Lauki Chana Dal Masala

I read a beautiful quote in an online magazine “God Created Someone Who Is Wise, & Who Only Knows To Love & Make Sacrifices.One Who Encourages & One Who Never Gives Up. God Created Women”.

I believe every Mother in this world epitomizes this quote. My Mother was a working Woman. She used to be at job, working for 9-10 hours a day and I reckon would get exhausted by the time she would come back home. Despite getting exhausted she would still had to shoulder the responsibilities of housework and she would never complain about it.
I remember an episode very vividly, that day I fought with my Mom on a trivial issue of the food being not of my choice. I screamed and threw a fit but she remained silent throughout the tiff. After sometime, When I became quiet she exclaimed,”After few years, when you would be at my place and would start working and when your family would throw tantrums over the food that you cook, How would you feel, I want you to think about it”. I felt guilty and had more respect for my Mom and all the working ladies who despite going out to work, have to bear the lion’s share of house responsibilities.
Please excuse me for getting so emotional, but I think this scenario plays out in every household, where our family members would refuse to eat when food is not of their choice. Kids despise vegetables like Bottle gourd, Pumpkin, Bitter-Gourd which as a parent you would want them to have owing to the high nutritional values these vegetables contain.

I am sharing a recipe which will help all the Mothers (or fathers who cook for that matter) sneak in Lauki (Bottle Gourd) in their children’s diet. This is a very delicious preparation that combines Chana Dal (bengal gram spilt and skinned) with Lauki and few Indian spices added to turn this combination into a mouth-watering, delectable Dal preparation that your family would love to have and no one would ever disfavor it.

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Lauki Chana Dal Masala

Rating  5.0 from 1 reviews

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 small bottle gourd (300 gm) cut into medium sized square pieces
• 1 cup split Bengal Gram (Chana Dal)
• 1 medium sized onion finely cut lengthwise
• 1 medium sized tomato finely cut into small cubes
• Salt as per taste
• For Masala Paste:
• 8-10 garlic cloves
• 1 to 1.5 inches Ginger ( Adarak) -chopped in small pieces
• Coriadner seeds 1 teaspoon
• 1 small onion cut into cubes
• 1 small tomato cut into cubes
• For Dry spices:
• Turmeric Powder ( haldi )- ½ tspoon
• Red chilli powder spicy as per the taste (2-3 tspoon)
• Dry Mango powder ½ teaspoon ( Aamchur powder)
• For Tempering:
• 1 Bay Leaf ( Tejpatta)
• Fresh Curry leaves
• 1 tea spoon cumin seeds ( Jeera)
• 2 Dry red chilies ( broken )
• 4-5 cloves (Long)
• 3-4 Black pepper ( kali mirch )
• 1 inch cinnamon broken into small pieces dalchini)
• 2-3 tbspoon Sunflower oil/Moongfali oil
• A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 1 tbspoon ghee

Instructions

1. Soak the chana dal (split Bengal Gram) at least 3-4 hours.Drain out the water before cooking.
2. In a cooker, add soaked chana dal and cut lauki pieces. Add 3-4 cups of water enough for cooking. Cook it on medium flame till 3-4 whistles.
3. When cooker gets cool then remove the extra water in a bowl ( This water will be used for adjusting a gravy consistency later ).
4. Make a fine paste of ingredients given above for masala paste and keep it ready.
5. In a kadhai ,heat 2-3 tbspoon oil. Add a bay leaf,dry red chilies, cloves,black pepper,and cinnamon.Saute it well for ½ min.
6. Add cumin seeds. Once it splutter then add a pinch of asafoetida.
7. Add chopped onions and saute till it gets tender.
8. Add chopped tomatoes and saute till it gets mushy.
9. Add turmeric powder and saute for a min.
10. Add red chili powder 2-3 tspoon as per your taste and dry mango powder and mix them well.
11. Now add prepared masala paste and salt as per taste.
12. Saute the masala well till it leaves off the oil from sides..
13. Add dal and lauki to the masala mixture and mix it well.
14. Add the dal stock ( from step 3) to adjust the gravy consistency.Cook it on a slow flame for 4-5 min.
15. Once the gravy is ready switch off the flame. In another pan heat 1 tbspoon ghee. Once ghee is hot then add fresh curry leaves. Pour this mixture on a gravy.
16. Serve hot with hot phulkas (Roti) and steamed rice!!!

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Click Here to watch Recipe Video