Pakoda Kuzhambu | Chettinad Pakoda Kuzhambu | Vadai Kuzhambu

Pakoda Kuzhambu, deep fried chana dal fritters soaked in spicy and tangy tamarind based curry. It tastes so good with pipping hot steamed rice.

Amma make this curry often at our home and it's one of the dishes that i grew up eating a lot. She make it as either pakoda or as vada with the same ingredients, the only difference is how to shape them.

 If you just pinch the batter and deep fried, then it will be pakoda or if you shape them as round, then it become vadai. Depends on the shape, you can name the curry as "Pakoda Kuzhambu"or "Vadai Kuzhambu" . Either way it taste absolutely delicious with some hot rice.

Pakoda Kuzhambu

Preparation Time : 1 hr | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

For Kuzhambu

Onion - 2 tbsp

Tomato -1

Tamarind - small gooseberry size

Mustard & urad dal- 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Salt - to taste

Red chili powder -1/2 tsp

Sambar powder/Coriander Powder- 1&1/2 tsp 

Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp
For Pakoda
Chana Dal - 1/2 cup
Red chili -2
Garlic - 2
Fennel seed - 1/2 tsp
Onion(small) - 1
Curry leaves -few
Salt - to taste
Oil - for frying

To grind

Grated coconut - 3 tbsp

Peal onion - 2 

Garlic pods - 2

Cumin seed- 1/4 tsp
Fennel seed - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

Soak the chana dal for 1&1/2 hrs and soak the tamarind for 1/2 hr.
Let prepare pakoda first,In a mixie/blender jar,add the red chili,fennel seed and garlic and grind them into coarse mixture.

Then add the soaked chana dal and grind into coarse mixture. Take the mixture into bowl, add finely chopped onions,curry leaves and salt and mix well.

Heat the oil in sauce pan for frying, pinch a small amount of pakoda mixture and add into the oil.

Let it cook till all the sides becomes golden brown.Remove from oil and place it on tissure paper.Repeat the same for the entire batch.That's it pakoda is ready.Now let's prepare the kuzhambu,heat a kadai with oil.

Add mustard & urad dal, let the mustard splutters, add the onions & curry leaves. Saute till the onions becomes translucent,then add tomatoes,saute till the tomatoes becomes mushy.

In the mean time, extract the tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind and grind the ingredients listed under "To grind" into smooth paste.Once the tomatoes turns mushy,add the spices(turmeric,red chili and sambar powder ) & salt.

Fry the spices in oil for 30 secs, then add the tamarind extract and coconut paste.

Let it comes to boil and keep the flame in simmer for 10 mins. That's it Kuzhambu is ready. Just before 10 min of serving, add the pakoda into the kuzhambu and serve.

Tasty Pakoda Kuzhambu is ready.

Related:How to make Mor Kuzhambu

Notes:

• The gravy should be little runny in consistency before adding the pakoda. Otherwise,the pakoda would absorb all the gravy and it becomes too thick.
• You can use either sambar powder or coriander powder in this gravy ,I tried it both ways and it taste absolutely delicious on either way.
• Usually i add half of the pakoda to the kuzhambu and serve the remaining as it is, as side dish.