Sorakaya Curry (Anapakaya Senagapappu)
Updated: October 13, 2026, By Swasthi Shreekanth
Sorakaya Curry with sengappau is a traditional Andhra style dish made with bottle gourd, chana dal and spices. This comforting protein and fiber-rich curry is a staple in my home and has been on this website for many years. It is also known as Lauki Chana Dal and is a common dish made in other regional cuisines too.
Bottle gourd is widely used in Indian cuisine and goes by the name ghiya or lauki in Hindi & doodhi in Marathi. In Telugu it is also known as Anapakaya.
Back home in India, we had a lot of these growing in ours and my grandmother’s home gardens. So my Mom often made Sorakaya Pachadi which is a spicy hot chutney or add it to dal to make Sorakaya Pappu or even made a simple but great Bottle Gourd Stir Fry.
In Telugu speaking households, a tamarind based stew known as Sorakaya Pulusu is also made. Apart from these I also make a simple Lauki Sabzi, add the grated veggie to make Lauki Paratha, Handvo or even a Doohi Halwa like this.
About this recipe
This Sorakaya Curry is very simple and uses only tomatoes, gourd, basic spices like ginger, garlic, red chilli powder, turmeric and curry leaves. I don’t use onions, not because we eat a no-onion and no-garlic diet but because I feel onions are unnecessary in some dishes like this. But I’m adding it as an optional ingredient in the recipe, if you want to use you may.
I usually love to finish this dish with a dash of thick coconut milk or coconut paste which is completely optional. If you want a stronger flavor, go ahead and use garam masala and omit coconut milk. While I write this I remeber I also have this super aromatic and delicious Sorakkai Kootu made with coconut.
Expert Tips
- Always use gourds that are young, tender and have a smooth and light green color skin.
- Avoid using bitter tasting sorakaya. We usually taste test a bit of the raw veggie even before peeling & dicing it to make sure it is edible.
- Soaking chana dal is essential and adjust the soak time to your preference. If you like mushy chana dal, soak it for longer.
- Chana dal and lauki have different cook times but since we are cooking them together, make sure you keep the lauki pieces larger if you want them to retain their shape.
Photo Guide
Step by step photo instructions
Sorakaya Curry is traditionally eaten mixed with plain rice & ghee, later rice mixed with yogurt is eaten at the near end. But you can also serve with cooked millets, quinoa or with wheat phulkas or ragi rotis.
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Recipe Card
Sorakaya Curry (Anapakaya Senagapappu Kura)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup chana dal (senaga pappu)
- 2 cups sorakaya (bottle gourd peeled & chopped)
- 2 tablespoon Oil or ghee
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves (pat dry to avoid splutters)
- 1 pinch hing /asafoetida (optional)
- 1 medium onion chopped finely (optional)
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic + ½ inch ginger – fine chopped
- 1 green chili (slit or chopped, optional)
- 1 large tomato chopped finely (deseed if you want)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric /haldi
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (adjust to taste)
- 2 to 4 tablespoon thick coconut milk (or 2 tbsps fresh coconut paste or chutney)
Method
- Add chana dal to a bowl and rinse it well thrice. Pour ¾ cup boiling hot water and cover. Soak for 30 to 60 mins.
- Heat oil or ghee in a pot or stovetop pressure cooker. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. When they begin to splutter add hing and onions (optional). Saute until the onions turn transparent
- Add chili, ginger garlic and saute for a minute. Stir in tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Saute until the tomatoes break down. Add the bottle gourd and stir fry for 3 mins.
- Stir in the red chili powder and chana dal with the soaking water. Pour ¼ cup hot water. Cover and simmer till the chana dal & sorakaya is cooked through and soft. If the pan dries out add more hot water as required. Or alternately you can pressure cook for 1 whistle.
- Taste test to adjust salt and add coconut if using. If the curry is runny to your liking cook uncovered on a slightly high flame to evaporate some of the liquid. I add â…› tsp black pepper to adjust the heat levels but if you want more flavor add garam masala.
- Serve Sorakaya Curry with rice or chapati.
Private Notes
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Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
When you say mustard, do you mean mustard seeds?
yes mustard seeds
Hi, Swasthi, tried anapakayi, senaga pappu kura recipe and it’s really good. I added two cloves of crushed garlic. Infact, I tried a lot of your recipes and they are not just good, but excellent. God bless you! .
Hi Radha,
Thank you so much for letting me know! That’s really nice.
Hi,
I didn’t pressure cook the Chana and directly put it in the curry after soaking it for an hour. But the Chana isn’t getting soft, it’s like 80% cooked. Does it need to be completely soft or is this fine?
Hi Shruti,
It should be fully cooked or slightly al dente is also okay but not hard. I too don’t pressure cook this dish. Cook for a little longer.
I also tried very nice
Glad to know Gayathri
🙂
Can I use dried coconut or only fresh ones?
Hi Tanu
I haven’t tried this with dried coconut. I don’t think it goes well.
Can we add little amchur
Yes we can use amchur
Receipes are very nice
Thank you
Fabulous curry,with a bowl of rice i'll happily have this curry rite now for my lunch.
Healthy and delicious curry.
Wow the curry looks yummy.The curry without onion is good on Pooja days.Will try.
Tempting n inviting…
tempting colour of the curry..<br /><br />Dear,need your contact mail id..can you please get in touch with me
Delicious…