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 or split chickpea). A vegan recipe.
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 leftover 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.
How to make lauki chana dal
1. Rinse and soak ¼ cup chana dal (bengal gram or split chickpea) for at least 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, 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 the curry with coriander leaves. Serve lauki chana dal sabzi hot with rotis or parathas.
More Indian curry recipes then do check:
lauki chana dal
Ingredients
- 1.5 to 2 cups chopped lauki (bottlegourd)
- ¼ cup chana dal (split and husked bengal gram or split chickpea)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 green chili, chopped
- ½ inch ginger, finely chopped
- ½ or ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili 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
- salt as required
Instructions
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
- 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 the curry with coriander leaves. Serve lauki chana dal hot with phulkas or rotis.
Tried this today.lauki sabzi never tasted so good.loved it with phulkas.
thank you winnie. lauki chana dal tastes best with phulka – plus it is healthy too.
My son love this recipe ????
thank you.
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.
Wow. Tried this dish and it was so so yummy. Just added one crushed garlic extra. Thanks for this recipe.
welcome alwasy ramya 🙂 thank you for positive feedback.
Hello dashna ji!!u r fabulous. ..I tired ur lauki chana ki sabji today n it turned out to be soo good …I made this dish before also but never my husband eat it nicely today he also loved it..like Ur all recipe. .ur cold coffee recepie also I loved it n got so much praised once I served to everyone…keep writing thanku ji ?
thank you very much anindya. glad to read your comment and thanks for sharing you experience.
Wonderful recipe nd turns out well always ,, but I have a query,,
Can we use any other lentil instead of Bengal gram ?
thanks. you can try with yellow moong dal. will taste good.
I m following your recipes since two years… Awesome i feel it is
pleased to know this rashmi 🙂 and thankyou so much.
Your recipes are excellent except for the fact that one is always left wondering what is a small , medium or large size tomato , onion or potato. Is it possible to give the weight of the vegetables as well as in cup quantity?.Also can you give the weight of 1 inch of ginger as well as in spoon measurement. .This of course is a problem in most recipes. In India these vegetables are not sold by size. Apart from this problem you recipes are easy to follow and turn out well. I guess the sizes of the vegetables and the recipe turns out okay but I am sure if I knew the weights I could do a better job.
hi sunita, firstly thanks. regarding the suggestion, i have already started giving the measurements in both cup quantities and weight from the last 1 year. since this quite an old recipe, i have not updated this one. for ginger also i have begun given the amount in tsp. generally we use ginger measurement in size, as most people do have a visual idea of how much 1/2 or 1 inch ginger is. i know that size can be a problem especially for onions and tomatoes. a few readers had suggested me to give the weight as well as cup measurement and i give them now.
I made dudhi as per above and it turned out wonderful. I am an expat and cook for myself and have always struggled with dudhi. I was so pleased with myself and with this website. Reminded me of my mom.
thanks rahul for sharing positive feedback. glad to know this.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I just finished cooking it for dinner tonight and it has come out fabulous! This is my first time at lauki chana daal, so I am thrilled at how fabulous lauki can be and it came out like magic exactly after 5 whistles!! I am a first cook and have discovered that I can be fabulous at cooking if I just follow your recipes to the dot. I also tried many of your other dishes – rajma, palak paneer, stuffed bhindi, stuffed baingan, capsicum… the list is long! 🙂 keep posting, best wishes.
welcome shruti. glad to know this. thanks for sharing positive review on recipes and your experience.
Hi recipe is too good. Very simple i loves it.
thanks zainab
Hi Dasaana!
Your recipes are awesome… I had no sense of cooking and after following your recepies i have started enjoying cooking… Watever i made till now following your recipe, has turned out delicious… Thanks for sharing your recipes…
welcome mani. glad to know this. thanks for sharing positive feedback. happy cooking.
Hi Dasaana,
I love to refer to your recipes all the time! Though am a decent cook myself its always good to have your recipes to guide me through breakfast ,lunch and dinner. You explain beautifully and the dishes are plated so well. Wish I could take personal lessons from you someday. till then your recipes are my bible!
thanks pallavi for your encouraging and sweet words. i am touched.
Hi, your receipes all are awesome……i am learning a lot from ur receipes…..its helping me in making a very delicious food everyday…..i always tried only ur receipes and trust me it always turned out very well…..tks a lot….request u to pls keep on posting….
thanks zoya for this sweet and motivating feedback. glad to know that the recipes are helping you.
Your Recipes are very handy and easily understandable, i like all your recipes, whatever recipes i want that is available with u. thanks
welcome toral
Hi Dassana,
Tried this recipe yesterday and it was awesome. My husband liked it so much that he has asked me make it again next week.
I have also tried your Rajma Masala and moong dal fry. Both dishes turned out great. Going to make chole for dinner today.
Thanks a lot for sharing your recipes.
welcome ingrid. glad to know that you are liking the recipes. do try more recipes.
Super hit!!!lauki never tasted so gud in Sabzi
thanks priya
when we search for recipes on the net, there’s so much stuff but your recipes are for sure a hit always, your step by step presentation is wonderful. love your recipes…
welcome arina. felt good after reading your motivating comment.
Can i make this with one zucchini? Thats all I have in my fridge tonight 🙂
yes anu, you can make with zucchini. i have made this recipe with zucchini before.
can’t wait for the upcoming goodies!
this question goes back to the palak parantha from some time ago
can I just use the palak saag if left over?- I know it has more ingredients, but hoping that the paranthas would then turn out more flavorful
Many thanks
you can use the palak saag to knead the parathas. no need to add any water while kneading with the saag. you can also add some besan to the dough.
Hi,
This looks really healthy. Please let me know if I can make this with Dosakkai(lemon cucumber)- I do have a surplus of that at home.
Happy holidays to you and yours.
Laxmi
hi laxmi, you can make this sabzi with the yellow cucumber. may be you need to add less water as they have a high water content. in fact i have a steamed cake recipe coming on the blog which is made with dosakkai and rava/sooji.
Lauki and channa daal is one of my favorite combo..love it with hot phulkas! I too prepare mine almost in the similar manner.
This is one very good recipe. nutritious and tasty. will try your way.