Bottle gourd with green gram lentils( Lauki Moong Dal)

The day dates back when I used to watch Swami Ramdev on Aastha channel along with my mother and he used to talk volumes on the benefits of bottlegourd.  This humble vegetable was often ignored by us particularly because of its bland taste. Knowing the benefits I started thinking of using it in dals, rasams, sambhar (curries). My husband particularly likes vegetables that are not too dry and do have a gravy medium in them.  This recipe was an outcome of all those necessities.

Bottle gourd is a cooling vegetable that contains 96% water and also contains minerals like sodium, potassium,  iron and vitamin C. It is easy to digest and good for elderly, ill, convalescence, children and those who have weak digestion. Its potassium content also makes it suitable for hypertensive patients. It is low in calories and this makes it suitable for weight-watchers and diabetic patients too. The soup made from this vegetable is also nutritious, tasty and keeps one “ full” longer. It can be combined with Spinach, tomatoes, onions, etc. I shall post these recipes in my later posts. While buying this vegetable, take care to choose the tender ones which are clean and light green peel on them.

Ingredients:

Bottle gourd – 1 chopped into ½ inch dices.

Green gram lentils or yellow moong dal -1/2 cup

Onion  finely chopped – 1 medium

Capsicum –finely chopped -1 medium

Tomato –finely chopped-1 medium

Ginger-garlic paste-1tsp

Green chillies-2 slit

Cumin seeds-1tsp

salt –to taste

Garam Masala or Indian spice powder -1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Coriander-cumin Powder – 1 tsp

Coriander leaves – To garnish

Oil – 1 tsp

Method:

Wash the lentils and combine them with bottle gourd, add enough water and pressure cook to two whistles or till dal is done and mushy.

In a deep bottomed pan  heat oil, add cumin seeds. When they crackle, add green chillies and sauté. Add onions and sauté till they are transparent. Add capsicum and tomtoes, ginger garlic paste, spices, salt and cook till the vegetables are soft. Now add the pressure cooked combination of lentils and bottlegourd and stir on medium flame. Adjust salt and bring it to a boil. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Here I would like to mention that one should not peel the bottle gourd as many of the nutrients are lost in the peels. When pressure cooked the peel turns out to soft and the dish turns delicious. I think this dish is often prepared in some Gujarati homes. They go very well with Sweet Potato Parantha that I have posted earlier.

The lentils help to make a gravy kind of consistency and adds a mild flavour to it. You can also add kasuri methi, red chilli powder, kitchen king masala to spice it up further. Innovation is a continuous process isn't it?

Happy Cooking!