Turai Chana Dal Ki Sabzi is classic and simple vegan plant-based side dish recipe. Though there are many different ways of making it, I love to make this with very minimal ingredients. This sabzi recipe tastes best with piping hot rotis and steamed rice with rasam or chaaru.
You may also like – Aloo Baingan Chana Dal ka Salan, Cabbage Chana Dal Curry, Capsicum Chana Dal Curry, Lauki Chana Dal ki Sabzi
About This Recipe
The combination of turai and chana dal in this recipe is palate pleasing. Turai | Ridge Gourd is much loved vegetable in Andhra and Telangana regions. In Telugu, we call it “beerakaya” (బీరకాయ). Ridge gourd is known for its mild taste and soft texture. You will find many interesting and appetizing recipes with ridge gourd in Telugu Cuisine.
In this recipe, the mild flavor of turai (ridge gourd) pairs well with the earthy taste of chana dal (split chickpeas). Protein packed Chana Dal | Split Chickpeas are rich in B-Complex vitamins. These are good source of folic acid.
Chana Dal is considered as a popular alternative for meat protein. It also helps in lowering cholesterol level in blood and also good for diabetic patients as it has low glycaemic index.
Chana Dal is one of the most flavorful dal of dal family. When turai and chana dal are cooked together, the taste and nutrition is much more.
Turai Chana Dal Recipe is,
- easy
- vegan
- gluten-free
- dairy-free
- nut free
- nutritious
- plant protein rich
Main Ingredients to make Ridge Gourd Chana Dal
Ridge Goud | Turai – I completely peel the green hard skin on turai and then cut it into pieces. Tasting the turai before cutting into pieces is compulsory as sometimes it will be bitter. If turai is bitter, then the curry will not taste good. Some people will only scrape the hard edges on turai and leave the green skin. Choose, whichever way is convenient for you.
For this recipe, I recommend completely removing the skin of turai. Turai is a watery vegetable. When it is fresh, it leaves lot of water while cooking. So, adjust water accordingly in the recipe.
Chana Dal | Split Chickpea – Soaking chana dal for 30-60 minutes before cooking will help in cooking the dal faster. If you are in hurry, then you can pressure cook the dal for two whistles on medium flame. Boiling chana dal on stovetop, will give you perfectly textured dal as you can keep an eye on dal.
Ginger-Garlic Paste – As ridge gourd is bland tasting vegetable, adding of ginger-garlic paste enhances the taste of this recipe. Don’t forget to check out my easy homemade ginger-garlic paste recipe.
Dry Coconut Powder – This will give taste and thickness to the curry. Dry coconut powder will bring nutty taste and creamy texture in this recipe.
Garam Masala – This is the secret ingredient in this recipe. A generous pinch of garam masala will bring aroma and flavour in the recipe. Check out my easy homemade garam masala recipe and try it today!
Turai Chana Dal Sabzi
Turai Chana Dal | Beerakaya Senagapappu Koora is a a flavorful and nutritious curry. Packed with protein, fiber, and essential nutrients from both the ridge gourd and chana dal. Delicious and wholesome turai dal is both comforting and satisfying and is perfect for lunch or dinner.
Paired with steamed rice or roti, it provides a balanced meal full of vital nutrients necessary for maintaining good health. Whether you are looking to add a new recipe to your cooking collection or need a simple yet fulfilling meal, this Turai Chana Dal recipe is sure to satisfy both your palate and your dietary needs.
Turai Chana Dal Recipe
Turai Chana Dal is simple and satisfying side dish recipe. Vegan and gluten-free turai chana dal recipe easily pairs up with rice and dal.
Ingredients
- 1 kg Turai, peeled and cut into pieces
- ½ cup Chana dal, washed and soaked for 2-3 hours
- 1 Onion, finely chopped
- 2 Green chilies, slit lengthwise
- 1 tbsp. Red Chili powder
- 3 tbsp. dry Coconut powder
- ¼ tbsp. Turmeric powder
- ½ tbsp. Ginger-Garlic Paste
- ¼ tbsp. Garam Masala
- Salt to taste
- Oil for cooking
- 1-2 spring Coriander leaves
Instructions
How to make Ridge Gourd Chana Dal Recipe
- Pressure cook chana dal until soft but not mushy. Set aside.
