Chana Lauki {Instant Pot}

Chana lauki is our family favorite curry. This mild, tangy curry has soft cooked chickpeas, Indian bottle gourd (Or, opo squash), and basic pantry staples and spices. And, It’s made in the instant pot. Presenting my instant pot lauki Chana masala. 

Whenever chana lauki comes to my mind, I always think of lauki Chana dal instead of chickpeas with lauki.

However, chickpeas are also known as chana in Hindi and hence, this version of lauki or bottle gourd curry is also known as chana lauki. In short, it is a chickpea curry with the squash or gourd.

Don’t confuse this dish with lauki Chana dal. This is a totally different curry. And, the lauki Chana dal is split Bengal grams with chunks of this squash.

Is Lauki and Ghiya the Same?

Lauki and ghiya belong to the same Indian bottle gourd family. The names of this gourd vary in India based on regional languages.

Sometimes the gourd is circular or oblong shaped whereas most of time times, it’s long and cylindrical in shape. In USA, bottle gourd is also known as squash or opo squash.

What We Call Lauki In English?

Lauki is also known as bottle neck gourd or opo squash in English. 

What are the health benefits of Lauki?

Bottle Gourd is one of the healthiest and low-carb vegetables. Studies on this vegetable claims lauki juice can help reducing cholesterol and lower hypertension. As this vegetable contains about 96% water, it improves digestion. They are also rich in dietary fibers, and supply vitamin B and iron as well.

Ingredients in Chana Lauki:

This dish is very similar to a no onion-garlic curry that uses spice and seeds paste with onions, ginger and chili. The main ingredients of this dish are:

2 cups of soaked Chana or chickpeas (soaked overnight)(1 cup of dry chickpeas), 2 cups of bottle gourd or lauki (cut into large chunks)

To purée:

4 large tomatoes, 1 Serrano pepper, 2 inch ginger, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 2 teaspoon coriander seeds, 4-5 curry leaves, Salt to taste

To temper:

2 dried red chilies, 1 teaspoon of cooking oil 

Spices:

½ teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon curry powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala

Garnish:

Cilantro and lime juice

How to Make Chana Lauki?

• Set the instant pot to a sauté mode. Add oil and temper red chilies. Once the chilies turn brown, set them aside.
• Now add bottle gourd pieces and sauté them till browned around the edges.

• Set them aside.
• Now add the purée and cook till the purée starts to thicken. It takes about 3-5 minutes in the sauté mode. 
• Now add all the spices except garam masala, soaked chickpeas and two cups of water. 

• Close the lid and seal the vent. Change the cooking mode to beans/chili and let it cook. Usually, my instant pot DUO takes 30-minutes to cook garbanzo beans in the beans/chili mode.
• Once the chickpeas are done, wait for natural pressure release for 10-minutes and then quick release the pressure. Open the lid and add 1 more cup of water. Adjust salt if necessary. 
  

• Now add the lauki or bottle gourd pieces and pressure cook for another 1-minute. Once the cooking time is over, wait for natural pressure release. Then open the lid and add garam masala. Mix well and garnish with cilantro.

• Serve with roti, rice or both.
• Enjoy!

📖 Recipe

Chana Lauki

Chana lauki is a family favorite. This mild, tangy curry has soft cooked chickpeas, indian bottle gourd, and basic kitchen staples and spices. And, It’s made in the instant pot. Presenting my instant pot lauki Chana masala. 

4.82 from 11 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: curry, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: 30-minute vegan dinner, bottle gourd recipe, chana ghiya, chana lauki, chole lauki, lauki chole

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 129.5kcal

Author: Sophie

Cost: $6

Equipment

• Instant pot

Ingredients

• 2 cups of soaked Chana or chickpeas, soaked overnight(1 cup of dry chickpeas)
• 2 cups of bottle gourd or lauki, cut into large chunks

To Purée

• 4 large tomatoes
• 1 Serrano pepper
• 2 inch ginger
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 4-5 curry leaves
• Salt to taste

To Temper

• 2 dried red chilies
• 1 teaspoon of cooking oil

Spices

• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala

Garnish

• Cilantro, chopped

Instructions

• Set the instant pot to a sauté mode. Add oil and temper red chilies. Once the chilies turn brown, set them aside.
• Now add bottle gourd pieces and sauté them till browned around the edges.
• Set them aside.
• Now add the purée and cook till the purée starts to thicken. It takes about 3-5 minutes in the sauté mode.
• Now add all the spices except garam masala, soaked chickpeas and two cups of water.
• Close the lid and seal the vent. Change the cooking mode to beans/chili and let it cook. Usually, my instant pot DUO takes 30-minutes to cook garbanzo beans in the beans/chili mode.
• Once the chickpeas are done, wait for natural pressure release for 10-minutes and then quick release the pressure. Open the lid and add 1 more cup of water. Adjust salt if necessary.
• Now add the lauki or bottle gourd pieces and pressure cook for another 1-minute. Once the cooking time is over, wait for natural pressure release. Then open the lid and add garam masala. Mix well and garnish with cilantro.
• Serve with roti, rice or both.

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Notes

• Always cut the lauki into large chunks. Or else, lauki will diminish in the curry after cooking.
• Do not add a lot of water. Lauki will also release some water while pressure cooking. 
• The puréed seeds add a nice flavor to the curry. If you don’t want to paste the seeds, use powdered cumin and coriander instead. Use 1 teaspoon of cumin powder and 2 teaspoon of coriander powder in replacement of seeds.

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Nutrition

Serving: 240g | Calories: 129.5kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 4g | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 4g

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Other instant pot chickpea curries that you may love:

• Kali Chana
• Vegan Curry w/ Chickpeas