

Sending this recipe to fruit and Veggie based sweet treats hosted by Chef Mireille and organized by Swati