Snake Gourd Moong Dal Curry

Snake gourd moong dal curry recipe – a simple and quick dal using split yellow lentils and snake gourd vegetable.

This snake gourd dal or pudalangai kootu has no coconut added to it. It is a quick recipe using a pressure cooker. A simple tadka added to it, makes it a light and comforting dal that you can enjoy with rice or rotis.

About Snake Gourd

Snake Gourd is one of the vegetables that is widely used in South Indian cooking. It is referred to with various names such as chichinda in Hindi, pudalangai in Tamil, padavalanga in Malayalam, padwal in Marathi and potlakaya in Telugu. This vegetable has a high water content and is low in calories.

About This Recipe

• Easy to make: It is easy to make with a few everyday ingredients. If you are looking to make a simple lunch or dinner, then this is a good choice.
• Light Meal: It is a very light dal without any masalas loaded into it.
• No coconut: While South Indian kootu usually has coconut added to it, this dish has no coconut.
• No onions or tomatoes: There are no onions or tomatoes used here. So, if you have run out of those, then you can still cook up this delicious dish.
• Get done in minutes: Just add the dal and veggies to the cooker and once its cooked, do a tempering of the spices. Thats it! you have a healthy dish ready in minutes.
• Healthy: Both dal and snake gourd, which are used in this recipe are very nutritious.

Health Benefits

The health benefits of the two main ingredients used in this recipe are..

• Health Benefits of Snake Gourd
  • Cooling effect: this vegetable is believed to have a cooling effect on the body.
  • Vitamins: it is a good source of vitamins A, B and C.
  • Low-Calorie vegetable: it is low in calories.
  • Dietary Fiber: it is rich in dietary fiber and helps improve digestion.
• Moong dal
  • Easily digestible: Moong dal is easy to digest.
  • Protein: It is rich in proteins.

Ingredients You Need

Ingredients you need to make this dal are:

• Snake gourd: You need to peel the skin of snake gourd, trim off the ends and then slice them.
• Yellow moong dal: They refer to whole mung beans or green gram, without skin and that have been split. They are yellow in color and slightly flat in shape. As they are skinned and split, they are easier to cook.
• Ginger: It lends a nice aroma and sharp taste to the dal. Though fresh ginger gives a nice flavor to the dish, you can substitute with ginger paste.
• Garlic: Adds flavor to the dal. Use fresh garlic or substitute with garlic paste.
• Green chilli: It lends heat to the dish. Adjust the number of chillies as per the sharpness of the chillies or the spice level you like.
• Turmeric powder: Add little turmeric powder to give the lovely yellow color to the dal as well as add flavor.
• Tempering spices: We are not adding any strong masalas to the dal. Instead Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and dry red chillies are added during tempering. These spices give a nice flavor to the dal.
• Oil: I used sunflower oil here. If you are not vegan, you can substitute oil with ghee for a more flavorful dal.
• Coriander Leaves / Cilantro: Garnish the dal with chopped coriander leaves or cilantro. You can skip the garnishing if you dont have it.
• Salt

How to make Snake Gourd and Moong Dal curry step by step

Here are the step-by-step photos to make this recipe.

1. Firstly, wash the moong dal 4-5 times. Peel the snake gourd and cut the snake gourd vertically into 2 pieces and discard the inner seeds. Then slice the snake gourd into thin half-rounds. Place the moong dal, sliced snake gourd, crushed ginger and sliced garlic in a pressure cooker.
   
2. Then add turmeric powder and salt.
   
3. Pressure cook with 1 1/4 cups water for 2 whistles and remove from heat.
   
4. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and asafoetida. When the mustard seeds pop, add the cumin seeds and dry red chillies. Once cumin seeds crackle and change color slightly, add the slit green chilli and cooked moong dal-snake gourd.
   
5. Now bring the dal to a boil and let it cook for 3-4 minutes on medium-low flame and remove from heat. Finally, garnish with chopped coriander or cilantro leaves. Snake gourd moong dal curry is ready to be served.

More Dal Recipes

A few more dal recipes that you will enjoy.

Dal Recipes

Easy Spinach Dal

Cabbage Dal

Beetroot Dal

Black Chickpeas Curry

Recipe Tips

• Cooking Dal: I have used pressure cooker to cook the dal as it gets done quickly. Alternatively you can also cook the dal along with the snake gourd in a pot with enough water till they turn soft.
• Chillies: Adjust chillies as per the spice level you prefer or depending on the sharpness of the chillies.
• Tempering with Ghee: This dal is a vegan version. If you are not vegan, you can even temper the dal with ghee ( or clarified butter ) instead of oil, for a more flavorful dal.
• Serving Suggestion: This dal goes well with rice and chapatis or rotis. You can serve it with kachumber salad or carrot salad or with a pickle or papad on the side.

Snake Gourd Moong Dal Curry recipe

4.5 from 2 reviews

Category:Main

Cuisine:Indian

Author:Jiya Jesh

Yied:2 servings

Prep Time:10 mins

Cook Time:15 mins

Total Time:25 mins

An easy and quick dal using split yellow lentils with snake gourd vegetable. This snake gourd dal is a light curry that serves well with rice and chapathis.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup yellow moong dal ( pasi paruppu / split mung beans without skin )
• 2 cups sliced snake gourd ( pudalangai / padwal / chichinga )
• 1 green chilli
• 1/2 tsp crushed ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 dry red chillies, broken
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds ( jeera )
• A pinch of asafoetida ( hing )
• 2 tsp oil
• Coriander leaves for garnishing
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Wash the moong dal 3-4 times in water. Peel the snake gourd, trim off the ends. Cut the snake gourd vertically into 2 pieces and discard the inner seeds. Slice the snake gourd into thin half-rounds. Slice the garlic cloves and crush the fresh ginger. Place the washed moong dal and sliced snake gourd along with crushed ginger and sliced garlic in a pressure cooker.
2. Add turmeric powder and salt.
3. Pour 1 1/4 cups water and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Remove from heat and set aside to let the pressure release by itself.
4. For the tempering, heat oil in a kadai or pan. Add asafoetida and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add cumin seeds and dry red chillies. When cumin seeds crackle, add the slit green chilli and the cooked moong dal – snake gourd.
5. If the dal is too thick, add 1/2 – 3/4 cup water. Let the dal come to a boil. Then cook on a medium-low flame for 3-4 minutes and remove from heat.
6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves or cilantro. Snake gourd and moong dal curry is now ready to be served.

Notes

• You can boil the snake gourd and moong dal in enough water in a pot instead of pressure cooking.
• Adjust chillies as per your choice or depending on the sharpness of the chillies.
• This dal goes well with rice and chapatis / rotis.
• For a more flavorful dal, you can temper the dal with ghee ( or clarified butter ) instead of oil.

Nutrition Information

Serving size:1 serving Calories:176 calories Fat:5.3 g Saturated fat:0.6 g Unsaturated fat:0 g Trans fat:0 g Carbohydrates:23.3 g Sugar:0.1 g Sodium:393 mg Fiber:8.6 g Protein:9.6 g Cholesterol:0 mg

More Snake Gourd Recipes

Do try these few other snake gourd recipes

Snake Gourd Recipes

Pudalangai Poricha Kootu

Snake Gourd Thoran

Snake Gourd Chutney

Pudalangai Pepper Fry