Lauki Chana Dal Recipe - Pressure Cooker

Lauki Chana Dal served in a bowl with cumin tempering on top

5 from 3 votes

Lauki Chana Dal Recipe - Pressure Cooker

Lauki Chana Dal is a nutritious and healthy dal recipe prepared with Bottle Gourd (aka Lauki, Dudhi or Ghiya), lentils and few spices making it a perfect dish for a wholesome lunch or busy weeknights.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword bottle gourd recipe, instant pot lauki dal, lauki chana dal

Diet Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Method Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker, Stovetop

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 224kcal

Author Bhavana Patil

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup Chana Dal (Bengal gram) soaked for ½ hour
2 cups water for soaking dal
500 grams lauki (bottle gourd) peeled, de-seeded and chopped about 1 inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1 cup onion finely chopped
1 large tomato finely chopped
1 tablespoon ginger garlic minced
2 green chillies finely chopped
1.5 cups water for cooking
2 tablespoon coriander leaves
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon oil
salt to taste

Spices:

1 teaspoon cumin (jeera)
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon garam masala powder
a pinch hing (asafetida)

Extra Tempering: (Optional)

1 tablespoon ghee or oil
½ teaspoon cumin (jeera)
1 teaspoon garlic minced
a pinch red chilli powder

Instructions

Preparation:

Soak the chana dal in cold water for at-least 30 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside. Chana dal takes a longer time to cook than lauki. Soaking it softens it and makes sure that both the dal and lauki are evenly cooked in the instant pot.
Wash Bottle Gourd, peel the skin, dee-seed and cut into 1 inch pieces. Make sure to cut the lauki into larger chunks so they keep their shape in the dal when pressure cooked.

Instant Pot Method:

Press Saute on Instant Pot. Add oil and once it’s hot add cumin seeds. Let them crackle. Add asafetida, minced ginger garlic, chopped green chili and saute for 15 secs.
Then add chopped onion. Saute till onions turn light brown in color.
Add tomatoes and cook till tomatoes turn soft, takes 2-3 minutes.
Then add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, lauki, soaked lentils or dal, salt, water and give a stir. Adjust spices at this stage.
Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes.
Once the pot beeps, let it release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes (Wait until silver button on lid drops).
Squeeze some lime juice, add garam masala and garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro). Mix well.
Lauki Chana Dal is ready, you can also add extra tempering(tadka) and serve hot with boiled rice, quinoa or roti.

Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method:

Follow the same process mentioned above for instant pot.
Give 3-4 whistles on medium flame and let the pressure release naturally. All the other steps remain the same.

Video

Notes

I have prepared this dish in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT.

Tips & Variations

Soaking Lentils: Chana dal requires a longer cooking time, so soaking in enough water for 30 minutes is recommended.
No Onion-No Garlic: You can make this dal by skipping onion, and garlic as well.
Large Lauki Pieces: Dice the lauki into larger chunks to retain their shape in the dal after pressure cooking.
Other Veggies: You can also add cubed potato or other veggies to this curry along with lauki. You can adapt the same recipe using other vegetables like zucchini, butternut squash, or pumpkin.

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition