Layered Lentil Rice with Curry

I found this wonderful cook book in the public library 'Indian, delicious authentic dishes'. The authors are Shehzad Hussain & Rafi Fernandez. This book has a large variety of dishes (Indian & Pakistani) with good illustrations.
After going thru (read, drooling over) all the vegetarian recipes, I finally picked one to make for dinner. I had all the ingredients on hand and time as well .... you see I drooled over the recipes all afternoon, so by early evening, I was all set to make this dish!
Firstly, making this dish does take up a bit of time, but the end result is the hubby rubbing his tummy and declaring it as"FANTASTICALLY YUMMY !"

Second... it cleared up a misconception I had. Now all these years I was under the impression that Bohri cuisine is 'only' non-veg. I had heard some of my friends wax eloquent on this particular cuisine, but being a vegetarian, it was all lost on me.Thirdly, I am firmly convinced, boy, these people can really cook!

I am reproducing the recipe as I got it, infact, quoting from the book ......
"Bohri Muslims in India have their own special style of cooking and have adapted many of the traditional dishes from other Indian communities.This rice and lentil dish is served with a gourd curry (Dudhi/ Lauki), which is prominently flavoured with Fenugreek and soured with dried mangosteen (kokum), lemon juice however, will provide the same effect."

2/3 cup Channa Daal (Bengal gram)
2 1/2 cups Water
1/2 tsp Turmeric
50 gm. Deep fried onion crushed
3 tbsp. green masala paste (few fresh mint leaves & cilantro leaves chooped & salt to taste)
I left the mint out entirely, I somehow dislike it (mint is toothpaste!! )
1 3/4 cups Basmati rice cooked
2 tbsp. ghee
A little water

FOR THE CURRY
4 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp. Fenugreek (methi dana) seeds
1/2 oz Dried Fenugreek leaves
2 cloves Garlic crushed
1tsp. ground cilantro
1tsp chili pwd. (less for those who prefer it mild)
1lb. Bottle gourd or zucchini, peeled, pith and seed removed, cut in bite size pieces
3/4 cup Tomato juice
6 dried mangosteen or juice of 2 lemons
4 tsp. Besan dissolved in 4-5 tsp water
Salt to taste

Cook rice and keep aside. Boil the bengal gram daal with water until the grains are tender, but not mushy. Drain and reserve the water for the curry. Toss the cooked daal with deep fried onions, green masala paste, chopped mint(opt.), cilantro leaves and salt.
Grease a heavy pan and place a layer of rice at the bottom. Add the daal mixture. Layer with the remaining rice. Place small cubes of butter/ ghee on top, sprinkle with a little water and gently heat until steam gathers in the pan.

To make the Curry:
Heat oil in a pan. Fry the Fenugreek seeds and leaves and garlic , until garlic turns golden brown.
Mix the ground cumin, cilantro and chilli powder with a little water. Add to the pan and simmer until all the water evaporates.
Add all the remaining ingredients and cook until the gourd is soft and transparent. Serve hot with the rice.

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