Ridge gourd is known as Heeerekai in Kannada, peerkankai in Tamil, beerkai in Telugu, tori or turai in Hindi, and also known as luffa in English. Whenever I buy Ridge gourd, I usually prepare this dal, ridge gourd curry, or I make my mom’s style ridge gourd chutney.
How to Make Ridge Gourd Dal in Instant Pot
This recipe shows how to make Ridge Gourd Dal or Beerekaya Pappu in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. The main difference with traditional Ridge Gourd Dal preparation is a one-pot recipe. Usually, we cook the dal separately first and then add the tadka (tempering) to it.
Preparation:
Firstly, wash, peel the skin of the ridge gourd, and cut it into 1.5-inch pieces. If you cut them too small, they will be mashed up with the dal. Then rinse the moong dal, and keep it aside.
Method:
Press Saute on Instant Pot. Add oil, and once it’s hot, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them crackle. Add asafetida, minced garlic, green chili, curry leaves, and saute for 15 secs. Then add chopped onion. Saute till onions turn light brown. 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. 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. 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. The big advantage of the Instant Pot is the option to do Pot-in-Pot Cooking or PIP. This means you can cook multiple things at the same time. See the pictures below for reference. 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. 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. Accessories needed for this Dal and Rice Pot-in-pot Recipe
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
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. 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 6-8 minutes. Add coriander leaves and lime juice, and mix well. Serve Ridge gourd moong dal or Andra style Beerakaya Pappu hot with boiled rice, quinoa, or roti.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Ridge Gourd Dal or Beerakaya Pappu with steamed rice, roti, or chapati. But it can be eaten with quinoa, brown rice!
Tips & Variations
Choosing Ridge gourd: Choose tender and fresh ridge gourd with no seeds. Always taste a small piece of ridge gourd, if it’s bitter, discard it. Lentils: I used split yellow moong dal for this ridge gourd recipe, but you can use any kind of dal/lentils like chana dal, toor dal, masoor dal, or a mixture of toor, masoor, and moong dal. Ridge Gourd Sambar: If you are a South Indian and want to make sambhar with ridge gourd, follow the same steps, replace the dry spices mentioned in the recipe with, 1.5 tablespoons of sambar powder and some tamarind extract instead of lemon juice to make the Ridge gourd sambar recipe. No-Onion No-Garlic: To make a simple dal, you can also skip onion and garlic.
More Instant Pot Lentil Recipes
Dal Tadka – Dal prepared with split pigeon peas lentils, and assorted spices. Green Lentil Soup – lentil soup made with green lentils, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, and Indian spices. Spinach Dal / Palak Dal – Dhal cooked with spinach leaves. Whole green moong dal – Dal cooked with whole mung beans. Panchmel dal – Dal is prepared with five varieties of lentils. Lauki Chana Dal - Dal cooked with bottle gourd and Chana dal.
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