Recipe Cooked, Photographed and Written by Praveena
PrepTime:5 mins CookTime:Given Below Cuisine:Indian
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Ridge Gourd is called as Beerakaya in Telugu and as Turai in Hindi. Not many recipes are there with this water vegetable. I have already shared a curry / side dish with Ridge Gourd and South Indian Masala, here is the link⇒ Beerakaya Masala Koora/ Turai / RidgeGourd Masala Curry (Instant Pot, Stove top methods). Trust me this masala curry is the tastiest version, using this veggie.
And, do you know that the outer skin / peel of ridge gourd can be very well used just like the inner part. Check out my detailed recipe for chutney with the peelings⇒ Beerapottu Pachchadi / RidgeGourd Peel Chutney

And now this, Beerakaya Pappu / Ridge Gourd Dal recipe, is a completely Satvik food which has No Onion, No Garlic. Its one of the kind, from Andhra. It is best suitable among any of the South Indian meal platters given here⇒ Bhojanam / Thali / Meal Platter
Things to remember for making, ‘Ridge Gourd Dal / Beerakaya Pappu’:
- Always select tender ridge gourd, for this recipe. If not the dish would turn bitter. Why because, ridge gourds have the tendency to turn bitter when they are not tender.
- If the ridge gourd is not tender enough, at times, even the seeds might be very hard, which makes impossible to cook.
- Save the peelings / skin of ridge gourd to make the chutney.

Health Benefits of, ‘Ridge Gourd Dal / Beerakaya Pappu’:
Ridge Gourd / Beerakaya / Turai is a water vegetable very mild in taste and soft in texture. It helps in weight loss, is used for post-natal recovery, has low cholesterol. It is so nutritious that its ridge skin/peel is also useful for cooking. The peel / skin of ridge gourd is mainly, rich in fiber when compared to the inner part. (info from internet)
Toor Dal/ Kandi Pappu / Split Pigeon Peas have many health benefits like improves digestion, good source of protein,iron, fiber, controls cholesterol, has folic acid. Toor dal is one of the most common pulses in an Indian kitchen.(info from internet)
To conclude, this recipe is a completely Vegan, Gluten free, High Fiber, Protein & Iron Rich kind.

Before starting to cook, don’t forget to see the Tips mentioned at the end.
Instant Pot recipes collection⇒ Electric Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot Recipes
My Dal recipes collection⇒ Dal / Pappu / Lentil Stew
Related Posts:
- Beerakaya Masala Koora/ Turai / RidgeGourd Masala Curry (Instant Pot, Stove top)
- Beerapottu Pachchadi / RidgeGourd Peel Chutney
- Courgettes Chutney / Zucchini Chutney / Nethi-Beerakaya Pachchadi
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Ingredients:
- Ridge Gourd / Turai / Beerakaya – 1 (large size)
- Fresh Tomatoes – 2 (large size)
- Green Chillies – 3 (small size)
- Toor Dal / Kandi Pappu / Split Pigeon Pea Lentils – 1 cup (250 ml)
- Salt – 2 teaspoons
- Red Chilli Powder / Cayenne Powder – 1 teaspoon
- Turmeric Powder – ½ teaspoon
- Water – as required
- Fresh Coriander – 2 to 3 twigs (to garnish)
- Tamarind Puree – 1 tablespoon
- Dhaniya / Coriander Powder – 1 teaspoon (optional)
Ingredients for Tempering:
- Cooking oil – 2 tablespoons
- Mustard seeds / Aavalu – ¼ teaspoon
- Jeera / Cumin Seeds -½ teaspoon
- Asafoetida / Hing / Inguva – ¼ teaspoon
- Dry Red Chillies – 3
- Curry Leaves – 5 (optional)
- Garlic pods – 3 (optional)
Special Ingredients:
- Asafoetida / Hing / Inguva
- Garlic pods
- Tamarind Puree

Step wise pics Procedure for ‘Ridge Gourd Dal / Beerakaya Pappu:
PREP WORK (common for both methods):
- Wash the Ridge Gourd / Beerakaya and tomatoes.
- Peel the sharp ridges of the ridge gourd and then peel the skin too. (Discard the sharp ridges but save the peelings for later use).
- Cut both the ridge gourd and the tomatoes into cubes size pieces. Slit the green chillies length wise.


