Midday · No onion or garlic
Bottle Gourd and Split Chickpea Stew
Split chickpeas simmered with tender bottle gourd, tomato, ginger and a cumin tempering. A mild, homestyle dal for rice or flatbread.
- Prep 15 min
- Cook 40 min
- Total 55 min
- Makes 4 servings
Photo: Lauki Chana Dal Recipe From North Indian Cuisine By Sonia Go by Sonia Goyal Jaipur, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Bottle gourd, also called opo squash, has a very mild flavor and a soft, almost melting texture once cooked. It soaks up whatever it is simmered with, which makes it a perfect partner for nutty split chickpeas. Together they make a dal that is hearty without being heavy.
Split chickpeas hold its shape better than most lentils, so the finished dish has little whole grains of dal suspended in a creamy base of broken-down gourd. We keep the seasoning simple: ginger, tomato, turmeric and a finishing tempering of cumin and dried red chile in ghee.
The recipe
Ingredients
Dal
Tempering
To finish
Method
- Rinse the split chickpeas well and soak in warm water for at least 1 hour (up to 4). Drain.
- In a heavy pot, combine the dal, water and turmeric. Bring to a boil, skim the foam, then cover partly and simmer for 25 minutes, until the dal is soft on the outside but still has a little bite in the middle.
- Add the bottle gourd, tomato, ginger, coriander and salt. Stir, cover and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes more, until the gourd is translucent and very soft and the dal is fully tender.
- Lightly mash a few spoonfuls of dal and gourd against the pot to thicken the base. Add hot water if it looks too thick; it should flow slowly off a spoon.
- Heat the ghee in a small pan. Add the cumin seeds and red chile and cook until the cumin darkens slightly and smells toasty, about 30 seconds. Add the asafoetida, then turn off the heat and stir in the garam masala.
- Pour the tempering over the dal and cover the pot for a minute to trap the aroma.
- Stir in the cilantro and lemon juice, taste for salt, and serve hot.
Kitchen notes
- Taste a small piece of raw bottle gourd before cooking. If it tastes bitter, discard it and use a different gourd.
- Zucchini can stand in for bottle gourd; add it 5 minutes later since it cooks faster.
- A pressure cooker cuts the time: cook the soaked dal and bottle gourd together for 4 whistles, then temper.
Storing and reheating
Keeps for 4 days in the fridge and freezes well for up to 2 months. Thin with water when reheating.
To serve alongside
Serve with steamed basmati rice, cumin rice or soft whole wheat flatbread.
A gentle note: this recipe is shared for cooking enjoyment only. It is not medical or dietary advice. If you have allergies or specific dietary needs, check every ingredient label and adapt the recipe to suit you.
