Kaddu Daal

I always thought kaddu was squash, but my mom said it's not squash, it's loki...which is also known as bottle gourd or chinese melon or long melon.

Ingredients:

1 cup channa daal

2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 pound kaddu

2-3 tablespoons oil

2-3 green chilies, chopped

Small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped up

Directions:

1. Wash daal and if you have time, soak it in water for a couple hours, otherwise no worries move on to the next step.

2. Put daal, 2 cups of water, salt, spices, and garlic in a pot and boil on high heat. 

3. Once the water starts boiling, turn heat to medium low and let simmer until the daal is tender (~20 minutes if you didn't soak it and ~10 minutes if you did soak it beforehand).

4. Meanwhile, wash and peel the kaddu. Then chop it into 1/2 inch cubes. 

5. When the daal is almost done, add the kaddu and green chilies to the daal and let cook until the kaddu is cooked through and most of the water has evaporated (~5 minutes, maybe a bit more)

6. Once kaddu is tender, add the cilantro, cover the daal, and turn off the heat.

7. Stir before serving. 

Kaddu

Channa daal