Squashlove: Pigeon Pea soup with Opo squash/Bottle gourd (Lauki waali Toor Dal) Vegan, glutenfree

Yay, it is that time of the month again! November is Squashlove month! and We are having a blog hop all through november for yumm squash dishes!

I am starting off squash love with my mom's dal recipe with Lauki (opo squash/bottle gourd).. A simple thick soup, can be served as is with some crusty bread, or with Basmati rice or as a side in an Indian meal with flat bread(roti), pickles and a dry veggie preparation(subzi).

Opo Squash/Calabash/bottle gourd/Long melon/Lauki/Doodhi is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. For this reason, the calabash is widely known as the bottle gourd.

A Note about spices used for tempering(Tadka) Indian Daal soups. The same Daal/lentil/beans can pick up a completely different taste with different spices. Here are some combinations I use, Fennel (Saunf) and Nigella (kalonji)seeds compliment each other, or a combination of mustard and cumin seeds, or mustard and coriander seeds, or cumin and carom(Ajwain) seeds. For other variations, add a bay leaf and a clove(Laung) or 2, Or some garam masala. Garnish with fresh cilantro, or shredded coconut or lemon juice. I like fennel with whole lentils,(red and mung bean). and coriander and mustard in yellow lentils.

Some other daals(lentil or bean soups) already posted, all under the label Daal. Some of the faves Yellow Lentil Daal, 3 Lentil Daal soup and Mung Bean Daal tempered with Burnt garlic!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup split Toor daal( split and skinless pigeon pea)(pigeon pea can be substituted with Chana daal/bengal gram or Mung daal(skinless green gram))
• 2 cups opo squash/lauki cubed (found in indian stores or asian supermarkets, can be substituted with a different mild flavored squash)
• 2 cups water

Tempering/Tadka:

• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds(Raee)
• 1/4 teaspoon nigella seeds(Kalonji seeds,
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• pinch of asofetida (hing)
• 5 curry leaves (you can find these fresh or frozen in any Indian store. If you dont have these, substitute with one bay leaf.)
• 1/2 Serrano chili pepper or chili flakes to taste(quantity by heat level of the pepper. The current organic Serrano we get are extremely hot)
• 4-5 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 inch ginger finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon raw sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
• Cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Soak the lentils in warm water for an hour to overnight.
2. In a pressure cooker or pan, heat the oil on medium heat until hot on medium low heat.
3. Add mustard(raee) seeds and after a few seconds of sputtering, add cumin(jeera) and nigella(Kalonji) seeds.
4. Add in the asofetida(hing) and curry leaves and mix.
5. Add in the chili, turmeric, ginger and garlic and cook till garlic is golden brown.(1-2 minutes)
6. Add in squash and rinsed soaked daal(pigeon pea), water, salt, 1/4 teaspoon sugar(optional). You can also add in 1 medium chopped tomato.
7. Mix well. Cook for 2 full whistles in pressure cooker or Cook covered for 30-35 minutes if in pan.
8. Serve hot garnished with cilantro and lime wedges. Serve with basmati rice or as a side with Roti, pickles, vegetable stir fry dishes and a salad of onions and cucumbers tossed in lemon juice, salt and black pepper!. Theres your complete indian meal!
9. Serve as soup with warm poppy dinner rolls with lime juice, olive oil, and garam masala garnish. Comfort food on a cool evening!. Have an awesome day everyone!

I am co-hosting this blog hop along with

Baker Street | Anuradha : @bakerstreet29

Bloc De Recetas | Salomé : @blocderecetas

Bon à croquer | Valerie : @valouth

Cafe Terra Blog | Terra : @cafeterrablog

Cake Duchess | Lora : @cakeduchess

Elephant Eats | Amy

Food Wanderings | Shulie : @foodwanderings

Hobby and More | Richa : @betit19

Georgie Cakes | Gorgie : @georgiecakes

Mike’s Baking | Mike : @mikesbaking

Mis Pensamientos | Junia : @juniakk

My Twisted Recipes | Dudut : @mytwistedrecipe

No One Like Crumbley Cookies | T.R : @TRCrumbley

Queens Notebook | Elizabeth : @mango_queen

Simply Reem | Reem : @simplyreem

Skip To Malou | Malou : @malou_nievera

Teaspoon Of Spice | Serena : @tspcurry

The Daily Palette | Annapet : @thedailypalette

The Professional Palette | Regan : @profpalate

The Spicy RD | EA : @thespicyrd

Vegan Miam | Rika : @veganmiam

Please join in on the #squashove fun by linking up any squash recipe from the month of November 2011. Don't forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #squashlove event! The twitter hashtag is #squashlove :).