Lauki Chana Dal

4.95 from 38 votes

Lauki Chana Dal is a healthy North Indian curry made with bottle gourd (lauki) and bengal gram (chana dal). The dal is cooked until soft and simmered with onions, tomatoes, green chillies and spices. This recipe can be made in a stovetop pressure cooker, pan or Instant Pot. Serve warm with roti or paratha.

Prep Time30

Cook Time20

Total Time50

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: North Indian, Punjabi

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 246kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

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
1 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 the chana dal in fresh water a couple of times. Then soak the chana dal for atleast 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
Drain water from the chana dal and keep aside.

Making lauki chana dal

Heat oil in a stovetop pressure cooker. Crackle the cumin first.
Add the onions and saute stirring often till they become translucent.
Add the ginger and green chilies and saute for 10 to 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 as required. Pour water and stir.
Cover with the lid and pressure cook for about 4 to 5 whistles on a high heat.
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, then only remove the lid and stir the chopped coriander leaves.
You can also garnish the curry with coriander leaves. Serve lauki chana dal hot with phulkas or rotis.

Notes

To make lauki chana dal curry in a pan, add about 1.5 cup water and cover and cook. If the water dries up whilst cooking you can add some more water.
Ensure that the lauki is fresh, tender with a mild neutral taste. If the lauki has a bitter taste then don't use it and discard it.
Instead of oil you can use ghee.
We prefer this curry to be slightly spicy. But if you can't tolerate spicy food then skip or reduce the green chilies and red chili powder.
The chana dal should be in the shelf period. Don't use rancid or aged chana dal.
The consistency of the curry is medium. But if you want to make a semi-dry or slightly thick lauki chana dal ki sabzi then add less water.

Nutrition