Every Malayalee house has their own version of “Kadala curry” that is "Black chickpeas curry" and this is served with Dosa, Puttu, Parotta, Poori, Appam and Iddiappams (string hoppers). This makes it a common curry in every Malayalee house.
Read this recipe
through to the end, as I will be sharing my Mother-in-law’s secret tip of
preparing the “Roasted Coconut paste” (Varutharra) and how to preserve it in
the fridge for more than 1 year. This "Varuthara" will be your time
saver for those rushed days.
Please scroll through my blog 
https://inishkitchen.blogspot.com for more recipes.
If you'd like more delicious recipes delivered straight to your Inbox, click on Subscribe and you have the privilege to view the recipes first. You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, for more recipe inspiration.
Today I am sharing a recipe that is quite influenced by my Mother-in-law’s Kadala curry. "Varuthaaracha Kadala Curry" is a very authentic Kerala recipe wherein the black chickpeas are cooked in spices along with roasted coconut paste. The nutty and spicy fragrance of the curry is inviting and this is my family favourite.
Slow roasting of the coconut requires patience and continuous stirring, so you just can’t step away for a couple of seconds while the roasting process is on. The perfection of this recipe lies in the roasted coconut paste. In this recipe I will use the pre-prepared “Roasted Coconut paste” (Varutharra) and thus make this luscious, yummy curry ready in a jiffy.
I personally love to eat "Varuthaaracha Kadala Curry" with Dosa and Poori, while Mr. B prefers to have this “Varuthaaracha Kadala curry” with “Puttu” (steamed rice cake) which make it an insanely delicious hearty meal by itself. If you are wondering what Puttu is, then do check out RICE PUTTU recipe, it is one of healthiest and easy Kerala breakfast prepared in every Malayalee house.
Do check out the authentic recipe of RICE PUTTU / KERALA RICE STEAM CAKE 👇👇 in my next recipe blog
Ingredients:
- 2 cup fresh grated Coconut
- 4 Shallots or 1 medium size Onion
- 3 - 4 black Peppercorns
- 2 - 3 sprigs of Curry leaves
- 2 - 4 dried Chillies
- 2 tsp. Coriander seeds
- ½ lemon size Tamarind
- 2 cups dry Black chickpeas (washed & soaked 7 hours)
- 2 medium sized Onion (sliced)
- 4-5 Garlic (minced)
- 1 inch Ginger (minced)
- 1 sprig of Curry leaves
- ½ tsp. Garam masala
- 1 tbsp. Chilly powder
- ½ tbsp. Coriander powder
- ½ tsp. Turmeric powder
- 2 Bay leaf
- 3-4 Green chillies (slit)
- ½ lemon size Tamarind (soaked in 1 cup water)
- 4 tbsp. Roasted Coconut paste (Varutharra, recipe given below)
- 2 tbsp. Oil
- Water (as required)
- Salt (as required)
For the Tempering:
- 1 tbsp. Coconut oil
- 1 tsp. Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp. Fennel seeds
- 1 sprig of Curry leaves
- 2 tbsp. Coconut tidbits (optional)
Procedure:
How to make Roast
Coconut paste (Varutharra) Mother-in-law's secret recipe:
Heat a pan. On a
low flame dry roast these ingredients: 4 small onions, 5 peppercorns, 2 sprig of curry leaves, 4 grated coconut, 5 dried chillies and 1 tbsp. coriander seeds.
Keep sautéing, so that it evenly roasts. Once you see the coconut starts to turn light brown, add in the tamarind and sauté further until the coconut turns light golden brown. Be careful not to over roast and turn dark brown. Turn off the
flame and allow it to cool.
Thereafter, in a mixer
grinder, dry grind all the roasted ingredients until you get a smooth paste.
While grinding the roasted coconut it will release its natural oil, indicating
that the coconut and spices are roasted to perfection. Thus the "Varuthara" is
ready.
I always recommend preparing
excess "Varuthara" as it saves a lot of future cooking time and this
"Varuthara" can be stored in fridge until further use, for making another Kerala
vegetarian delicacy "Theeyals" or in non-veg curries.
