Ridge Gourd Dal

Ridge Gourd Dal is a comforting and an easy one-pot pressure cooker recipe made with moong dal, ridge gourd, tomatoes , indian spices and cooked with pot-in-pot rice.

This dal is also known as Beerakai Pappu in Andra and is one of most popular dals served in Andra restaurants and this can be prepared under 30 minutes.

Ridge gourd is known as Heeerekai in Kannada, peerkankai in Tamil, beerkai in Telugu , tori or turai in Hindi ,and also known as luffa in English.

Whenever I buy Ridge gourd, i usually prepare this dal, stir fry or i make my mom’s style ridge gourd chutney.

Health Benefits of Ridge Gourd

Ridge gourd is extremely rich in dietary fibre and enriched with all the vital elements that include Vitamin-C, zinc, iron, riboflavin, magnesium, thiamine and traces of another minerals. It is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and calories that aids in weight loss – Source thedailystar

If you liked this, you may also like other dal recipes:

• Dal Tadka – Dal prepared with split pigeon peas lentils ,assorted spices
• Green Lentil Soup – lentil soup made with green lentils, carrots, celery, red bell pepper and indian spices
• Spinach Dal / Palak Dal – Dhal cooked with spinach leaves
• Whole green moong dal– Dal cooked with whole mung beans
• Panchmel dal – dal prepared with five varieties of lentils

Serving Suggestions for Ridge Gourd Dal

Ridge Gourd Dal is served traditionally with steamed rice,roti or chapati.But can be eaten with quinoa, brown rice!

Tips & Variations

1.Choose tender and fresh ridge gourd with no seeds.Always taste a small piece of ridge gourd ,if its bitter discard.

2.I have used split yellow moong dal for this recipe today but you can use any kind of dal/lentil like toor dal ,masoor dal or mixture of toor ,masoor and moong dal.

3.If you are a South Indian and want to make sambar with ridge gourd ,follow same steps ,instead of dry spices mentioned below add 1.5 tablespoon of sambar powder and some tamarind extract instead of lemon.

4.To make a simple dal,you can also skip onion and garlic.

5.StoveTop Pressure Cooker Variation: In a pressure cooker, add chopped ridge gourd, garlic, green chilies, onion, tomatoes, moong dal ,turmeric powder, salt , water and pressure cook upto 2 whistles. Meanwhile prepare the tempering and add this tempering into the dal once cooked along with red chilli powder and garam masala and let the dal simmer for 6-8 minutes. Add cilantro and lime juice ,mix well serve hot with boiled rice, quinoa or roti.

How to Make Ridge Gourd Dal in Instant Pot with Pot-in-Pot Rice Step By Step

Ingredients

• split yellow moong dal ,rinsed
• ridge gourd(Turai/ Heerekai/Peerkangai) , peeled and chopped into 1.5 inch pieces
• ghee or coconut oilghee or coconut oil
• mustard seeds
• cumin seeds(jeera)
• asafetida (hing)
• green chillies, split into halve
• garlic, minced
• curry leaves
• onion, finely chopped
• tomato ,finely chopped
• salt to taste
• water
• cilantro (coriander leaves),chopped
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Dry Spices:

• turmeric powder (haldi)
• red chilli powder
• garam masala powder

For Basmati Rice

• Basmati Rice
• water

This recipe shows how to make Ridge Gourd Dal in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. The main difference with traditional Ridge Gourd Dal preparation is that this is one-pot recipe. Usually we cook the dal separately first and then add the tadka(tempering) in it.

Firstly Wash ,peel the skin of the ridge gourd and cut into 1.5 inch pieces.If you cut too small, they will be mashed up with the dal.

Then rinse the dal, keep aside. Press Saute mode 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 in color.

Add tomatoes along with dry spices turmeric powder, red chili powder , garam masala powder and cook till tomatoes turn soft ,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 ingredients for Ridge Gourd Dal in the instant pot, place the trivet and then the bowl of rice with water. This way they will both cook together. 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 same time.See pictures below for reference.

Close the lid on the pot, and turn valve from VENTING to SEALING position.Cancel Saute mode.Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and increase timer to 6 minutes. Once the pot beeps, let it release the pressure naturally(NPR) for 10 minutes (Wait until silver button on lid drops).

Add cilantro and lime juice ,Mix well .

Ridge Gourd Dal is ready ,serve hot with steamed rice, ghee, quinoa or roti.

Note on the consistency:If one wants really soft mashed dal, 8 minutes manual/pressure cook (High Pressure) is probably the ideal setting in manual mode.But I like dals (lentils) to be little firm so I selected 6 minutes Manual/Pressure Cooker (high pressure) option.

Accessories Needed for This Dal and Rice Pot-in-Pot Recipe

1. Tall Trivet
2. Stackable Steamer Insert Pans, or any oven-safe bowl

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