- Alternatively, you can even boil chana dal by adding more water and drain off the water when dal is cooked.
- In the meantime, in a heavy bottom cooking pan add oil and fry sliced onions until translucent.
- Now add ginger-garlic paste and fry until raw smell wafts. To this add turai pieces, green chilies, turmeric powder and salt.
- Gently mix the ingredients and cook on a low flame by covering with a lid. (Ridge gourd is a watery vegetable and releases water on cooking, so no need to add any extra water.)
- Cook till turai is completely soft. Now add chana dal along with water (in which chana dal was cooked, if any remaining), dry coconut powder and garam masala.
- Cook on low flame by giving the recipe a gently stir.
- Cook for another 2-3 minutes and add red chili powder. (You can add red chili powder in third step, but I mostly add red chili powder in the end as it imparts nice color to the recipe).
- Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with hot roti or rice.
- Add ‘love’ to make this Turai Chanae ki Dal taste ‘YUMMY’.
Notes
This Turai Chana Dal recipe is versatile and can be adjusted according to taste preferences. You can add more spices like coriander powder or garam masala for additional flavor. You can easily replace turai (ridge gourd) in the above recipe with potato, brinjal, capsicum, etc;
Lubna's Serving Suggestions:
Nutritious and delicious turai chana dal can be served with piping hot bowl of steamed rice, any dal like khatti dal, meethi dal, chaaru, rasam, etc; You can even serve this with roti or phulka or poori.
Easy Serving Suggestion of Turai Chana Dal Recipe:
Steamed Rice + Chaaru + Turai Chana Dal Sabzi + Papad + Pickle + Curd + Cucumber Crudites.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 117Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 298mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 3g
Happy cook says
Just had my lunch, but still i would love to have this curry with those rotis.
Kitchen Flavours says
Thank You dear Happy Cook.
Lakshmi Venkatesh says
delicious curry
Sunshinemom says
I love turai but always make a stir fry. Thanks for the variation, Lubna!
Sireesha says
Looks very tasty and delicious…Its one of my favorite one..
Priya says
Tempting dish KF..would love to have them rite now..makes me hunger..
Curry Leaf says
The dish look inviting.I am not a turai person,I avoid it though it is said to be good for health.the dish is really tempting me to try it out.
Ms.Unique says
Assalamualikum …. Jazak Allah Khairan nice and eezy weezy recipe …. Insha Allah vil try …. 😉
Yasmeen says
I add a little gosh to my turai ka salan,and I too like with roti:)
veena says
The curry looks very delicious Lubna ..
Andhra Flavors says
really this curry looks inviting. it seems healthy
Ramya Vijaykumar says
I love to grab the thali and have rotis with Turai… awesome combo…
Shillu says
Sounds interesating – we make it with milk at home. This looks very tasty 🙂
sowmya says
looks yummy and spicy..very tempting..
Anonymous says
Do you mean 1 tbsp Indian red chili powder(that we get in Indian grocery stores) or the Mexican Chili powder that is available in every grocery store…cuz 1 tbsp of this stuff wouldn’t be too bad in that case, but if it is Indian red chili powder, isn’t 1 tbsp way too much?
Kitchen Flavours says
Thank You Lakshmi.Try it you will like it Sunshine mom.Thank You Sireesha and Priya.Curry Leaf – You will like it for sure dear.Yasmeen – I too add gosht at times.Thank You Veena.Walekum Assalam Dear. Thank you Ms.Unique.Anonymous – It is Indian red chilli powder only. 1tbsp will not make the dish spicy.Thank You Andhra Flavours, Ramya, Shillu and sowmya.
Anjum says
I love turai but hate tasting it to check if its btter..its a new varied recipe with bagaar…nice!!
Kitchen Flavours says
Me too Anjum. Thnks for the comments.
Sanjana says
This looks lovely, like it's packed full of flavour and healthy goodness 🙂 Great blog!