Kaddu Ke Chilke Ka Saalan
Two Bottle Gourds/Opo squash
Bottle Gourd, aka Opo squash, is a very humble vegetable. Not many people like it, and it is not a favorite of many people. But it is quite nutritious, delicious, healthy, and perfect for weight watchers! Its delicate nutty flavor provides a great taste to dishes. This particular recipe uses the peels of bottle gourd and it is one no-fuss yummy curry which you will all love.
Kaddu Ke Chilke Ka Saalan – Bottle Gourd Peels with Lentils Curry
Tip : While I the peel the bottle gourd, I take care not to peel it too thin if I plan to prepare this curry out of the Peels. I peel them about half a centimetre thick (about 5 millimeters). This is because a little bit of the flesh (magz) along with the peel gives a great taste to this curry. Usually I prepare this curry with Split Bengal Gram/Chana Dal but you can prepare it even along with Yellow Lentils/Tuvar Dal. It truns out equally delicious.
Kaddu Ke Chilke Ka Saalan – Bottle Gourd Peels with Lentils Curry
Ingredients:
Bottle Gourd Peels/Kaddu Ke Chilke – 400 gms, cut into small bite size strips
Yellow Lentils/Tuvar Dal or Bengal Gram/Chana Dal – 1/2 cup
Fresh diced Tomato – 1, medium, finely chopped
Red Chilli Powder – 1 1/2 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp or to taste
Canola Oil/Sunflower Oil – 1 tsp
Fried Yellow Onions paste – 1 cup
Method:
1. Soak the dal in two cups water overnight(optional). Drain and cook the dal in two cups of fresh water till they are soft but still can hold their shape well. Drain and reserve.
2. In an another saucepan, put the cut bottle gourd peel strips with around 3 cups water and a pinch of salt and let it boil once, then simmer it with closed lid until the peels are tender. This can take about 30 minutes. Or you can simply pressure cook for a little while until they are tender.
3. Later add fresh diced tomatoes, red chilli powder, salt, oil and fried onions to it. Give a good stir.
4. Gently add the cooked dal and mix it well. Cover the lid and let it cook for 3-5 minutes. Keep checking it in between if it is sticking to the bottom of the pan. You can add a little water if it becomes too dry. Serve it warm.
Suggested Accompaniments: This simple curry taste delicious along with a warm Roti or Paratha.
Luv,
Mona
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May 6th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Bottle gourd is not something I cook with, but this dish makes me reconsider. I will keep this recipe in mind.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I am willing to try the bottle gourd if it comes to me looking like this dish… very yummy!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
lovely dish. we never peel the gourd when we cook it, though. is there a reason to peel it?
May 6th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Hi..this dish looks so goood, yummmmmm. thanxxx for sharing!!!!!
http://vegetarianmedley.blogspot.com/
May 6th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Hello Mona
This is a very new and a nice dish.. healthy and nutritious too !!
May 6th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Different & healthy dish with the bottle gourd 🙂
May 7th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Nice recipe. I will try this for sure.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Looks lovely-I am a big fan of chilka dishes. Thanks for sharing.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:05 am
hi mona, sounds really healthy, all those peels must be high in fibre right? Ill be sure to try it and let you know how it goes. Do you think I can use peels from other veggies as well? I was thinking of yellow pumpkin.Thanks!
MS, yes, the peels are rich in fibre, carbohydrates and other nutrients. I have however tried this dish with only Bottle Gourd peels till date. If you end up trying the Yellow pumpkim peels in this dish, do let me know how it turned out. ~Mona
May 7th, 2008 at 7:12 am
That’s creative, looks yum!:)
May 7th, 2008 at 10:51 am
I am one of those who love bottle gourd! But the peel , I usually discard.. my Mom used to make a dry chutney but I just got lazy! But Have a gourd at home, will surely try this!
May 7th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Yumm is the only word for it… it looks soo good… lovely photography…
aim surely gonna try it… 😀
May 7th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Mona, looks so yummy!!! I really like it! xxGloria
May 8th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Mona this looks amazing. I can’t get bottle gourd here is there another vegetable you could suggest?
Everytime I click on your blog I think how delicious your recipes are. 😀
May 8th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
First time I hearing about bottle gourd. Than you for enlightening me:) The recipe sounds delicious!
May 8th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Lovely site , you have , in our house every one loves hyderabadi dishes, though I know quite a few but obviously not as many as you 🙂 thanks so much for sharing,
take care.
May 8th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Mona, we usually make a salad side dish stir-fry from the kaddu chilke but this one tastes even better- thanks for a great idea.
May 9th, 2008 at 7:14 am
how is miss this lovely vegetarian food. Though doodhi is not one of my fav veggies, i know i can easily eat all this.
May 10th, 2008 at 5:20 am
unique recipe! it sounds delicious…
May 19th, 2008 at 7:19 am
That is so new to me….I’d love to try this, I do love Dudhi. 😉
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Hi Mona,
I am a Hyderabadi but unfortunately wasn’t aware of this dish. But I love Kaddu so I just had to try it. I made it last night and it was amazing. Thank you so much for posting this dish. As you suggested I served it with parathas and dinner was a huge hit!
Thanks a bunch and if you ever decide to make your blog private pls pls pls add me to the invited reader list. Nabeela at Trialsnerror made hers private and I dont have her email so no more Trial and error for me… :((
Take care and keep blogging,
Fatima S