What is Turai (Ridge Gourd)?
Turai or Tori (Ridge gourd in English) is a popular North Indian green vegetable which is low in carbohydrate, calories and high in fiber. It also has anti-diabetic properties. Turai an exceptionally nutritious vegetable and highly recommended by dieticians for weight loss. My favorite way to eat this is with my special Shahi Daal Turai Recipe.
What lead to Shahi Daal Turai recipe?
Turai is also one of the most hated vegetables by kids competing closely with Lauki and Tinde š . While growing up, I was no different and would always try to exchange my lunch box it with friends who’d brought something more interesting when my mother made turai. I only realized the benefits of Turai during my weight loss journey, but still found it difficult to like its taste. So I developed a very interesting recipe which not only made its taste bearable, but lovable.
I was inspired by my mother’s lauki daal recipe and wanted to try something similar with turai too. I combined turai with daal and gave it a shahi twist resulting in one of my favorite – Shahi Daal Turai Sabzi recipe.
Shahi Dal Turai Sabzi
Shahi Dal Turai is a North Indian recipe used by combining lentils and ridge gourd (tori). This recipe is very light in calories, good for digestion and rich in fibre.
Ingredients
- Tori/ Ridge Gourd - Ā½ kg
- Moong Chilka Daal/Split Green Gram - 5 tbsp
- Ghee - 1 Ā½ tbps
- Shahi Jeera/Cumin - 1 tsp
- Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
- Coriander/Dhaniya Powder - 1 tsp
- Salt - 1 tsp (as per taste)
- Garam Masala - Ā½ tsp
- Onion - 2
- Tomatoes - 2
- Green Chilies - Ā½ (optional)
- Curry Leaves - 3 -4
- Ginger & Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
- Coriander Leaves (for garnishing) - 1 tsp
Instructions
- Peel tori, wash it and slice it into small pieces.
- Wash the daal and soak it in water for 10 minutes.
- Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pressure cooker. Add 1 tbsp jeera, curry leaves and Onions to the hot ghee and fry for 7-8 mins till the onions become golden brown.
- Add one tbsp of ginger garlic paste to onions and fry for about a minute. Add chopped green chillies to it at this stage if you want to make it a little spicy and hot.
- Add chopped tomatoes to this mixture and cook it for 7-8 minutes till the tomatoes are cooked properly. You should be able to see the ghee separately in the mixture by this time.
- Drain out the water from daal and add it to the cooked masala. Cook it for about a minute. Add turai to it as well.
- Add the spices, red chilli powder, coriander powder and salt to the mixture. Saute everything for a minute.
- Add approx 2.5 small bowls of water to the mixture (add water enough to cover the vegetables and dal).
- Pressure cook all these things for about 10-15 minutes. 2 whistles on high flame should be ideal and then let it cook for 5 more minutes on slow flame.
- Open the pressure cooker once all the pressure is released. Add garam masala and garnish it with a few drops of desi ghee (optional) and coriander leaves.
- Serve it in a plate with rice or roti.
Notes
You can experiment with different daals in this recipe. For example, chana daal or split chik peas also go well in this recipe
Recommended Products
I recommend products that will help you make the recipe in the best way possible.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
5Amount Per Serving: Calories: 100
Serve with rice or roti
For some one who hated turai as a kid, to thoroughly enjoying this recipe, I think I’ve come a full circle. My objective of sharing this simple yet super tasty recipe was to showcase that you don’t always need to swallow the vegetables for the sake of it. Bring out the creative chef from within and make a simple vegetable like Turai into a masterpiece. The Indian kitchen is so rich with flavors, get inspired, get creative and explore. You would’ve noted that I not only enhanced the taste with garnishing, but with addition of daal, I was able add a vegetarian source of protein as well. Try it and see how your children respond, give me shout out in the comments if they like it š
I’d feel successful if this recipe inspires you to try it out at your home as well. You can reward yourself with some tea time munching on home made Haldiram style Aloo Bhujia as well.
Also, do follow my ever growing list of dessert recipes on the following links
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