North Indian
Lauki Chana Dal (Bottle Gourd and Lentils)
Lauki Chana Dal (Bottle Gourd and Lentils) is North Indian home cooking, eaten at lunch and dinner. On the plate it is the dish at the centre and the protein alongside. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup chana dal
- 3 cups bottle gourd (lauki)
- 4 cups water
- 3/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 onion
- 2 tomato
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 green chilies
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 3 tbsp neutral oil
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp salt
How to cook it
- Soak the chana dal for 30 minutes, then pressure cook it with the diced bottle gourd, turmeric, salt, and water until the dal is tender.
- Heat the oil in a pan and let the cumin seeds sizzle, then cook the garlic, ginger, and green chilies for a minute.
- Add the onion and cook until soft, then stir in the tomato, coriander, and red chili powder and cook until the tomato breaks down.
- Pour in the cooked dal and lauki, mash a little to blend, and simmer for 8 minutes.
- Finish with cilantro and serve.
Serve it with
A North Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Lauki Chana Dal (Bottle Gourd and Lentils), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
-
The cooked vegetable
-
What it is eaten with
-
The sharp little thing
-
Something cool and fresh
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand. Lauki Chana Dal (Bottle Gourd and Lentils) carries none of them. That is a checked answer rather than an ingredient list nobody read.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | No | |
| Dairy | No | |
| Gluten | No | |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | No | |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | No |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Bands, not numbers. Dinejot does not weigh anybody's food, so it says light, moderate or hearty and stops there. This dish was read and set by hand.
- Calorie band
- Moderate
- Protein
- Medium
- Protein quality
- Partial
- Food groups it covers
- Pulses and Vegetables
- How this was set
- Hand audited
When to cook it
Lauki Chana Dal (Bottle Gourd and Lentils) takes about 45 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is a fair bit of work. It is eaten at lunch and dinner. It is at its best in summer and the monsoon, which is when what goes into it is worth buying.
Watch someone make it
Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. Until then this is one still image, which is why the page opens as quickly as it does.
More to cook
Cooked from the same things
Other dishes built on chana dal, bottle gourd, and tomato.
From the same kitchens
More cooking from North India, South India, West India, East India, and Northeast India.
Does the same job on the plate
Swap any of these in when you want a meal the same shape.
Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.