Bottle Gourd Dal

         After coming to India, I have slowed down, I am hardly posting twice in a week, is it due to more work here or because of the internet connection here, I don't know. Everytime I think, I should do better the next week, but end up doing the same, hopefully I'll be much more organised in the future. Well, today's dal is a very easy and tasty recipe which I had learnt from a Punjabi friend, in fact till sometime back, I had been using bottle gourd to make this dal only, never tried out even a sambar with it. I have used chana dal (skinned split black chickpeas) for making it, you can use the whole chickpeas, except that you have to soak it before cooking. This goes well both with rotis and any kind of rice or pulav, a mild yet flavorful dal..

Need To Have

• Chana Dal - 3/4 cup
• Bottle Gourd - 1 small chopped
• Onion - 1 medium chopped
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Cloves - 2
• Cinnamon - 1" stick
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Chilli Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Garam Masala - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Chopped Coriander Leaves - 1/4 cup

Make A Paste

• Onion - 1 medium
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Ginger - 1 tablespoon chopped
• Garlic - 4 cloves

Method

         Pressure cook the chana dal and the bottle gourd along with the turmeric powder (just like you cook rice), grind the ingredients given under make a paste. Heat oil, add the cinnamon, cloves and the cumin seeds, when the cumin seeds start sizzling add the chopped onions, saute for a couple of minutes. Then add the ground paste, followed by the chilli and coriander powders, saute well till the raw smell goes away for about 5 to 7 minutes (sprinkling water if the mixture turns too dry and sticks to the pan).

Then add the cooked dal and vegetable, mix well, simmer for 5 minutes, mix in the garam masala and the chopped coriander leaves. Serve it warm with rotis or rice.

Note
You can use a mixture of chana dal and moong dal.
After adding the dal and vegetable, if it is too thick, mix in some water and boil.