There are few curries that combine the goodness of both lentils and vegetables. This Lauki Chana Dal is one if them. Lauki Chana Dal is a perfect weekday curry that you can make in just 30 minutes in a pressure cooker or instant pot. I always like to add veggies when making any lentils such as Spinach Dal, Kale Chana Dal and Sambar. It makes it a one-pot meal and adds so much more nutrition. I have shared recipe for Turai, Lauki Curry & Chana Dal made in a pressure cooker before. Do check them out!
What is Lauki?
Lauki is the Hindi name for Bottle Gourd, which is a popular vegetable in many countries. Here are a few names I could find for bottle gourd:
Bottle Gourd (the obvious) Cucuzza (the Italian name) Opo Squash or Opu Squash (the Asian name) Calabash (another Asian name) Lauki (the Indian name) Dudhi (another Indian name) Ghiya (another Indian name) Sorakaya (another Indian name) Long Melon
I am always amazed to find the similarities in cooking in various countries. Don’t forget to check out the Lauki Curry, Lauki Kofta and this Lauki Raita recipe made in the pressure cooker.
Health Benefits of Lauki & Chana Dal
Bottle Gourd has high fiber content, and helps cure acidity, indigestion and constipation. Chana dal (also known as split chickpeas or bengal gram) is good for diabetics due to its low glycemic index. It is also rich in protein, which makes it a great addition to a vegetarian diet.
How to prepare bottle gourd for cooking?
When buying bottle gourd, choose ones that are pale green in color, firm, light in weight and slender. The flesh should not be soft when pressed. Wash the bottle gourd and slice the top and bottom portion where the stem is there. Discard the stems. Using a knife or peeler, remove the skin of the bottle gourd. Cut the peeled bottle gourd into 4 pieces lengthwise. If there are large seeds, then discard them by cutting the portion with the seeds lengthwise. Cut into half inch pieces for this curry.
How to make Lauki Chana Dal in Pressure Cooker?
One pre-step for this recipe is soaking the chana dal for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. This is required as Chana Dal takes longer to cook compared to lauki. Now let’s start with preparing the ingredients. We need very basic ingredients such as onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and spices for this curry. We want to cut the lauki into a bit large pieces, so that they cook well with the dal and do not turn to mush. We will start with heating the pressure cooker or instant pot on sauté mode. Add oil and cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds start to change color, add onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies. Saute for couple of minutes. Then add in the chopped tomatoes, spices and salt. Stir well. Now add the Chana Dal and chopped lauki. Then add water and mix it all. We add less water when cooking this curry, as lauki has high water content.
Now we are ready to pressure cook the curry. Cook at high pressure for 8 minutes. Then do a 10 minute NPR, which means let the pressure naturally for 10 minutes, then manually release the pressure. If using a stovetop pressure cooker, cook on medium-high heat for 2-3 whistles. Add the lime juice and stir the curry. Garnish with cilantro.
Adding lime juice elevates the taste to a while new level. I highly recommend it. We love to eat this Lauki Chana Dal with roti and a side of yogurt or raita. Try this Lauki Chana Dal and let me know how it turned out. If you are looking for more punjabi recipes, check out the below recipes:
Chickpea Spinach Curry Kala Chana Saag Paneer Pumpkin Curry Chana Dal Pulao
