• Wash and Soak the sabudana pearls for 1 hour.
• Soak the cashews in warm water and keep aside.

Let's prep for the dessert

• Peel the bottle gourd, cut into halves, scoop out the core and grate it into thick shreds.
• Take a large mixing bowl, add cold filtered water and add the grated bottle gourd shreds to it. Squeeze the juice out of it and drain the water.

  Repeat washing the grated bottle gourd shreds for one more time until water runs clear.

  Note : This step helps in preventing the curdling of milk when we add bottle gourd.

Let's start cooking GIL-E-FIRDAUS now!!

• Heat a Saucepan, add full fat milk, one cardamom pod and bring to a boiling point. Then reduce the flame to low.
• In a small mixing bowl add khoya and a cup of hot milk to it. Mix it thoroughly until khoya completely incorporated well.
• Heat a thick bottomed pan, add grated bottle gourd, water. Close the lid and cook for 10 min on low flame until bottle gourd turns tender.
• When the water dries up, mash the bottle roughly and sauté again till the water dries up completely. Keep this aside.
• To the boiled milk, add soaked sabudana(drain the water). Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes on low flame till the sabudana turns translucent and tender.
• Add cashew paste, milk mixed with khoya mixture to the milk and sabudana. Give it a good Stir thoroughly to prevent the formation of lumps.
• Remove the cardamom pod from the milk and then add in sautèed bottle gourd mixture, sugar and give it a good mix.
• Reduce the flame to a low flame and cook until the kheer thickens up and keep stirring continuously to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Once the kheer thickens, turn off the stove and let the kheer cool down to room temperature.
• Serve chilled or warm GIL-E-FIRDAUS / Kaddu ki kheer by sprinkling some chopped nuts on the top.