NYCGori

OK, so my husband just got back from visiting his aunt's house. She has a garden and sent him home with a bag of vegetables and a humongously long gourd I've never seen called 'kaddu.' He keeps saying how yummy kaddu daal is so I guess my job now is to make us some kaddu daal! Recipes, please? And suggestions for accompaniments?

Thanks!

Ira

There is two ways to do this:

1) pressure cook the chana daal with peeled and thickly sliced kaddu (plus the usual spices-salt, chilipowder, haldi, dhanya powder, garlic cloves, sliced onion etc). When the daal and kaddu are cooked, pour over a tarka of onions, zeera, julienned ginger.

2) make a masala like you would for curries. Brown some onions, add tomatoes adn spices and bhoonify real well. Then add chana daal and peeled and sliced kaddu. Add enough water and pressure cook until done. No need for tarka for this one.

NYCGori

Thanks Ira! Sounds manageable. I searched the internet for recipes but most of them were gujarati or from south India, and I think my husband's looking for something more Punjabi style.

jalebi121

Wow NYC gori, you're more enthusiastic to cook kaddu than most Pakistanis. Kaddu isn't really like 'omg so tasty' but it's all right. I have never even eaten it in the States, only in Pakistan. Let us know how you like it.

Sufi_Bhai

Kaddu daal (Chana) is my favorite dish. I ask my mom to make is often. It tastes so much good.

funguy

I am not sure if I like Ira's recipe where she cooks kadu and daal together. The starch release from daal gives kadu saalun a murky color and starchy taste.

I make curry/saalun based kadu separately just like I would make aaloo bhujia. I either boil soaked chana daal or pressure cook it in water only. And add the chana daal once kadu curry is 90% done.

This keeps kadu & daal well separated in the final dish and you taste both flavors in one bite.

NYCGori

You guys are funny---I have to agree that the kaddu doesn't look that terribly appetizing, and from what I can gather it's similar to zucchini/courgette in flavor and texture, which is not a favorite of mine. But I think my husband misses some of his mom's home cooking sometimes, so I'm eager to learn and please.

I'm planning to cook this on Saturday and will let you know how it goes!

nabz

NYCGori- post pictures too please .

its one of my husbands favorites too...and i've yet to make it!

Niksik

I pressure cook a cup of channa daal with salt, haldi and red chilli powder, some dry red chillies, 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste and 4 cups of water. You want the daal to be 3/4 and at this point, add the cut up kaddu. Once the kaddu is tender, pour over a tarka of onions, green chillies and zeera. Ta da! Some people add tomatoes while cooking the daal.

or

You can fry onions, add tomatoes, ginger garlic and spices, once the oil separates, add kaddu. Cook until almost tender. Meawhile boil the daal separately with just water and no spices, maybe just haldi.

Add daal to kaddu. Cook a bit. Done.

somegroovychick

^ niks, how long until the daal is 3/4 done in the pressure cooker? 15 minutes?

funguy

15 minutes of pressure cooking will turn daal into dalia.

I say at most 5 minutes of whistle and then let the pressure release it's own accord.

Afro-Sheen

I dont think there is a need to pressure cook anything for kaddu daal.
I think that would ruin the taste. I normally just soak the daal for an hour before cooking. Then make masala as I would for say chicken (fry onions till brown, add garlic/tomatoes & all masalas) then add the kaddu chopped up. Saute for about 2 minutes. Then add the daal to it and add about just 1 cup of water. Put flame on super low & let it cook slowly on low heat. It usually cooks thru just fine.

NYCGori

OK, everyone, thanks so much for the recipes! Here's a pic of my kaddu daal, served with rice and roti:




I didn't have all ingredients on hand, and I didn't use exact measurements, but this is what I did:

1) I soaked the chana daal for an hour
2) I added the daal to boiling water and added tumeric, salt, coriander powder, and red chili powder
3) I peeled and chopped the kaddu
4) I sauteed a chopped onion, several cloves of finely chopped garlic, and two chopped hot green peppers. I reserved a couple teaspoons of this to use as a garnish (separately I finished sauteeing the garnish until it was nice and caramelized)
5) I added kaddu to the onion fry and sauteed for a couple minutes, then added to the 3/4 cooled daal
6) I continued cooking the kaddu daal over low heat until it was thoroughly cooked and creamy texture
7) served with some white rice and roti!

Hubby was happy. Claims it was pretty close to what his mom makes.

NYCGori

Hmm, don't know why my picture isn't showing up in the post above... will try to repost successfully.

Niksik

OMG that looks amazing!

Niksik

After the "seeti" lower the flame to med-low and cook 7-8 mins.

PSquared

I think I want some kaddu daal too now...