Kadala curry

Kadala curry is a thick, spicy coconut gravy with black chickpeas (bengal gram/ channa/ kadala). It is a favourite side dish for breakfast items such as Puttu , Idiyappam, appam, palappam etc. It is very healthy as chickpeas are rich in proteins. Puttu and Kadala curry is one of the first dishes that you have to try if you are not a keralite. 


Preparation time- 25 mins

Ingredients

Chick peas/ Kadala- 1 cup
Onion- 1 medium size
Coconut- 3/4 cup grated
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly powder- 1/2 tbsp
Coriander powder- 1 1/2 tbsp
Water-1 cup or as required
Coconut Oil- 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 strand
Red Chilly- 1 no
Salt to taste

Method

Soak Chickpeas overnight or at least for 4-5 hrs before cooking. Cook it with water and salt. I used a pressure cooker and waited for 2 whistles. If you can easily press a chickpea between your fingers, then its done. Drain the excess water and keep aside.


Finely chop the onion. For reducing sauteing time, I kept chopped onions in microwave for 2 minutes. If you don't prefer microwave cooking skip the step.


Grind coconut into a smooth paste and keep aside.


Heat Coconut oil in a pan and add Mustard seeds. Once they pop, add Red chilli and curry leaves. Add onion and saute it till dark brown.


 Add all the powders and stir continuously to avoid burning of masalas. Keep the flame in medium. Once the raw smell is gone add coconut paste.


Add cooked chickpeas and water. Check salt at this point. Once the curry starts boiling remove it from flame.

Your spicy hot kadala curry is ready. Serve it with Puttu/ Idiyappam/Palappam etc.
Have a healthy n tasty breakfast. :)



PS:-





  • I used a standard 240 ml measuring cup.
  • If you are using kashmiri chilly add 1 tbsp instead of half
  • I have used black small chickpeas. You can use other varieties of indian chickpeas for the same.
  • You can either add small coconut slices during onion sauteing to improve taste.
  • Also try coconut milk instead of coconut paste.