I am always a staunch believer of combining as much nutrition as possible in one dish, especially when I am making it on busy weeknights. I love adding green leafy vegetables with dal like in Dal Palak or other vegetables like lauki in this lauki chana dal recipe to make an all in one healthy curry.
This way, both your protein and veggie part of the dinner is taken care of and a simple side of carb like rotis or rice will make it a balanced nutritious meal.
Health Benefits of Chana Dal and Bottle Gourd
Dals are especially great if you are watching your sugar intake, as they are so full of protein and have a low glycemic index which will help keep your blood sugar under control. Obviously this will depend on each person and their lifestyle and other things, so don’t use this as medical advice.
Lauki (Calabash / Bottle Gourd / Opo Squash / Doodhi / Sorakkai) is a vegetable that is rich in fiber and water content at the same time. It is a great source of vitamin C. These are just some of the health benefits of Lauki. Lauki Kheer is something else that you can make with Lauki.
If you believe that simple basic ingredients and recipes are the best, then this lauki recipe is for you! The inherent flavors of lauki / bottle gourd and the chana dal stands out in this Lauki Chana Dal with all the other spices playing the role of extras, just enhancing the flavor when needed but not overpowering the stars of this dish.
Pardon me for getting into a long-ish personal story here. I know, blogs these days are not for them. But indulge me if you will, or you can always click the “jump to recipe” button to get right to the recipe.
Jump to RecipeGrowing up in Southern India, dal was always an additional ingredient to form the base of the curry in sambar and rasam. It was rarely the hero of the dish. Even when you go out to restaurants, with the Northern Indian fare as their focus, we never ordered the dal. Why would you go spend at a restaurant to eat the measly dal when you had the other powerhouse heroes like the paneer or cauliflower or bhindi or in the case of meat-eaters – chicken and mutton! It just did not make sense then.
Then slowly and deliberately, I started ordering some of these dal / lentil dishes to see how they tasted. I mean, they had to be on the menu in most restaurants for a reason, right. While it was not a Lauki Chana Dal on the menu, the menu usually had a dal fry or a dal makhani or a rajma masala. I was pleasantly surprised by the burst of flavors that such a simple ingredient could bring in a dish.
I loved them so much that I wanted to make them at home. This was when I was in my teens and I was allowed to cook on my own, if there was an adult present in the house. It was right around this time that I bought my very first cookbook.
Not all the ingredients were readily available in the small town in Kerala where we lived. But I made do with whatever I could get my hands on. And thus, I entered the world of my current favorite ingredient, dal. Cookbooks and TV shows were pretty much my only sources back then, but I cooked and cooked and loved all the different varieties of things I could make with these simple lentils.
This Lauki Chana Dal recipe is one of my all time favorites. It is such a no fuss recipe. Though, this is not necessarily something you make when throwing a party or something like that, it serves its purpose as the perfect dish for a quick weeknight dinner of dal and rotis or when you have unexpected company. I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!
We know you will love these other dal / lentil recipes
How to make Lauki Chana Dal - Pressure cooker, Instant Pot and Stove Top methods
- Prepping the lauki - cut off about quarter of an inch from both ends of the bottle gourd. Peel the skin off and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and any stringy flesh from the insides and cut the rest of it into 1 inch big cubes.
- Cooking the dal - While making this lauki chana dal recipe, whether it is in a pressure cooker or on the stove top, I always cook the dal separately and then do the tadka and pour on top of it. I don’t like cooking the dal in the tadka. The tadka doesn't feel too fresh when you do this. This is just my personal preference.
- Stovetop pressure Cooker - add the rinsed chana dal with about 3 times the water. For 1 cup chana dal use 3 cups of water. Cook on medium-high heat for about 2-3 whistles. You want the dal to be soft but not too mushy.
- Instant Pot - for Instant Pot Lauki Chana Dal add the rinsed chana dal with 3 times the water. Cook in Manual or Pressure Cook mode on High Pressure for 8 mins. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Stove Top - add the rinsed chana dal to a medium pot with about 3-4 times the water. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium or medium-low and cook till the dal is soft. This may take about 30-40 mins. Watch out for the dal frothing and bubbling over the pot. Reduce the heat if this happens.
- Cooking the lauki
I usually like to add the lauki to the cooked dal and then cook it. Chana dal takes much longer to cook and I prefer to control the texture of both by cooking them separately.
If you do want to cook the lauki with the dal, soak the dal for about 30 mins in cold water. Add the chopped lauki to the dal and cook the dal as in the previous step. If you are doing this, then cut the lauki into larger chunks so it does not get all mushy and add less water as the lauki has a lot of water content in it.
Here, once the dal is soft, I add the lauki to this and let it cook away for about 10 mins or so. Lauki takes very little time to cook through.
To the lauki, I add the green chillies, ginger and turmeric powder.
