Ingredients –
- Ash Gourd ( Winter melon)– 600 gram (wash and dry)
- Limestone / Chuna – 1 tsp.
- Sugar – 1 cup (as per your taste)
- Food color – green
- Vanilla essence – 1 tbsp.
For stuffing
- Whole milk – 3 cups
- Sugar – 2 tsp. (as per your taste)
- Chopped dry fruits – Pista, cashew, almonds, etc.
- Elaichi (Cardamom) powder – 1 tsp.
Method –
- Peel the ash gourd skin and make sure the green part is not left out.
- Slice the ash gourd in triangular shape.
- Take a utensil, add enough water and limestone, mix well.
- Drop all the pieces of ash gourd in water, mix well and leave it for 2-3 hours.
- After 2-3 hours take out the limestone from water and rinse well.
- Take out all the ash gourd pieces into a pan.
- Add sugar, food color, mix it well and add enough water to immerse the sliced ash gourd.
- Turn on the stove on medium heat, cook till the ash gourd becomes transparent.
- Stir continuously so that it doesn’t burn.
- Do not let the syrup get too thick, if required add half cup water to keep the syrup thin.
- When the ash gourd becomes transparent, turn off the heat, add vanilla essence and leave aside for 1 hour, allowing them to cool down.
- To prepare stuffing, take 3 cups of whole milk and allow it to boil in a pan on high to low heat.
- Once milk is boiled, reduce the heat to medium temperature and keep stirring to avoid the milk sticking to the bottom of the container.
- When the milk becomes thick, add sugar and cardamom powder to the milk.
- Stop heating when all the water disappears. You can also add chopped dry fruits to your stuffing (khoya).
- Now take out the pieces of boiled ash gourd from syrup, drain extra sugar syrup and let them dry out for an hour.
- Take few cloves for decorating the paan.
- Once ash gourd is dried, stuff each ash gourd slices with khoya, fold the slices from the corners and pin them using cloves.
- You can also use toothpick and cherry or tutti fruity to decorate Meetha pan.
- Meetha paan is ready, serve with your meals…
Sunita Mohan's Kitchen 