Kadala curry, a delicious and flavorful curry made with black chickpeas and coconut masala. In Kerala, this kadala curry is usually paired either with puttu or appam.
Puttu paired with kadala curry is definitely a match made in heaven.Though i grew up eating puttu as breakfast for at least once in a week, we usually had with sugar and banana or sometimes had with green gram sundal.
This Puttu and kadala curry combination was introduced to me when we were in Bangalore. When we were there, a new Kerala restaurant("Thalassery Restaurant") was opened just opposite our building.
In the early morning itself, they started to make puttu with puttu maker in the small veranda in front of the restaurant and i loved to watch them making from our balcony and it's really tempted me, so one day, for morning breakfast we bought their famous breakfast combo puttu & kadala curry.
It was so good and I liked their curry more than the puttu. Their curry was coconut based and slightly yellow in contrast to the northern chana masala curry and also had small bits of coconut in the curry and it really enhanced the taste when I had it with puttu. Later on, it's been our favorite take out item from that restaurant just for their kadala curry !
After coming to the US, I had a bad craving for that kadala curry for a while, so i tried it on my own with the taste that i remember. After a few trials, I'm able to replicate the closest taste of that restaurant and it's simply divine with the puttu or idiyappam or appam !
Now let's check on how to make this delicious kadala curry !
Kadala Curry
Preparation Time : 8 hrs for soaking | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 4 or 5
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Black Chana - 1 cup
Pearl Onion - 12
Tomato - 1
Coconut bits - 2 to 3 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
To roast & grind
Red chili - 4
Coriander seed - 2 tsp(1 tsp of coriander powder)
Fennel seed - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 2
Coconut - 1/4 cup tightly packed
Garlic - 2
Black Chana - 1 cup
Pearl Onion - 12
Tomato - 1
Coconut bits - 2 to 3 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
To roast & grind
Red chili - 4
Coriander seed - 2 tsp(1 tsp of coriander powder)
Fennel seed - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 2
Coconut - 1/4 cup tightly packed
Garlic - 2
Soak the chana overnight or minimum 8 hrs and put in the pressure along with water and salt and cook it for 5 whistle.
In the mean time dry roast the ingredients, heat the pan, add red chili,cinnamon,cloves,cardamom,fennel seed and coriander seed(as i have no stock of coriander seed, i used coriander powder) in the pan and roast till nice aroma comes.Keep it aside, then add the coconut and garlic in the pan.
Roast till it all the moisture from the coconut is gone.Keep it aside and let it cool completely Switch off the flame.In the heated pan add the coriander powder and roast it slightly and add into other roasted ingredients.
To make coconut bits, take a pieces of coconut as shown below in pic and cut into thin strips.Then peal the pearl onion and cut into small pieces and tomato into small pieces.
Once the pressure is released from the pressure cooker, check whether it's cooked,it should be mushy when pressed between you fingers.Heat the kadai with oil and add the mustard, let the mustard splutter.
Add onions & curry leaves, saute till the onions becomes translucent,then add the tomatoes & saute .
Add the coconut bits & turmeric powder and saute till the tomato becomes mushy.
Grind the roasted ingredients into smooth paste and add it. Add enough water and make the consistency as per your liking.
Add the cooked chana & salt(remember we already added while cooking chana)just to the masala and give a good mix.
Let it comes to boil and keep the flame in medium for 7-8 mins or until the raw smell leaves,finally add the coriander leaves and switch off the flame.
Serve it with Kuzha Puttu and appalam or even with chapathi also it tastes good.
Related: More puttu & idiyappam varieties
- Roasting coriander powder gives the same aroma as of roasting coriander seed and grind them as powder.
- If you want more flavor, add 1/2 tsp of garam masala at the end.
- Biting coconut bits in between the curry tastes so good, highly recommend to add it.
- Coconut oil gives great flavor to the curry.
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