Ingredients:

• 1 - Bottle gourd 
• 1½ cups - Milk
• 1 ½ cups - Sugar 
• 1 ½ tbsp - Ghee 
• ¼ tsp -  Cardamom(Elaichi) powder 
• Sliced Almonds or Cashew-nuts and raisins - as per taste
• 1 tbsp - condensed milk (optional)

Method:

1. Wash and peel the bottle gourd skin. Use a large hole grater to grate. If the Bottle gourd is tender use the center core with seeds or else discard it. 
2. You may squeeze grated bottle-gourd to remove the liquid , but l don't mind using it to cook the bottle-gourd as I want to keep all the nutrients. It will just take few extra minutes to thicken while cooking
3. Add milk to grated bottle-gourd and cook in a heavy bottom sauce-pan or pressure cook till one whistle.
4. After the cooker is cooled, transfer the mixture to a heavy bottom vessel and cook it on stove on medium flame.
5. Mix sugar(or jaggery) to the mixture and keep stirring.
6. When most of the liquid is gone, mix ghee and almond and raisins (and slightly roasted cashew) to the mixture. Stir for a minute and turn of the flame.
7. Stir in the Cardamom powder.
8. While it is still warm transfer the halwa on to a serving tray and apply edible silver leaf for garnishing. (optional)
9. Bottle-gourd halwa may be served warm or cold.

Variation:
. Add 2 Tbl.sp of crumbled plain khoa when halwa is three fourth cooked.
. Reduce the amount of sugar and add sweetened condensed milk for a rich taste.