Pumpkin Dal
Pumpkin dal is a hearty, healthy and delicious Indian side dish made with lentils, pumpkin, spices and herbs. Make this easy pumpkin lentil dish on the stovetop or in the instant pot with my easy recipe. It is one of those dishes which don’t require much effort. All you do is just dump the ingredients in a pot and let them simmer until all the delicious flavors blend. Pumpkin dal can be served with plain steamed rice, quinoa, couscous, roti, paratha, chapati or any flat bread of your choice.
Down in the South, especially in Andhra cuisine we cook a lot of lentils with different kinds of veggies. These dishes are not only simple to make, taste delicious & are healthy as all the good things – lentils, lots of veggies and a moderate amount of spices and fats go into these.
Tomato pappu and Mango pappu are the most basic dishes from Andhra cuisine.
Dal cooked with some veggies is a comfort food and we use many kinds of veggies like tomatoes, ridge gourd (lufa), bottle gourd, snake gourd, drumsticks, eggplants, bhindi (okra), mango and many more. Even leafy greens are included in these dishes.
About Pumpkin Dal
So this dal pumpkin is one of the many lentil dishes I make for a quick and comforting meal. I first published this post in 2013 and shared a basic version. Now my boys are growing up and prefer more spices in their food. So I have updated this post with a new spicy version.
In India we use pumpkin to make many dishes like sambar, kootu, pulusu and curry. Simple Dal pumpkin like this, is not a common dish cooked in the Indian households but why not because it tastes delicious!
For this recipe you can also use raw green mango or dried mango pieces (endu mamidi mukalu). If using raw green mango add them along with the pumpkin pieces and omit tomatoes.
To use dried mango pieces, place them in a small bowl and pour water until they immerse. Keep this small bowl over the lentil bowl in the pressure cooker. Sometimes lentils won’t cook well if the dried mango pieces are added to the lentils.
How to make Pumpkin Dal
I have made this in the instant pot, an electric pressure cooker. But you can also make the dish in a stovetop cooker or just in a regular sauce pot. I have the instructions below.
Add dal to a bowl and rinse it atleast thrice. Drain the water and keep it aside. If you want to cook in a pot, soak the lentils for 30 to 45 mins to cut down the cook time
Tempering
1.Pour ghee or oil to the pot and heat it on a low to medium heat. For the instant pot, use saute mode. Then add half teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon chopped ginger (or garlic), 1 chopped green chilli and curry leaves.
2. When the curry leaves turn crisp, add ½ to ¾ teaspoon red chilli powder, ⅛ teaspoon turmeric, 2 cups chopped pumpkin and ¾ to 1 cup tomatoes.
3. Stir quickly and saute for 1 to 3 mins. Also season with ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt.
4. Immediately add the rinsed and drained lentils.
5. Pour 2¼ cups water. Deglaze the pot.
Cooking
6. Secure the Cooker with the lid and position the steam vent to sealing. Press the pressure cook button and Set the timer to 11 mins. If using a stove top pressure cooker, cover the lid and place the weight. Cook for 3 whistles on a medium heat. If cooking in a regular pot, Bring the water to a boil and then simmer until the lentils become tender or soft. If required add more hot water as they cook.
7. When the pressure drops, open the lid. Dal must be soft cooked. Pumpkins will become mushy and that’s how this is made. If you prefer smooth dal, mash everything well. I did not add any extra water at this stage. If the dal is too thick you may add some hot boiling water to bring to consistency.
8. Add 1 teaspoon jaggery, ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala and 1½ teaspoon kasuri methi. Crush the kasuri methi in your palm before adding. Let the dal simmer for a minute. Taste test and add more salt if required.
If you want you can also add 1 cup fine chopped baby spinach and let it wilt in the hot dal.
9. Let the dal pumpkin cool down a bit, add 2 tbsps lemon juice or as required and 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves.