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Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Kadala Curry

Puttum kadalaum...hmm....irrestible combo for a malayali. There are other combinations with which puttu is had with, but this the most popular one. Black chickpea is used to make kadala curry. Kadala curry goes so well with vellayappam too. A detailed post on how to make puttu, was posted before. So here is the kadala curry i learned from my mother.

Ingredients

3 cups - Kadala / Kala chana / Black chickpea ( cooked )
1 medium - Tomato, quartered
2 - Green chili, slit in center
1'' piece - Ginger, grated
2 to 3 tbsp - Coconut cut to small bit's ( Thenga kothu )

3 to 4 sprigs - Curry leaves

To Roast & grind to a smooth paste

1 to 1.5 cup - Grated coconut
4 big - Shallots, chopped
6 big - Garlic flakes
1 medium size stick - Cinnamon
2 - Clove
1 tsp - pepper corns
1 - Star anise
1 - Cardamom
2 tsp - Fennel Seeds / Perumjeerakam
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 tsp - Red chili powder
3 to 4 tsp - Coriander powder
3 sprigs - Curry leaves

Seasoning

2 tsp - Mustard seeds
1/2 of one - Onion, chopped
Coconut oil or Seasame oil

Method

1 ) To cook kadala - Soak kadala over night, then pressure cook for 30 minutes, with little turmeric powder, a small stick of Cinnamon, salt to taste and enough water.

2 ) To make masala for the gravy - Heat little coconut oil in a pan, add coconut, fennel seeds, star anise, cardamom,cloves, cinnamon, stir and roast till coconut turns medium brown in color on a low flame.Transfer to another utensil to cool.

3 ) Now add little coconut oil to the pan, add pepper corn, small onion, garlic, curry leaves - stir on low heat. Add turmeric, red chili and coriander powder, stir till the powders looses the raw smell. Take off the stove and cool.

4 ) Transfer browned coconut and roasted masala powders to a blender. Grind the ingredients to a smooth paste with water.

5 ) To make the curry - To a big utensil, add cooked kadala, stock from the cooked kadala, tomato, green chili, ginger, curry leaves , coconut bit's and cook the kadala till the tomato gets cooked. Then add the ground coconut masala paste to the kadala. Add enough water to make a semi thick gravy. Bring to a boil, adjust salt to taste.

6 ) Seasoning - Heat coconut oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and pop it, then add onion and brown the onion to golden brown color. Pour this seasoning on the curry and mix in.



Serve for breakfast with puttu or appam to experience keralites favorite breakfast.

17 comments:

FH said...

Thank you so much Pravs for this recipe.I love that chana too and every time somebody posts Puttu,I am always looking for Kadala curry which I like more than Puttu:))
Have a great weekend.

Richa said...

kadala curry looks yummy, i like kale chane & soon will post one more recipe using it.
thanks for ur recipe :)

Suganya said...

Kadala curry it is very nice...It is mouth watering one...

Seena said...

Praveena,
Me also have drafted my version of kadala curry and puttu. Are you from Kannur? I learnt to make rawa puttu from Kannur people..Liked your pictures and style of writing..

Pravs said...

Hi Asha : I hope you will try my kadala curry recipe...you too have a great weekend.

Hi Richa : Ok, i will look out for that post.

Hi Sukanya :Thanks :D

Hi Seena :Thanks :D. I am from calicut. Will look out for your post on puttu and kadala curry.

Sig said...

Hey Pravs, I don't know how I missed this... yummy kadala curry...

Sig said...

Wow, major telepathy going on here, I got a comment from you while I was here in your site! How crazy is that? Have a great weekend to you too.... :)

Kribha said...

Pravs,
I love black channa and have heard about this dish. But this is the first time I'm seeing it. Looks really really great. Can't wait to try it. Thanks dear.

Sharmi said...

Puttu kadala curry never gets old. its my all time favourite. planning to make it for the week end.
happy weekend

Anonymous said...

pravs, i missed two of your posts:(. i recently blogged about puttu-kadala but i made chickpeas because it was handy. love the black kadala with puttu. heavenly!!

zlamushka said...

Hi Pravs,

I just love your pics and recipes, they all look very authentic. I have two questions for you, not only regarding Kadala Curry. Can I subsitute regular chickpeas for black variety or is there a giant difference?
And as for shredded coconut. How do I use dried shredded coconut (packed, store bought)instead of the fresh one? Roasting usually burns it, so I am not sure...

Pravs said...

Hi zlamushka : Thank you.
Kadala curry is traditionally made with black chickpeas and the taste of black chickpeas is bit different from garbanzo. But you can surely try this recipe with garbanzo too.
As to shredded coconut used for this recipe. You can use the dried shredded coconut available in the stores, since you have to dry roast the coconut for this recipe.Dried coconut works out very well, wherever dry roasting the coconut is necessary.
Otherwise freshly grated coconut is the best.
When dry roasting coconut, do it at a very low heat to avoid burning the coconut.
I hope you got all the answers for your questions :D

zlamushka said...

Hi Pravs,

thanx a lot for your answers. You ve been veru helpful. Gettting fresh coconut here in Sweden is a real head-ache (plus, I dont know how to do it porperly...) Maybe you could post a post about it ? :)

So, I will substitute dried coconut flakes for the fresh ones and chickpeas for the black ones. Cool. I ll make it then and let you know :)

Siva said...

My husband is an aderent fan of Kerala Cusine & he was raving today about the Kadalai cury I prepared at home. Thank you so much for the receipe! It was very authentic!

Pravs said...

Siva : I am all smiles and happy to read your feed back. Thank you :)

Archana said...

Thank you for this awesome kadala curry recipe. Just made it and both me and my husband enjoyed it immensely!

Pravs said...

Archana : Thanks for the feedback :)