- Tadka
For the tadka, heat oil in a small sauce pan / kadhai. Add the cumin seeds (or you can use cumin powder too if that is all you have), asafetida, cayenne/ red chili powder and coriander powder. Once the cumin seeds start sizzling, pour them all onto the lauki-dal mixture. Squeeze the lemon juice and garnish with cilantro / coriander leaves.
Serving suggestions
This lauki chana dal curry can be served with plain basmati rice, jeera rice, Indian breads like roti or phulkas. This is a great way to serve it for weekday lunch or dinner.
Recipe Tips
- Since the chana dal and lauki take different amounts of time to cook, either cook them separately like I do. Cook the chana dal first and then add the lauki and cook for 10 more mins. If not, soak the chana dal in water for about 30 mins and cook the dal and lauki together.
- Dals / Lentils have a tendency to induce flatulence and gas upon digestion. The cumin seeds and asafetida in the tadka as well as the ginger added to the dal helps with easy digestion along with the major flavor infusion. So do not skip these.
- This recipe of no onion no garlic lauki chana dal is what I have always followed. You can always use garlic and onion in this recipe. I would heat the oil for the tadka in a larger pan and add the onion and garlic to it after the cumin seeds crackle. Once they soften, add everything to the lauki dal mixture.
- You can also add a teaspoon garam masala powder at the end if you want more flavor in it.
Lauki Chana Dal
Ingredients
- 1 cup chana dal
- 3 cups water to cook the dal
- 1 medium lauki / bottle gourd cut into 1 inch cubes
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ tablespoon minced ginger
- 3 green chillies chopped
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon asafetida
- ½ teaspoon cayenne red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- juice of half a lemon
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Rinse the chana dal in cold water a few times.
Cooking the Chana Dal
- Stovetop pressure Cooker - add the rinsed chana dal with about 3 times the water. For 1 cup chana dal use 3 cups of water. Cook on medium-high heat for about 2-3 whistles. You want the dal to be soft but not too mushy.1 cup chana dal, 3 cups water
- Instant Pot - for Instant Pot Lauki Chana Dal add the rinsed chana dal with 3 times the water. Cook in Manual or Pressure Cook mode on High Pressure for 8 mins. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Stove Top - add the rinsed chana dal to a medium pot with about 3-4 times the water. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium or medium-low and cook till the dal is soft. This may take about 30-40 mins. Watch out for the dal frothing and bubbling over the pot. Reduce the heat if this happens.
- Once the chana dal is cooked, add the lauki along with turmeric powder, ginger and green chillies and cook again till the lauki is soft. It won’t take a long time, maybe 10 mins or so. Add salt to taste.1 medium lauki / bottle gourd, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ tablespoon minced ginger, 3 green chillies, salt
- In a small sauce pan, heat the oil, add the cumin seeds, asafetida, cayenne and coriander powder.1 tablespoon oil, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon asafetida, ½ teaspoon cayenne, ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- Once the cumin seeds start sizzling, pour them all onto the lauki-dal mixture.
- Remove from heat. Squeeze the lemon juice and garnish with cilantro.juice of half a lemon, ¼ cup chopped cilantro
Notes
- Since the chana dal and lauki take different amounts of time to cook, either cook them separately like I do. Cook the chana dal first and then add the lauki and cook for 10 more mins. If not, soak the chana dal in water for about 30 mins and cook the dal and lauki together.
- Dals / Lentils have a tendency to induce flatulence and gas upon digestion. The cumin seeds and asafetida in the tadka as well as the ginger added to the dal helps with easy digestion along with the major flavor infusion. So do not skip these.
- This recipe of no onion no garlic lauki chana dal is what I have always followed. You can always use garlic and onion in this recipe. I would heat the oil for the tadka in a larger pan and add the onion and garlic to it after the cumin seeds crackle. Once they soften, add everything to the lauki dal mixture.
- You can also add a teaspoon garam masala powder at the end if you want more flavor in it.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
A beautiful curry and combination of spices!
Manju says
Thank you Rebecca!
Jenn says
It sounds amazing! I love dal and definitely eat it as the star of the show! Yum!
Manju says
Thanks Jenn!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day says
This dal looks better than in a restaurant!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I love dal and it was interesting to see what spices you used in yours, definitely a few extra to what I put in it. Our favourite is a spinach and coconut dal I make nearly every week.
Mel | avirtualvegan.com says
I love dal and this version sounds delicious! It's so easy to make too!
Sophia | Veggies Don't Bite says
What a pretty dish! I love the flavor combo you have in here too. All that spiciness with a twist of lemon and cilantro? YUM!
Linda @ Veganosity says
This looks and sounds delicious! I love the vibrant color and the combination of spices. Anything with ginger has my vote!
Nicole Dawson says
I could seriously eat Dal every day! Love the spices and all those flavors.
Anjali @ Vegetarian Gastronomy says
Love chana dal! Your version with the gourd sounds wonderful!