Ridge gourd dal (heerekayi tovve) step-by-step recipe with video and photos.
About this recipe
Ridge gourd dal is a simple and healthy dal made with moong dal (yellow lentils) and coconut. ‘Tovve’ is essentially any dal cooked without sambar or rasam powder. This tovve is ready in no time as moong dal cooks really quickly. As a child, heerekayi tovve or ridge gourd dal was an inviting change from the regular sambar and rasam.
This tovve is made during festivals and served as the first course. But what also excites me is the chutney that I make the next day with ridge gourd peel. I haven’t seen a better form of best out of waste really.
Ingredients
Moong dal: I use moong dal (yellow lentils) to make this dish; however, you may choose to make it with toor dal too (pigeon pea)
Ridge gourd: Also known as heerekayi in Kannada and turai in Hindi, this is the key ingredient of this dish
Tomato: This is an optional ingredient but I highly recommend using it.
Coconut: I use freshly grated coconut in this dish. I grind coconut, green chilli, and cumin seeds together and add them to the dal. You may replace fresh coconut with desiccated coconut, in which case grind it using warm water.
Ghee: I always use ghee in making any lentil dish, like dal, sambar, rasam. I highly recommend using ghee and not replacing it with oil.
Spices: Main spices I use to make the tempering are mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chilli, hing, and curry leaves.
To make ridge gourd dal (heerekayi tovve), I dry roast moong dal (hesaru bele), and then wash it. I boil it with salt and turmeric powder until almost done. Then I add peeled and chopped ridge gourd, tomatoes, and coconut masala base, and let everything cook completely. I prepare tempering in ghee with whole spices and pour it over the dal. I then finish it off with coriander leaves and lemon juice.
Make the dal and reserve the peel for a lip-smacking ridge gourd peel chutney.
Click here for more dal recipes.
Bonus
This dal is:
- absolute comfort food
- very easy to make and uses minimal spices
- ready in no time as moong dal cooks quickly
Step by step instructions
1. Grind together coconut green chilli, and cumin seeds
2. Dry roast the moong dal and wash thoroughly. Boil in a thick bottom pan along with turmeric powder, salt, and water
3. When the dal is almost done, add the ridge gourd, tomatoes, and ground paste. Cover and cook completely
4. Prepare tempering in ghee and pour over the dal
5. Turn off the flame and add coriander leaves and lemon juice
Recipe card
Ridge gourd dal (Heerekayi tovve)
Ingredients
- 2 medium ridge gourd
- 1 cup moong dal
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tomato chopped
- Salt to taste
- 2-3 green chilli or as per taste
- 2-3 tablespoon coconut grated
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ lemon
- A handful coriander leaves
For tempering
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon split black gram (urad dal)
- 1 dry red chilli
- 5-6 curry leaves
- A generous pinch asafoetida (hing)
Instructions
- Wash and peel the ridge gourd. Cut into cubes
- Grind together coconut, green chilli and ½ teaspoon cumin seeds. Set aside
- Dry roast the moong dal and wash thoroughly. Boil in a thick bottom pan along with turmeric powder, salt, and water
- When the dal is almost done, add the ridge gourd, tomatoes, and the ground paste. Cover and cook completely
- To make the temper, heat ghee in a small pan. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the dry red chilli, cumin seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, and asafoetida. Remove from flame and pour over the tovve
- Turn off the flame and add coriander leaves, and lemon juice
- Serve hot with rice
Video
Notes
- Don’t over roast the moong dal as this will take more time to cook
- Save the peel of ridge gourd to make chutney (Click here for recipe)
Click here to watch ridge gourd dal web story.
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