Ridge Gourd Dal, also known as Beerakaya Pappu in Andhra cuisine, is a comforting and easy lentil dish made with moong dal, ridge gourd, tomatoes, and aromatic Indian spices. Cooked effortlessly in the Instant Pot pressure cooker, this wholesome dal comes together in under 30 minutes.
Ridge gourd is known as Turai/Tori in Hindi, Heerekai in Kannada, Beerakai in Telugu, Peechinga in Malayalam, and Peerkangai in Tamil.
Whenever I buy ridge gourd, I usually prepare this dal, ridge gourd curry, or I make my mom's style ridge gourd chutney.
It's a popular everyday recipe in South Indian households and restaurants, loved for its light, nutritious, and flavorful taste. Perfect to serve with steamed rice or roti for a nourishing meal.
I've shared below a one-pot ridge gourd dal recipe, prepared using both the Instant Pot and stovetop pressure cooker methods. Here are some more Indian dal recipes with different vegetables that you might enjoy: butternut squash dal, zucchini dal, and lauki chana dal.
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How to Make Ridge Gourd Dal in Instant Pot
This recipe shows how to make ridge gourd dal using the Instant Pot pressure cooker in a simple, one-pot method. Unlike the traditional preparation-where the dal is cooked separately with ridge gourd and then tempered-this version combines everything in a single pot, making it quicker and more convenient without compromising on flavor.
Preparation:
Firstly, wash and peel the skin of the ridge gourd, then cut it into 1.5-inch pieces. If you cut them too small, they will be mashed up with the dal.
Then rinse the moong dal, and keep it aside.
Method:
Press Saute on Instant Pot. Add oil (or ghee), and once it's hot, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
Add minced garlic, green chilies, curry leaves, asafetida, and sauté for a few seconds. Then add chopped onion. Saute till onions turn light brown.
Add tomatoes along with dry spices, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, and cook till the tomatoes are soft, which takes 2-3 minutes.
Then add diced ridge gourd, rinsed lentils (or moong dal), salt, water, and give a stir. Adjust spices at this stage.
**No need to soak the dal for this recipe.
After adding all the ingredients for the dal to the Instant Pot, place a trivet over the mixture, then set a bowl with 1 cup of basmati rice and 1.5 cups of water on top. This pot-in-pot method allows the dal and rice to cook simultaneously, making it a convenient one-pot meal.
The big advantage of the Instant Pot is the option to do Pot-in-Pot Cooking, or PIP. This means you can cook multiple things at the same time. See the pictures below for reference.
Close the lid securely, and turn the vent to "SEALING". Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL (High Pressure) setting and set the cooking time to 5 minutes.
When the instant pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure before removing the lid.
Lastly, add coriander leaves and lime juice. Mix well.
Ridge gourd dal is ready. Serve hot with steamed rice, ghee, quinoa, or roti.
Accessories needed for this Dal and Rice Pot-in-pot Recipe
- Tall Trivet
- Stackable Steamer Insert Pans, or any oven-safe bowl
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
- In a pressure cooker, add chopped ridge gourd, garlic, green chilies, onion, tomatoes, moong dal, turmeric powder, salt, water, and pressure cook up to 2 whistles.
- Meanwhile, prepare the tempering and add it to the dal once cooked, along with red chili powder and garam masala. Let the dal simmer for 4-5 minutes.
- Add coriander leaves and lime juice, and mix well. Ridge gourd dal is ready.
Serving Suggestions
Serve ridge gourd dal with steamed basmati rice, plain paratha, or chapati along with carrot beans poriyal for a comforting meal. It also pairs wonderfully with healthier options like quinoa, brown basmati rice!
Tips & Variations
- Choosing Ridge gourd: Choose fresh and tender ridge gourd with no seeds. Always taste a small piece of ridge gourd, if it's bitter, discard it.
- Lentils: I used split yellow moong dal for this ridge gourd recipe, but you can use any kind of dal/lentils like chana dal, toor dal, masoor dal, or a mixture of toor, masoor, and moong dal.
- Ridge Gourd Sambar: If you are a South Indian and want to make sambhar with ridge gourd, follow the same steps, replace the dry spices mentioned in the recipe with, 1.5 tablespoons of sambar powder and some tamarind extract instead of lemon juice to make the Ridge gourd sambar.
- No-Onion No-Garlic: To make a simple dal, you can also skip onion and garlic.
More Instant Pot Indian Lentil Recipes
- Dal Tadka - Dal prepared with split pigeon peas lentils, and assorted spices.
- Spinach Dal (Palak Dal) - Dhal cooked with spinach leaves.
- Whole Green Moong Dal - Dal cooked with whole mung beans.
- Panchmel Dal - Dal is prepared with five varieties of lentils.
- Lauki Chana Dal - Dal cooked with bottle gourd and Chana dal.
Ridge Gourd Dal Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup split yellow moong dal rinsed
- 2 cups ridge gourd(Turai/ Heerekai/Peerkangai) peeled and chopped into 1.5 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or ghee)
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing)
- 2 green chillies split into halve
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 stalk curry leaves
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 large tomato finely chopped
- salt to taste
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Dry Spices:
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
For Basmati Rice
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1.5 cups water
- 1 pinch salt (optional)
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Press Saute on Instant Pot. Add oil, and once it's hot, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
- Add asafetida, minced garlic, green chili, curry leaves, and saute for 15 secs.
- Then add chopped onion. Saute till onions turn light brown.
- Add tomatoes along with dry spices, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, and cook till tomatoes turn soft, which takes 2-3 minutes.
- Then add chopped ridge gourd, rinsed lentils or dal, salt, water, and give a stir. Adjust spices at this stage.**No need to soak the dal for this recipe.
- Once you add all the ingredients for Ridge Gourd Dal in the instant pot, place the trivet and then the rice bowl with water. This way, they will both cook together.
- Close the lid securely, and turn the vent to "SEALING". Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL (High Pressure) setting and set the cooking time to 5 minutes.When the instant pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure before removing the lid.
- Lastly, add coriander leaves and lime juice. Mix well.Ridge Gourd Dal Recipe or Beerakaya Pappu is ready. Serve hot with steamed rice, ghee, quinoa, or roti.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker:
- In a pressure cooker, add chopped ridge gourd, garlic, green chilies, onion, tomatoes, moong dal, turmeric powder, salt, water, and pressure cook up to 2 whistles.
- Meanwhile, prepare the tempering and add this tempering into the dal once cooked, along with red chili powder and garam masala, and let the dal simmer for 4-5 minutes.
- Add coriander leaves and lime juice, mix well serve Ridge gourd dal hot.
Notes
Tips & Variations
- Choosing Ridge gourd: Choose tender and fresh ridge gourd with no seeds. Always taste a small piece of ridge gourd, if it's bitter, discard it.
- Lentils: I used split yellow moong dal for this ridge gourd recipe, but you can use any kind of dal/lentils like chana dal, toor dal, masoor dal, or a mixture of toor, masoor, and moong dal.
- Ridge Gourd Sambar: If you are a South Indian and want to make sambhar with ridge gourd, follow the same steps, replace the dry spices mentioned in the recipe with, 1.5 tablespoons of sambar powder and some tamarind extract instead of lemon juice to make the Ridge gourd sambar recipe.
- No-Onion No-Garlic: To make a simple dal, you can also skip onion and garlic.
Nutrition
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