Chana Dal (With Lauki)
Lauki chana dal is an easy north indian lentil recipe prepared with chana dal (bengal gram lentils), opo squash and onion-garlic tempering.
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot
Ingredients
For Boiling The Lentils
- 1 cup chana dal bengal gram lentils
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust quantity to taste
- 1 medium tomato finely chopped (yield about ½ cup)
- ½ tablespoon ginger finely chopped, adjust quantity to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon hing powder asafoetida
- 2.5-3 cup water or as needed
- 1 small lauki (opo squash),peeled and cut into 2" batons
- Lemon Juice to taste, optional
- Chopped cilantro for garnishing
For The Tadka (tempering)
- 3 tablespoon ghee or use oil for vegan
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2-3 dried kashmiri chillies
- Pinch hing asafoetida
- 1 small red onion finely chopped (about ½ cup)
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder (hot), adjust quantity to taste
Instructions
Boil The Chana Dal
- Start ahead since you need to soak the lentils. Place chana dal in a large bowl and thoroughly wash the lentils under running water 2-3 times. Soak for 30-40 minutes in excess water.
- Drain and transfer the soaked lentils to a pressure cooker (3-4 litre) or steel insert of instant pot ( I use 3 quart). Add 3 cups of water.
- Add tomatoes, ginger, ghee, turmeric powder, hing and salt. Put on the lid and pressure cook the lentils on medium heat for 4-6 whistles until lentils are 90% cooked. Cooking time and number of whistles will depend on the quality of lentils, adjust as needed.
- Take the pressure cooker off the heat and let sit on the counter. Let pressure release naturally. For IP, cook on high pressure for 8-9 minutes. For IP, after 5-6 minutes, release pressure manually.
- Open the lid, with the help of a whisk or back of spoon, mash the lentils a little bit to cream them.
- Add the chopped lauki. Add ½ cup water (if needed) and return the pressure cooker to the stove. Let cook for 1 whistle on medium flame. For IP, pressure cook on normal for 2 minutes and then relase pressure after 5 minutes. Lauki will release its water so make sure that dal is not too runny at the beginning.
Temper The Dal
- In a small sauce pan, warm up the ghee. Add the cumin seeds, let crackle, about 8-10 seconds.
- Add the whole dried chillies & hing. Lower the heat and immediately add the onions and garlic and let cook till are golden brown, taking care not to burn. Once onions are browned, switch off the stove and add the red chili powder. Immediately add the cooked dal to the tadka or add tadka on top of cooked lentils.
- Simmer for 5-10 minutes to let the flavors meld together.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve warm.
Notes
- If you prefer soft cooked lauki, add it at the very beginning and then pressure cook along with lentils.
- You could just make chana dal using the same recipe without adding lauki. Or you could add different kinds of summer squash such as like zucchini, yellow squash, turai, or chayote squash.
- For a vegan version, don't use ghee. Instead use vegan butter or plant based oil.
- For a gluten free version- skip the hing.
- Make sure that the lentils are not more than 6 months old. They will be tough to cook and the taste might not be fresh.
- Sometimes, lauki has too many seeds, always check before adding to the dal. In such case, either scoop out the insides of lauki or don't use it. Overripe lauki will be hard to cook.
- This dal thickens quite a lot as it cools down so make sure that the consistency of cooked dal is not very thick to begin with. You could add a splash of water while reheating to thin it out.
Nutrition
Calories: 306kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 8gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 307mgPotassium: 147mgFiber: 12gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 352IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 104mgIron: 2mg
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