Lauki Chana Dal

A delicious and nutritious combination of lauki (bottle gourd), chana dal (Bengal gram lentil), and a few spices, lauki chana dal is super easy to make and comes together in under 20 minutes. Here is how to make it.

Lauki is a great vegetable to eat in summers, as it is high in water content. So here are some more lauki recipes, that you can often make at home – Lauki Kofta, Lauki Raita, Lauki Ka Bharta, Gujarati Lauki Thepla, Lauki Tamatar Sabzi, and Shahi Bharwa Lauki.

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• About This Recipe
• Ingredients
• How to make Lauki Chana Dal?
• Variations
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage Suggestions
• You might also like
• Recipe Card

About This Recipe

Lauki chana dal is a popular North Indian curry that is prepared with lauki (bottle gourd), chana dal (Bengal gram lentil), and a few everyday spices. This pressure cooker recipe is healthy, easy, fuss-free, and gets ready in 20 minutes.

Due to its easy process and basic ingredients, lauki chana dal is an apt curry to make for your rushed weekday meals. I prefer to make it a little thin but if you want the consistency to be thick, add in less water. Apart from serving it for weekday lunch or dinner, you can also pack it in a lunch box along with some hot and flaky tawa parathas.

It is a great recipe to make in summers, as bottle gourd provides you the much-needed hydration due to its high water content and chana dal provides you protein which keeps you filled for longer.

This Lauki Chana Dal is,

• One Pot
• Comforting
• Vegetarian
• Easy + Quick + Fuss free
• Perfect for everyday meals

Ingredients

To prepare this simple vegetable dal, you will need,

Lauki – Lauki, also known as ghiya, doodhi, or bottle gourd is one of those vegetables that are easily available in the local Indian grocery store all around the year. Pick up the one which is pale green in color, firm, light in weight, and tender with fewer seeds.

Chana Dal – Chana dal or Bengal gram lentil is high in protein. Make sure to soak it in water for better cooking.

Ghee – I prefer to prepare this dal ghee for a richer taste. If you want the recipe to be vegan, you can use vegetable oil instead.

Others – Other than these above-mentioned ingredients, you will need turmeric powder, salt, onion, garlic, ginger, green chilies, and tomatoes.

Adjust the amount of green chilies, depending on how spicy you want it to be.

For Tempering – Finally, temper it with ghee, cumin seeds, and asafetida (hing). You can avoid adding asafetida to make it gluten-free.

I also like to garnish it with freshly chopped cilantro leaves for a refreshing taste.

How to make Lauki Chana Dal?

Wash 1 cup chana dal with water 2-3 times until the water runs clear. Soak it in 3-4 cups of water for 20 minutes. Soaking the chana dal is important otherwise it will take more time to cook as compared to the lauki and lauki will get mushy.

Peel a small size lauki (or half of a large one) using a vegetable peeler. Wash the peeled lauki and cut it into 1-inch cubes. If there are large seeds, then discard them by cutting the portion with the seeds lengthwise. Set the cubed lauki aside.

Prepare the other ingredients as required.

Press SAUTE button on the instant pot. Once it says HOT, add 2 tablespoon ghee.

Once the ghee is hot, add ½ cup chopped onion and saute for 3-4 minutes until it softens and get slightly browned.

Add 2 teaspoon chopped ginger, 2 teaspoon chopped garlic, 2 teaspoon chopped green chili and ¼ cup chopped tomatoes and fry for another 2 – 3 minutes.

Now, add the cubed lauki and fry for a minute.

Drain the chana dal and add it to the pot along with ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, salt to taste, and 3 cups of water, and close the lid of the instant pot.

Set the valve to the sealing position. press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 11 minutes at High Pressure. The instant pot will take some to build the pressure and start the timer (10-12 minutes).

Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid of the pot. Stir the dal gently.

Note – To make the dal in a traditional pressure cooker, pressure cook for 1 whistle on high heat. Then set the heat to low and cook for 10-12 minutes. Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally before opening the lid. Add more water if the dal is thick.

For tempering, heat 2 tablespoon ghee in a small pan over medium-high heat. Once the ghee is hot, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and ¼ teaspoon asafetida and let them crackle for 3-4 seconds. Remove the pan from heat. Add 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder and immediately pour the tempering over the cooked dal.

Stir gently and serve the dal hot with steamed rice or roti.

Variations

You can make this dal with many different vegetables like tinda (apple gourd), palak (spinach) or methi (fenugreek leaves), etc.

You can even use zucchini instead of lauki.

Some fried and crushed Punjabi dal wadi can also be added to this dal.

Add some achari masala, goda masala, malvani masala or meat masala for a taste change.

Serving Suggestions

Lauki chana dal can be served with a dry sabzi and phulka for your everyday meals. It tastes great with other Indian breads such as tawa paratha, laccha paratha, missi roti, jowar roti etc.

I also enjoy this dal with simple steamed rice, jeera rice, or a lightly spiced pulao. Do not forget to serve roasted papad and some sliced onions on the side.

Storage Suggestions

Lauki chana dal will last in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days when stored in an air-tight container. Reheat it in a pan or microwave while serving again. If you feel it has become a little thick after refrigerating, then add in some hot water and adjust the consistency.

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