Bihari Chana Dal with Lauki
Split Bengal gram simmered with soft bottle gourd and a mustard oil tempering, a nourishing everyday dal from Bhojpur households.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 210 kcal
Equipment
- •Pressure cooker
- •Tempering pan
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 210 kcal
- fat
- 6 g
- carbs
- 28 g
- fibre
- 7 g
- protein
- 11 g
- calories
- 210 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Put the soaked chana dal, bottle gourd, turmeric, salt and water into a pressure cooker. Cook for 3-4 whistles until soft.
- 2
Lightly mash the dal with a spoon until it is thick but still chunky.
- 3
Heat mustard oil in a small pan until it smokes lightly. Take it off the heat to cool slightly.
- 4
Add cumin seeds, dried red chillies and crushed garlic. Fry until the garlic turns golden.
- 5
Add chopped tomato if using. Cook until it softens.
- 6
Pour the hot spiced oil over the cooked dal. Simmer together for 5 minutes.
- 7
Serve hot with rice or roti (flatbread).
Chef's tips
Do not overcook the lauki (bottle gourd) into mush; let it hold some shape. Fry the garlic tadka (sizzling spice oil) until golden, not burnt, for the best aroma.
Ingredient substitutions
- bottle gourd → pumpkin or chayote
Storage
Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Reheating
Reheat on stovetop with a splash of water.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Skipping the mustard oil tadka (sizzling spice oil), which gives the dish its classic flavour.
Serving suggestions
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