Name: Ridge Gourd Dal / Beerakaya Pappu (Instant Pot, Stove top)
Prep time: 5 min
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)); 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))

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

Ridge Gourd Dal / Beerakaya Pappu (Instant Pot / Stove Top) turai vegan lentil stew

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.

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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.

**Wash the, Ridge Gourd / Beerakaya / Turai, thoroughly.**

STOVE TOP METHOD:

Toor Dal/Yellow Lentils taken into vessel / pressure cooker

Yellow Lentils/ToorDal/Pappu + Water taken in vessel / pressure cooker — Toor Dal/Yellow Lentils taken into vessel / pressure cooker

**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.**

***Put a small frying pan on the stove top under medium flame, add all the ‘Ingredients for tempering’ and saute.***

INSTANT POT / ELECTRIC PRESSURE COOKER METHOD:

*Transfer washed lentils, cubes 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.*

***Meanwhile,* *Put a small frying pan on the stove top under medium flame, add all the ‘Ingredients for tempering’ and saute.***

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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