lauki chana dal recipe with step by step photos – a tasty and healthy gravy recipe made with bottle gourd (opo squash) and bengal gram (chana dal). this punjabi lauki chana dal curry is an easy and quick recipe and goes very well with roti or phulkas. this recipe is made quite often at home.
to make this recipe, i recommend to soak the chana dal for some time to soften them and also make sure that the chana dal is cooked properly. sometimes i make the same sabzi with punjabi wadis instead of chana dal.
i make this lauki chana dal in pressure cooker but you can also make in a pan (mentioned in the recipe notes below). we usually make this gravy spicy by adding extra green chilies. in the recipe mentioned below i have mentioned just one green chili.
lauki and spinach are two healthy veggies which i always try to include in our diet as much as i can and that despite the fact that they are not favorite veggies of my hubby :-). usually we are not able to use lauki fully in one dish and there is always some left over lauki. in that case you can check these more lauki recipes like:
this recipe can also be made with zucchini instead of bottle gourd. this lauki chana dal sabzi can be served with rotis or parathas.
if you are looking for more curry recipes then do check:
lauki chana dal
INGREDIENTS FOR lauki chana dal
- 1.5 to 2 cups chopped lauki (bottlegourd or ghia)
- ¼ cup chana dal (split and husked bengal gram)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 green chili, chopped (hari mirch)
- ½ inch ginger, finely chopped (adrak)
- ½ or ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds (sabut jeera)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
- ½ teaspoon punjabi garam masala or regular garam masala
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) - optional
- ½ to ¾ cup water for pressure cooking
- 1.5 to 2 tablespoon oil or ghee
- 1 to 1.5 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta)
- salt as required
HOW TO MAKE lauki chana dal
soaking chana dal
- rinse and soak the chana dal for atleast 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- drain the chana dal and keep aside.
making lauki chana dal sabzi
- heat oil or ghee in a pressure cooker. crackle the cumin first.
- add the onions and saute till they become translucent.
- add the ginger and green chilies and saute for 10-15 seconds.
- now add the tomatoes and all the dry spice powders. saute till the tomatoes soften. keep on stirring.
- the oil should start releasing from the onion-tomato masala.
- now add the chana dal and stir. add the chopped lauki (bottle gourd) and salt. pour water and stir.
- cover with the lid and pressure cook for about 4-5 whistles on a high flame.
- if there is lots of liquid in the sabzi, then simmer without the lid to dry the liquids.
- this lauki chana dal gravy has a medium consistency.
- when the pressure drops on its own, remove the lid and stir the coriander leaves.
- you can also garnish chana dal lauki curry with coriander leaves. serve lauki chana dal hot with phulkas or rotis.
RECIPE TIPS
how to make lauki chana dal
1. rinse and soak ¼ cup chana dal (bengal gram) for atleast 45 minutes to 1 hour. drain the chana dal and keep aside.
2. heat 1.5 to 2 tbsp oil or ghee in a pressure cooker. crackle ½ to ¾ tsp cumin.
3. add the finely chopped onions ( 1 medium sized onion) and saute till they become translucent.
4. add the ginger (½ inch ginger/adrak, finely chopped). also add 1 green chili (chopped). and saute for 10-15 seconds.
5. now add finely chopped tomatoes (2 medium sized tomatoes).
6. add all the dry spice powders (¼ tsp turmeric, ¼ tsp red chilli powder, ½ tsp garam masala powder and a pinch of asafoetida/hing). saute till the tomatoes soften. keep on stirring.
7. the oil should start releasing from the onion-tomato masala.
8. now add ¼ cup chana dal and stir. add the chopped lauki/bottle gourd (1.5 to 2 cups lauki) and salt. pour ½ to ¾ cup water for pressure cooking and stir.
9. cover with the lid and pressure cook for about 4-5 whistles on a high flame.
10. if there is lots of liquid in the sabzi, then simmer without the lid to dry the liquids. the curry has a medium consistency.
11. when the pressure drops on its own, remove the lid and stir the coriander leaves. you can also garnish chana dal lauki curry with coriander leaves. serve lauki chana dal sabzi hot with rotis or parathas.
Thank you Dassana!! your veg recipes are a life saver!! we always cook meat and fish at home and limited goan veg dishes. Your recipes have bought a whole new flavour to our food..I cook vegetarian regularly now…thanks to you this lauki recipe is the new favourite!! Finally got around to eating it!!
thank you vanessa. including vegetables and fruits is really good for the body and improves our overall health too. i am glad that the vegetarian recipes are helping you to make delicious vegetarian food. happy cooking and wish you all the best.
Dassana Ji , your recipe for the Lauki was very clear and succint !
Both my wife and I don’t normally buy this vegetable, but some friend gave us a giant, humongous Moa Gua, the chinese name for a hairy variety of this cultivar … so we had to eventually use it [email protected]! The chana dal really added taste to the curry, Because of the huge size of my vegetable, I had to scale up your quantities of spices and onion. In the US, the tomatoes have no taste, are bland (!) and so I added a little citric acid crystals, and a few drops of lime juice for flavor.
I also used a little coconut oil and a few drops of mustard oil for added flavor.
On the matter of the adulteration of coriander powder and other powdered spices like red chilli powder etc., … that is not a concern in the USA because the profits are already so high, and the laws are so strict and the penalties are so severe that nobody would dare do that. In 1992, an indian importer tried to import uncleaned Basmati Rice, by the ship load, via a port in New York, and the resulting action taken by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) caused him to go bakrupt.
Best wishes for the continued success of your web site and Apps [email protected]!!
chana dal in this recipe does add a lot of texture and flavor. variaitons are always possible in most recipe and of course some lemon juice or citric acid can be added to get a tang in the curry. in indian adulteration is still there and one has to be careful when buying ready made spice mixes. in fact even milk is adulterated. its good that the laws in US are so strict. i wish we had such laws in india too. thanks for the best wishes.
Mouth watering
Thanks Sowmya
After searching several of a good veg app, my search stop here, every recipe turns out great, d way u describe everything wid detail, wid photos everything is vry helpful
In love wid diz app :*
thanks a lot iram. nice to know that the app is helping you. we do plan to make the app more user friendly in the future.
You are just awesome. OMG, how vast the recipes section is?, you are absolutely fantastic. Have been seeing some of your recipes to try, thank you.
Welcome Nithya. Thanks for your kind words.
This recipe is superb and it came out really well, exactly as shown in the picture and tasted amazing. Thanks Dassana, yet again!
If you are still accepting photos, do let me know. 🙂
thanks a lot sneha. currently i am not accepting photos as too much work for me 🙂 but in the future when i start uploading, i will add a message on the fb page.