Wash the tuvar daal/yellow lentils and let it soak for atleast 15 minutes
Meanwhile, peel & wash gourd and discard the seeds, chop into medium sized cubes
Combine the soaked daal and gourd pieces with turmeric powder and pressure cook for 4 whistles*
After the steam releases from the cooker, carefully mash the daal with the back of a ladle. Make sure you do not mash it completely, just coarsely. You should see some of the lentils holding its shape.
In a wide wok, heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and asafoetida
Add the onions, shallots, garlic and curry leaves. Stir the mix and let it fry till the onions are nicely browned
Reduce the flame to low and add the chilli powder. Let it fry until the color darkens a little bit. around 2 minutes or so. Make sure you do not burn the chilli powder
Pour the cooked daal, add salt and some more water to adjust its consistency. I added around 1/2 cup of water more
stir it nicely until it is mixed thorougly and let it simmer for 4-5 minutes until all the flavours blend
Serve it warm, after it rests for 5-10 minutes with a plate of steaming rice, pappadam some pickle and yoghurt perhaps.