Parwal ki Mithai

Parwal ki mithai is a sweet made by simmering a small gourd in sugar syrup and stuffing it with a milk-based filling. It is enjoyed in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other regions. Slits are cut into the green exterior, and the white filling and nuts show through them. Instead of the vegetable being finely mixed into the sweet, its shape is used as the sweet’s outer shell.

Parwal sweets stuffed with a milk-based filling. Photo: Ravi Talwar, 2015, location unknown. Downscaled version from the source; content unchanged since retrieval (Source · CC BY-SA 4.0).

Turning a gourd into a sweet vessel

Parwal is a small gourd known in English as the pointed gourd. It is a vegetable used in cooking, but for this sweet the gourd is peeled or its surface is scraped, and a lengthwise slit is cut along one side. The seeds are removed to make a cavity, and the gourd is parboiled so that it keeps its shape, then sweetened in sugar syrup.

If the outer flesh collapses, the gourd cannot be filled, so softening it is not enough on its own. The process also includes resting the gourd in the syrup, and the milk filling goes in after the gourd has been drained. Cooking the vegetable also makes the vessel that holds the filling.

Longitudinal section of a parwal. Photo: Billjones94, 2022, location unknown. Downscaled version from the source; content unchanged since retrieval (Source · CC BY-SA 4.0).

Preparing the milk filling separately

For the filling, khoya, made by cooking milk down, is sautéed and mixed with sugar, cardamom, chopped nuts and other ingredients. Some recipes also add milk powder. The filling is cooled before it is stuffed into the gourd, and it is arranged so that the white part can be seen between the slits.

Mawa (khoya) in a bowl. Photo: Miansari66, year and location unknown. Uses the brightness-adjusted version by Hohum posted on Commons (Source · public domain).

In a study that examined how the sweet is made in Varanasi, the khoya was sautéed so that it would crumble easily, stirred after the sugar was added, and kept from forming lumps while it cooled. The study tested khoya made from cow’s milk, from buffalo milk, and from a mixture of the two. The milk used for the filling is not limited to a single type either.

The gourd flesh and the milk filling are cooked separately. The gourd is made to absorb the syrup, while the milk is reduced until it is thick enough to hold together as a filling. Not cooking the two in the same pan helps keep the structure of a green exterior and a white interior.

A finish that shows green and white

Some versions have pistachios scattered over the surface or are finished with edible silver leaf. The sugar-soaked flesh bites like a thin skin, and then the rich sweetness of the milk and the crunch of the nuts come through. Even when a product has a strongly emphasized color, its ingredients or method cannot be judged from the depth of the green alone.

It is a regional sweet prepared for summer weddings and festivals, and Bihar tourism guides also list it among the region’s local sweets. A gourd that is usually also used in savory dishes is stuffed with a sweet milk filling and served.

Glossary