Kadala curry kerala style - chickpea curry recipe
Kadala curry is a Kerala-style chickpea curry made with fried coconut and spices. It is so delicious and flavourful, often served with puttu, appam etc.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Chickpea കടല (200 gm)
For Masala
- 3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil വെളിച്ചെണ്ണ
- 2 Tablespoon Crushed ginger or Ginger paste
- 1 Tablespoon Crished Garlic or Garlic paste വെളുത്തുള്ളി
- 1/2 cup coconut slices. Adjust to your preference.
- 2 cups Onion chopped (2 onions) സവോള
- 3 Nos Green chilies
- 2 Teaspoons Salt ഉപ്പ്
- 1 cup Tomato chopped തക്കാളി
- 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder മഞ്ഞള്പൊടി
For Frying Coconut Mixture
- 1 cup grated coconut
- 6 Shallots ചെറിയ ഉള്ളി
- 5 cardamom
- 1/2 Teaspoon Black Peppercorn
- 2 inch cinnamon sticks
- 6 cloves
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder മഞ്ഞള്പൊടി
- 1 Tablespoons Coriander Powder മല്ലിപ്പൊടി
- 2 Tablespoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder, Adjust to your spice level. മുളകുപൊടി
For Tempering
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds കടുക്
- 2 Dry Red Chilli ഉണക്കമുളക്
- 4 shallots
- 2 Sprigs Curry Leaves കറിവേപ്പില
Instructions
Soak and Drain
- Wash and Soak 1 cup of chickpeas for a minimum of 6 hrs or overnight. Rinse again and drain water. Set aside the drained chickpeas.
For Cooking Chickpea
- Heat 3 tbsp oil in medium sauce pan over medium heat
- Add ginger garlic paste, green chilies. saute for 2-3 minutes, no need to brown the ginger garlic.
- Add 1/2 cup coconut slices, saute for 2-3 minutes, no need to brown the coconut.
- Add 2 cups onion finely chopped and 1 tsp salt. Saute onions over medium high heat, stirring often
- When onion is cooked and starts to change color (Onion does not need to be brown), add 1/2 tsp turmeric, stir for 30 seconds. Then add 1 cup tomatoes and mix well.
- Saute tomatoes until soft.
- Add soaked kadala, 3 cups water, and salt. Cover and cook until chickpeas are very soft. (If using a pressure cooker: Add chickpeas mixture to the pressure cooker and cover with a lid. Cook over medium-high heat until the 1st whistle comes. Then reduce heat to medium. Cook for 4 more whistles, then turn off the heat. Wait for 8 to 10 minutes for the cooker's internal pressure to release. Open the lid and check whether the chickpea is cooked. Keep it aside).
Roasting the Coconut Paste
- Add grated fresh coconut to a microwave-safe bowl and heat the grated coconut for 1-2 minutes before roasting. This helps to save time when roasting.
- Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan, add whole spices (cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom), and shallots. Saute spices until it is fragrant.
- Add grated coconut. Stir continuously for the next 8-9 minutes. Fry coconut until it starts to get light brown over medium-low heat. If the heat is high then coconut will burn without frying so it needs to be fried over low heat.
- Add fennel seeds, black pepper and fry coconut until it is golden brown.
- Add powdered spices (turmeric powder, coriander powder, kashmiri chili powder). Roast for 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat.
- Let it cool completely, then grind with little water.
Cooking the Curry
- Add roasted coconut paste to cooked chickpeas, and mix well. Wash blender with 1/2 cup water and add that to chickpeas.
- Check salt and adjust as needed. Check consistency of the gravy and add water if needed. Cover with a lid and let it comes to boil. Turn off heat.
Tempering - Seasoning
- Heat 3 Tablespoons of oil in a small pan. Add mustard seeds, let it splutter, add chopped shallots, add dry red chilies, and curry leaves, and fry until shallots are brown in color.
- Pour Tempering on top the chickpea curry. Cover with a lid.
- Serve with Puttu, Appam etc.
Notes
- Use heavy bottom pan "cheenachatti" for roasting coconut. This gives best result.
- If you like more gravy, you can add 1/2 cup coconut milk to this curry.
- If you like thick gravy you can grind 1 tablespoon of boiled chickpeas and add that to the curry.