Ridge Gourd Dal is a comforting and an easy one-pot pressure cooker recipe made with moong dal,ridge gourd, tomatoes and indian spices and cooked with pot-in-pot rice.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup split yellow moong dal (rinsed)
  • 2 cups ridge gourd(Turai/ Heerekai/Peerkangai) (peeled and chopped into 1.5 inch pieces)
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil ((or ghee))
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
  • 1/4 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
  • 2 green chillies (split into halve)
  • 3 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 stalk curry leaves
  • 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
  • 1 large tomato (finely chopped)
  • salt (to taste)
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Dry Spices:

  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala powder

For Basmati Rice

  • 1 cup basmati rice
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1 pinch salt ((optional))

Method

Instant Pot Method:

  1. Press Saute on Instant Pot. Add oil, and once it's hot, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
  2. Add asafetida, minced garlic, green chili, curry leaves, and saute for 15 secs.
  3. Then add chopped onion. Saute till onions turn light brown.
  4. Add tomatoes along with dry spices, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, and cook till tomatoes turn soft, which takes 2-3 minutes.
  5. Then add chopped ridge gourd, rinsed lentils or dal, salt, water, and give a stir. Adjust spices at this stage. **No need to soak the dal for this recipe.
  6. Once you add all the ingredients for Ridge Gourd Dal in the instant pot, place the trivet and then the rice bowl with water. This way, they will both cook together.
  7. Close the lid securely, and turn the vent to " SEALING ". Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL (High Pressure) setting and set the cooking time to 5 minutes. When the instant pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure before removing the lid.
  8. Lastly, add coriander leaves and lime juice. Mix well. Ridge Gourd Dal Recipe or Beerakaya Pappu is ready. Serve hot with steamed rice, ghee, quinoa, or roti.

Stovetop Pressure Cooker:

  1. In a pressure cooker, add chopped ridge gourd, garlic, green chilies, onion, tomatoes, moong dal, turmeric powder, salt, water, and pressure cook up to 2 whistles.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the tempering and add this tempering into the dal once cooked, along with red chili powder and garam masala, and let the dal simmer for 4-5 minutes.
  3. Add coriander leaves and lime juice, mix well serve Ridge gourd dal hot.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.