Ridge Gourd Dal is a comforting and easy lentil recipe made with moong dal, ridge gourd, tomatoes, Indian spices, in Instant pot pressure cooker. This dal is also known as Beerakaya Pappu in Andra and is one of the most popular dals served in Andra restaurants this can be prepared in 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, ridge gourd curry, or I make my mom's style ridge gourd chutney.
Health Benefits of Ridge Gourd
Ridge gourd is extremely rich in dietary fiber and enriched with all vital elements, including Vitamin-C, zinc, iron, riboflavin, magnesium, thiamine, and traces of other minerals.
It is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories that aid in weight loss - Source thedailystar.
How to Make Ridge Gourd Dal in Instant Pot
This recipe shows how to make Ridge Gourd Dal or Beerekaya Pappu in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. The main difference with traditional Ridge Gourd Dal preparation is a one-pot recipe. Usually, we cook the dal separately first and then add the tadka (tempering) to it.
Preparation:
Firstly wash, peel the skin of the ridge gourd and 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, 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.
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 Recipe or Beerakaya Pappu 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 this tempering into the dal once cooked along with red chili powder and garam masala and let the dal simmer for 6-8 minutes.
- Add coriander leaves and lime juice, and mix well. Serve Ridge gourd moong dal or Andra style Beerakaya Pappu hot with boiled rice, quinoa, or roti.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Ridge Gourd Dal or Beerakaya Pappu with steamed rice, roti, or chapati. But it can be eaten with quinoa, brown rice!
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.
More Instant Pot Lentil Recipes
- Dal Tadka – Dal prepared with split pigeon peas lentils, and 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 is prepared with five varieties of lentils.
- Lauki Chana Dal - Dal cooked with bottle gourd and Chana dal.
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Ridge Gourd Dal Recipe
Ingredients
Measuring cup used 1 cup = 250 ml
- ½ cup split yellow moong dal rinsed
- 2 cups ridge gourd(Turai/ Heerekai/Peerkangai) peeled and chopped into 1.5 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil
- 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 tablespoon coriander leaves chopped
- juice of ½ lemon
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
- a 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 6-8 minutes.
- Add coriander leaves and lime juice, mix well serve Ridge gourd dal hot with boiled rice, quinoa, or roti.
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.
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