Pudalanga payasam ( snake gourd kheer)

There is a long story behind this dessert...After my ammas death i was told to make this payasam and do pooja to snake god in sarabeshwara swami temple in koyambedu ,chennai. i was so confused to how to made Kheer with pudalanga... i know they make kheer with carrot but Snake gourd!!!Asked everyone i knew but couldnt get any answer. Finally i was told byt someone to make it just like carrot kheer.
Again i had this doubt ... what about the smell... since snake gourd has a different smell... how will that go with sweet...  my problem was ....if its for my family  anything would be fine but i have to distribute to devotees and i was not supposed to taste :( that was a tough situation ... right???... at least for me... so this is what i did and by gods grace some of the devotees who tasted came and asked me what that was and were surprised to here ... this happened in 2000.

Sharing this after a longggggggggggg time.ah ... yeah

INGREDIRNTS;
Snake gourd -1  small(tender finely chopped- comes to about 2-3 handfull)
Coconut- about 2 tbs
Almond or cashew-8
Milk-2 to 3 cups
Sugar- to taste
Saffron- few
Cardamom- 1/4 tsp
Ghee-3tsp
Cashew/ almond(chopped to garnish)

METHOD:

1. In a pan heat ghee and saute chopped snake gourd till raw smell goes.and pressure cook it with 1/4 cup of milk for couple of whistles. Cool it and keep.
2. Grind blanched almond and coconut to a smooth paste and keep aside
3. Mix saffron in little milk and keep aside.
4. Now pulse the cooked snake gourd for few seconds(it should be coarse- must be able to feel the bits of the veggie)
5. Add this and ground almond paste to boiling milk.  and cook for few minutes. add sugar and boil for couple of minutes. add cardamom powder and saffron and remove .
6. Garnish with almonds or cashew chopped.Serve chill.

Participating ina cooking event after a very long gap :) and Sending this to Swathi's and 27 coupons.com's  Traditional Indian sweets event