Lauki Masoor Dal/ Bottle Gourd Red Lentil Dal.

“Lauki Masoor Dal/ Bottle Gourd Red Lentil Dal” … bottle gourd known as lauki/ gardudde/ chorakkai/ chorakka/ sorakaya/ sorekai/ doodhi/ marrow etc. in different languages is a healthy veggie grown in running/ climbing vine ... a very versatile veggie that can be prepared into many dishes, be it in addition to curries, dals, parathas, poori, burfi, halwa, idlies etc. above all the same can be just juiced up and consumed for a healthier lifestyle … here is a lovely preparation of lauki with addition of masoor dal, spiced with masala that tastes delicious served as side dish with parathas …. Yummilicious ….

** Bottle gourd which is referred to as gardudde in Konkani is a very versatile dish as mentioned on title. The immense health benefits are something everybody knows off, so going into writing the same will only bore all of you. Still if you are not aware, you may Google it out and you will find reams written about this wonderful veggie.

** Frankly, I have never had it as a simple juice, though I would love to try it out, somehow I always end up trying out various dishes with this lovely veggie, if you have not yet added it while preparing our good old sambar, then please do, it tastes wonderful. We love to add this veggie to curries as not only does it taste great but is also aromatic.

** I have been wanting to try out thick textured spiced dal with addition lauki for a long time, though I wanted to use full peas I did not have them at home and was definitely not in mood to go out and buy as I would need to soak it overnight, which meant I had to push preparing the dish by another 24 hours, so tried it out with red lentils another favorite of mine.

** A tasty thick consistency dal with addition of bottle gourd, tomatoes, spices that tastes wonderful served as a side dish along with parathas or Idlies. I served it with Pudina Mooli Paratha (Mint Leaves- Radish Roti) and KhatHa MeetHa TeekHa Strawberry Chutney for lunch and it was a wonderful combo which we relished to heart’s content.

** Here is my recipe for “Lauki Masoor Dal/ Bottle Gourd Red Lentil Dal” … my style ….

** Wash one cup of masoor dal/ red lentil in plenty of water, drain and add it into pressure cooker pan along with approximately 2 cups of water and pressure cook to 2-3 whistles on medium heat. Let the pressure fall on its own, open the lid when able to, then remove and keep it aside ready to be added on later while cooking.

** Peel off the outer thick skin of about 250- 300 gms of lauki/ bottle gourd/ gardudde. Use tender small bottle gourd for best taste and avoid the large one as they do not turn out good. Cut them into one inch sized cubes, wash and then cook in a vessel adding just about needed amount of water till 70% done, do not overcook the veggie at this point.

** Add one large sized tomato cut into cubes along with cooked masoor dal and mix well. Add ½ tsp haldi (turmeric) powder, 2-3 tsp of Kashmiri red chilly powder (mirsange pitti/ tikkat), ½ tsp of dhania (coriander/ kothambari) powder, ¼ tsp of cumin (jeera) powder, 1 tsp grated ginger (adrak/ alle’), mix well and cook on medium heat.

** Check and add in enough water (you can use hot water here) and mix well to get a thick consistency dal. Keep stirring often to avoid dal getting stuck at the bottom, when you see bubbles appearing on surface of the dal add in ½ tsp tamarind (chinchama/ imly) paste along with salt (namak/ meeta) to taste, mix well, adding in more water if required.

** Do not let the lentils get mashed or cooked too much mushy texture. Also the veggies too should not get overcooked, so be careful. Lastly add in a handful of cleaned, washed and finely chopped coriander leaves (kottambari pallo/ dhania) to the curry. Mix well, let cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from fire and keep it aside to be tempered.

** Seasoning/ Tempering/ Pannaka : Heat 1 tblsp ghee (toop) or Oil (tel/ tela) in a small tempering pan, when hot lower the heat and add 1 tsp of mustard seeds (rai/ sasam), when it begins to splutter add ½ tsp of cumin seeds (jeera) and 8-10 fresh curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu) and fry for a second or two only. 

** Pour the tempering over the prepared and kept aside lauki- masoor dal and cover with a tight lid. Keep it aside for flavors to seep in well into the curry, say for about 10-15 minutes. When serving or after resting if you find that the curry has turned too thick, you can add some boiling water, check salt and add if necessary, mix well and then serve.

** “Lauki Masoor Dal/ Bottle Gourd Red Lentil Dal” is done and ready to be served. Keep the texture of this dal slightly thicker than normal dal for serving with roti/ parathas or dosas. However, if serving with with Idly/ Khotto/ appos or even steamed rice you can keep it slightly thinner flowing textured. Tastes wonderful served both ways. 

** This humble veggie (bottle gourd/ lauki/ gardudde) available all round the year almost in every place, is store house of healthy nutrients and is considered to be very good for over all health issues be it of any type to human beings, so do try including them in different ways into your food cooked or otherwise and let your family benefit out of it.