Dudhi Chana nu Shaakદૂધી ચણાનું શાક
Bottle gourd cooked with chana dal is a light, everyday Gujarati sabzi: gentle on the stomach, mildly sweet and sour, and good with both rotli and rice. It is the dish most families fall back on midweek.
Ingredients
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- 500 g bottle gourd (dudhi), cubed
- ½ cup chana dal, soaked 1 hour
- 2 tbsp oil
- Mustard seeds, cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves
- 1 tsp ginger-chilli paste
- Turmeric, coriander-cumin powder, 1 tsp jaggery, salt
- Coriander and lemon
Method
- Temper oil with mustard seeds, cumin, asafoetida and curry leaves.
- Add ginger-chilli paste, then the soaked chana dal, and sauté 2 minutes.
- Add the bottle gourd, turmeric, coriander-cumin powder, salt and 1 cup water.
- Cover and cook 15-18 minutes until the dal is soft, or pressure cook for 2 whistles.
- Stir in the jaggery and simmer 2 minutes.
- Finish with coriander and lemon.
Tips
- Soaking the dal cuts the cooking time considerably.
- Bottle gourd releases water, so start with less water than you think.
- Taste a small piece first; a bitter gourd will ruin the dish.
Storing and reheating
This keeps three days in the fridge and genuinely tastes better on day two once the flavours settle. Do not leave it out more than five or six hours in warm weather. As it cools the chana dal absorbs the gravy and the dish thickens, so add a splash of hot water when reheating. Avoid reheating twice; the bottle gourd dissolves completely the second time.
What you can swap
- Toor dal works instead of chana dal, but it breaks down faster. Halve the soaking time and give it only one whistle in the cooker.
- No bottle gourd? Pumpkin, ridge gourd or sponge gourd all work. With pumpkin, cut the jaggery back, since pumpkin brings its own sweetness.
- Sugar can replace jaggery, but use half as much. Jaggery rounds off the sour and spicy edges in a way sugar does not.
- Forgot to soak the dal? Unsoaked chana dal cooks in about three whistles. Add the bottle gourd only after that, or it will be mush.
What to serve with it
An everyday sabzi on the Gujarati thali, eaten with rotli or bhakhri. With dal, rice and chhaas it makes a complete meal. Bottle gourd is cheapest and freshest through monsoon and summer, and in those months many homes cook this twice a week.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not pressure cook the dal and the gourd together. The dal needs far longer. Done at the same time, the gourd turns to pulp while the dal stays grainy.
- Do not dice the bottle gourd too small. Thumbnail-sized pieces hold their shape; smaller ones melt into the gravy and disappear altogether.
- Peel the gourd properly. Any skin left behind does not soften and shows up as stringy bits in the mouth.
- Hold the jaggery back until the end. Anything sweet or sour added before the dal is cooked keeps the dal firm.
Questions people ask
My bottle gourd turned out bitter. Can the dish be saved?
No. The bitterness spreads right through the gravy and no amount of sugar, jaggery or lemon will mask it, so the whole pot has to go. This is why it is worth tasting a raw sliver before you cook with it.
Why is my chana dal still hard?
Old dal will not soften however long you cook it. The other common cause is adding something sour or sweet too early. Keep both lemon and jaggery for after the dal is soft, and try not to use dal more than six months old.
Can I make this without a pressure cooker?
Yes. Soaked chana dal cooks covered on low heat in fifteen to eighteen minutes. The gourd releases its own water so there is little risk of catching, but check once midway and add a quarter cup of hot water if needed.