If you have prepared
excess "Varuthara", then transfer the paste in a dry glass jar. After a few hours at the room temperature, you will notice that the coconut paste
settles down, allowing the oil to rise up. My mother-in-law makes it in big
batches. She reserves small quantities in the kitchen bottle for regular use
that may last up to 1 months, storing this in a cool dry place. The excess
paste is poured in a couple of medium size glass jars and stored in the fridge for long
term uses. When stored in the fridge, the oil solidifies and retains the
natural taste.
Every year when I go
for vacation, without fail she would make this "Varuthara'' for me to take
and this would last for almost a year. Before travelling, I pack the "Varuthara" in
multiple zip lock bags and freeze it so that the natural oil does not ooze out.
Just a few hours before boarding my flight I pack the "Varuthara" in
a cool bag and it is safe until I reach home.
How to make the Curry:
Chickpeas require a
longer cooking time. Wash the chickpeas and soak them overnight or for 7 hours atleast. Next day
pressure-cook the chickpeas adding enough water, reaching above the chickpeas level. Pressure cooker
helps in easing out the cooking process and resulting in a perfectly cooked
chickpeas (kadla).
Into the pressure
cooker along with the soaked chickpeas add in onions, turmeric powder, salt and water,
levelling it just above the chickpea. Cook it until you hear 4 to 5 whistles.
The cooking time and number of whistles may vary depending on the quality of
chickpeas and cooker size. Once you hear the number of whistles, turn off the
flame and allow it to rest until the pressure is completely released.
We Keralite’s always
prefer to prepare our meals in coconut oil. You may use any vegetable oil except strong
flavoured oils such as mustard oil or olive oil.
In a pan heat 2 tbsp.
of oil and add in the bay leaf, onions, garlic, ginger, curry leaves. Sauté
until the onions turn golden. Reduce the flame to the minimum and add in the
dry spice powders such as chilly, coriander and salt as required. Mix well and
add in the ground coconut paste and sauté for a minute until you see the oil
starts to float over.
Squeeze out the tamarind
pulp that was soaked in 1 cup water and add it to the sauteing spices. Allow
the gravy to boil.
Now add in the cooked chickpeas along with some of the cooked water and mix well. If required add more water as per your gravy requirement. In goes the Garam masala powder, cover and cook well on medium to high flame. The final stage is tempering.
.jpg)
Tempering:
In a tempering pan,
add 1 tbsp. of coconut oil and roast the coconut tidbits until it slightly turns to
golden brown. Transfer those fried pieces into the Kadla curry. This is an optional
step, only for those die hard coconut fans. Into the same pan using the leftover oil, add in the
mustard seeds and fennel seeds to crackle, thereafter add some curry leaves.
Add this tempering over the
Kadla curry, mix and cover the pan with lid and turn off the flame. Serve hot
with Thattu Dosa, Puttu (steamed rice cake), Appams (hoppers), idiyappam
(string hoppers), Poori, Chapati or Rice.
Tips:
- Tip chickpeas into a large bowl and cover with water, and use plenty of water as they will swell as they soak. Leave overnight or for 8-12 hours to absorb water and swell. Adding bicarbonate of soda can help the soaking process, especially if you live in a hard water area.
- If you forget soaking, you can simply start the cooking process, but expect them to take longer to cook than if you had soaked them first. It can take up to twice the time if you don't soak them first.
- If you forget soaking, tip the chickpeas into a large bowl. Cover with 2 inches of hot water and close with the lid.
- Soaking may help to remove some of the phytic acid found in dry beans, and it may also help remove some of their gas-causing properties.
- Slow roast the coconut on low to medium flame, frequently stirring.
- Varuthara paste should be stored in cool place for longer shelf life.
I am sure that you can make this at home. Thanks so much for your time. There’s gonna be more interesting food recipes coming up. Remember to save this page on your browser, and share it to your family, friends and colleagues. Thanks again for reading. Go on get cooking!
Do try this recipe and don’t forget to let me know if you like it through comments. Be kind to like my page and share with your friends using the buttons on the side, that would really encourage me. God Bless!
Please do SUBSCRIBE this Blog and like us on www.facebook.com/inishkitchen if you liked this recipe and wish to receive more updates on the upcoming posts.
Comments
Post a Comment