Kumra Dal Nakaam Khar | Hajong recipe | Ash gourd lentils with dry fish

Ash gourd with red lentils & fermented dry fish in North East Indian style

Ash gourd or winter melons also known as “Kumra” in North East Indian plain regions are enjoyed with meat, fish and poultry throughout the year as we stack them in pantry racks along with pumpkins. So, this recipe will let you know on how we eat Ash gourd in North East India, not just it’s delicious but super healthy and easy to cook! We prepare ash gourd with red lentils and dried fish particularly fermented dry fish tastes better since it disintegrates easily with the gravy. I would also leave it to you to choose the dry fish and if you are vegetarian, then do try the dish without the dry fish which also tastes great.

Ash gourd with red lentils and fermented dry fish is a perfect dish for summer months as the ash gourd has a cooling effect plus its oil free recipe. The dish is cooked with minimal ingredients and in an alkaline solution called “Khar.” If you don’t have khar, you can go ahead and cook it with baking soda, which helps your digestive system as well.

So do give this North East Indian style Ash gourd recipe a try and drop in your valuable comments

Chopped Ash gourd

Ingredients:

1.              Ash gourd 600 grams

2.              Red lentils 50 grams

3.              Fermented dried fish 5 to 6

4.              Khar 2 teaspoons or cooking soda 1/3rd teaspoon

5.              Green chilies 4 to 5 slit

6.              Ginger 1 inch crushed 

7.              Salt to taste

P.S. If you don’t have fermented dried fish, you can use any dried fish or shrimps. 

Ingredients for Kumra dal nakaam khar

Preparation:

1. First peel the outer skin and chop your ash gourd into large chunky pieces and keep it aside.

2. Soak your red lentils or masoor dal for 1hour, drain the water and keep aside.

3. Not take a large pan, add your fermented dried fish and roasted on a low flame for a couple of minutes on both sides. Take them off the pan and keep aside.

4. In the same pan, add your large chunky pieces of gourd, soaked red lentils, slit green chilies, roughly pounded ginger, khar or cooking soda and salt to taste. Stir them well and open cook it for 5 to 10 minutes on medium flame.

5. Once the water is almost dried, add about 2 to 3 cups of water and open cook it on a low flame until the lentils are completely boiled and mushy, which will take about 30 to 40 minutes. Occasionally stir in between. Please ensure that you do not cook it on a high flame or cover with lid since the cooking soda or khar froths and will spill all over your stove.

6. Once your gourd and lentils gravy achieve a desired consistency, add your roasted fermented dried fish - Stir it well and cook it for the for 5 minutes so that the fermented dried fish gets infused into your gravy.

If you enjoy North East Indian food, you can visit my YouTube Channel for more recipes and don't hesitate to write back if you have any queries.