October 19, 2015

Bottle Gourd Dal Rice / Lauki Dal Rice / Surakai Parupu Satham


Bottle gourd Dal Rice is a simple, tasty and healthy one pot meal dish. Generally, Bottle gourd which is called Surakai in Tamil is used to prepare Kootu, poriyal and kuzhambu. Being my family's favorite veggie, I love to include this veggie in a different varieties of menu. The water content is high in bottle gourd which helps in weight loss and apart from this, lots of medicinal values are hidden in this healthy veggie.This rice is also an excellent option for kids lunch box menu as it contains protein (dal ) and veggie. I have added equal amount of ghee and oil in this recipe which can be substituted with only ghee or oil. But, adding ghee brings out the flavorful and gives a delicious taste. As this is kids friendly recipe, I have given the measurement of green chillies and red chilli powder according to their taste bud. If you want to make it spicy, just increase the quantity of either green chillies or red chilli powder. This can be served with potato fry, pickle or any spicy side dish or papad.

Ingredients :

1 Cup rice
1/2 Cup Toor dal
2 Cups Bottle gourd / Lauki / Surakai, cut into small cubes ( approx. 30 small cubes )
1 Tbsp Ghee
1 Tbsp Oil
1 Tsp Mustard seeds
1 Tsp Jeera
5-6 pieces Cashews, broken
2 Green chillies, sliced vertcially
1 Onion, Finely chopped
1 Tomato, Finely chopped
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 Tsp Chilli powder
3 + 1/4 Cups Water
Salt to taste 

Method :

Before starting the cooking process, wash dal and rice and soak it together in a water.

Heat ghee and oil in a cooker and add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add Jeera  followed by cashews, green chillies and finely chopped onions.

Saute it for a minute and add the chopped tomatoes.

Add turmeric powder and chilli powder, fry them for a minute and add the chopped bottle gourd cubes.

Mix well and simmer the flame for 3 - 4 minutes.

Add salt and the measured water.

Meanwhile, drain the water from soaked dal - rice.

Once the water starts boiling, add dal - rice, mix well and close the lid.

Cook it for 3-4 whistles and switch off the flame.

Once the pressure gets released in cooker, open the lid, garnish with coriander leaves and slowly fluff the rice.

Serve hot.


 Serving Options :

Serve with Potato fry or any spicy side dish or pickle or papad.


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