STOVE TOP METHOD:
Toor Dal/Yellow Lentils taken into vessel / pressure cooker Yellow Lentils/ToorDal/Pappu + Water taken in vessel / pressure cooker





INSTANT POT / ELECTRIC PRESSURE COOKER METHOD:




Tips:
- This is a No Onion, No Garlic recipe, but if you wish to, you can add garlic pods in the tempering.
- Stove-top Pressure Cooker Method: Follow the same method just as Instant Pot, but let it cook for 3 whistles.
- Generally, I don’t soak the lentils, for making dal. But if you have the habit of soaking the dal before cooking, you might do so, and just follow the rest of the recipe as it is.
- Adjust the salt and spice as per your taste, but the expected spice for this stew/dal is mild.
- Instead of Oil, you might even use homemade ghee for the tempering,
- The storage time of this pappu / lentil stew at room temperature is just 1 day but when refrigerated stays good up to 3-4 days.
Result:
- The taste of this, Beerakaya Pappu / Ridge Gourd Dal, is mild in spice and in face to the sweeter side. The veggie has a subtle sweet taste.
- This dal is best suitable as a side with hot steamed rice. Next in line comes the Indian roti / phulka. But its not much suitable with Naan, paratha etc stuff.
- As shown in the below pic, I served this dal with steamed rice, smeared with homemade ghee and ridge gourd peel chutney. Along with few pink radishes.

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Ridge Gourd Dal / Beerakaya Pappu (Instant Pot, Stove top)
Equipment
- Sauce Pan / Vessel (for stove-top method)
- Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker (for IP method)
- Small Frying pan (for tempering)
Ingredients
- 1 count Ridge Gourd / Turai / Beerakaya (large size)
- 2 count Fresh Tomatoes (large size)
- 3 count Fresh Green Chillies / Jalapeno (medium size)
- 1 cup Toor Dal / Kandi Pappu / Split Pigeon Pea Lentils (250 ml)
- 2 teaspoons Salt (or as per taste)
- 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder / Paprika (or as per taste)
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dhaniya / Coriander Powder (optional)
- 1 tablespoon Tamarind Puree
- as required Water (for washing & cooking)
- 2 to 3 twigs Fresh Coriander (to garnish)
Ingredients for Tempering:
- 2 tablespoons Cooking oil
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard seeds / Aavalu
- ½ teaspoon Jeera / Cumin Seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida / Hing / Inguva
- 3 count Dry Red Chillies
- 5 count Curry Leaves (optional)
- 3 pods Garlic pods (optional)
Instructions
PREP WORK:
- Wash the Ridge Gourd / Beerakaya and tomatoes.Peel the sharp ridges of the ridge gourd and then peel the skin too.Cut both the ridge gourd and the tomatoes into cubes size pieces. Slit the green chillies length wise.
STOVE TOP METHOD (15 mins):
- Take the lentils/toordal into a hard bottomed vessel and wash them twice thoroughly. Pour water up to the level where the lentils/dal are soaked well.
- Transfer all the pieces of tomatoes, ridge gourd and green chillies onto the dal in the vessel. Add 1 more cup of water, close with lid, put it on stove-top under medium flame for 15 mins/ until the dal becomes soft.
- Then, take the lid off, reduce the flame to lowest, pour ¼ cup more water. Cook for 5 more mins, then, add the salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and ½ cup of water into the same.
- Mix thoroughly, let it thicken to your desired consistency. Switch the flame off, garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
INSTANT POT / ELECTRIC PRESSURE COOKER METHOD: (8 mins)
- Transfer washed lentils, pieces of ridge gourd / beerakaya, tomatoes, slit green chillies to the IP vessel. Pour water up to a level that everything is just dipped.
- Switch ON the gadget, set to Pressure Cook Mode, under high pressure, for 5 mins with valve closed / set to sealing.
- Later, Release the pressure either manually (QPR) or let it release naturally (NPR). Anything is fine.
- Remove the lid, turn on the IP, set to Saute Mode, under high pressure, for 3 mins. Add ½ cup of water, salt, red chilli powder / paprika powder, turmeric powder, tamarind pulp and coriander /dhaniya powder.
- Mix up everything, let the dal boil until it thickens.
TEMPERING (common to both methods):
- Put a small frying pan on the stove, add all the ‘Ingredients for tempering’ and saute for 1-2 mins. Switch the flame off and transfer all the content of the pan onto the cooked dal / lentils.Give a mix and take the dal into a serving dish, garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Done!!
Notes
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Yummy
Thank you, Syamala! 🙂
Hello andi, i just come across your site today and i am amazed by your recipes. they look so tasty n yummy, i am eager to try many in near future. i am also pure vegetarian from south Indian brahmin family like u. I’d love to see many more new n innovative recipes from u in future too. keep going…
can i do this dish with split moong dal and without tamarind too? i start using moong dal in every dal recently because of acid reflux problems.
Hi Saraswathi garu, Thank you so much for your nice words. 🙂 In order to receive my recipes through email you might give your email id and subscribe so that you dont miss any new recipe that I post. Yes you can use split moong dal and even skip the tamarind too. It would taste perfect then too. Just let me know your feedback when you try! Thanks a lot! 🙂