Lau Cholar Daal – 45-Minute Recipe
A comforting Bengali lentil curry featuring tender bottle gourd cubes simmered with yellow split peas, aromatic whole spices, and a fragrant tempering of fried oil and spices, finished with browned meat chunks. Served with white rice and cooked greens.
Recipe by Arpita | Creative Artist· Structured by ReelsMeals
From: Instagram(view original)
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Ingredients
- 1 piece bottle gourd (lauki)
- 1 cup yellow split peas (chana dal)
- water
- salt
- turmeric powder
- chili powder
- oil
- whole spices (cumin seeds, bay leaf)
- meat (fried chunks)
Instructions
- 1Peel the bottle gourd using a knife to remove the green skin, revealing the pale flesh.
- 2Slice the peeled gourd into thick rounds, then cut the rounds into rectangular chunks.
- 3Add the chopped bottle gourd chunks to a pressure cooker.
- 4Add rinsed yellow split peas on top of the gourd.
- 5Pour water into the pressure cooker until the ingredients are fully covered.
- 6Add salt, turmeric powder, and chili powder to the pot.
- 7Stir the mixture to combine the spices and water.
- 8In a separate pan or wok, heat oil and add whole spices (cumin seeds and bay leaf) until fragrant.
- 9Add a thick, reddish‑brown spice paste (tadka) to the hot oil, stirring briefly.
- 10Pour the hot oil and spice paste (tempering) into the pressure cooker, mixing gently.
- 11Add the fried, browned meat chunks to the pot.
- 12Stir to incorporate the meat into the lentil‑gourd mixture.
- 13Close the pressure cooker and cook until the lentils and gourd are tender (approximately 15‑20 minutes after pressure is reached).
- 14Release pressure, open the cooker, and give the curry a final stir.
- 15Serve the Lau Cholar Daal hot, accompanied by steamed white rice and a side of cooked green vegetables.
Helpful tips while cooking
AI-assisted notes grounded in this recipe's ingredients, timings, and method—not additional creator instructions.
Prep the gourd first
Peel and cube the bottle gourd before adding it to the pressure cooker.
Add tempering at the end
Heat oil with whole spices, then pour the hot tempering into the cooker and mix gently.
Watch pressure‑cooking time
Cook 15–20 minutes after pressure is reached for tender lentils and gourd.
Stir gently after tempering
Mix the oil‑spice paste into the cooker without breaking the gourd pieces.
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This recipe card was structured automatically from the original source. Always check the source for allergens or details the extraction may have missed.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to make Lau Cholar Daal (Bottle Gourd Lentil Curry)?
- About 45 minutes in total: 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking.
- How many servings does this Lau Cholar Daal (Bottle Gourd Lentil Curry) recipe make?
- This recipe makes 4 servings as written; ingredient quantities on this page can be scaled.
- Where does this Lau Cholar Daal (Bottle Gourd Lentil Curry) recipe come from?
- It was shared by Arpita | Creative Artist on instagram.com. ReelsMeals structured the original post into this step-by-step card; the original is linked above.