Kadala Curry | Varutharacha Kadala Curry | Kerala Style Kadala Curry

Puttu and Kadala is a Sunday staple at home.I have posted a few kadala curry recipes here already but off late,this is the recipe I follow as it gives a great result and is quick as well.I personally feel kadala curry tastes best when it made with roasted coconut and spices.This gives it a great texture and no doubt,tastes great too.Pairs really well with Puttu,Appam and Idiyappam.

Somehow varutharacha curry sounds difficult and time consuming for many.Believe me,it isn't.Even though the original version requires roasting of coconut along with red chillies and coriander,here we take a small detour by roasting coconut and then adding spice powders which quickens the process without compromising on the taste one bit,that's win-win right?

Varutharacha Kadala Curry

Ingredients

Brown Channa/Kadala/Chickpeas - 1 cup,washed well and soaked for 8-10 hours and then drained

Salt to taste

For roasting

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Shallots - 4-5,sliced

Garlic - 1 clove

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Pepper - 1/4 tsp,crushed

Turmeric powder/Haldi - 1/4 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Red chilly powder - 3/4 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

For Tadka

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Shallots - 3-4,sliced

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Red chillies - 2-3,broken

Method

Pressure cook the channa/kadala adding enough water for 10-15 minutes or until well cooked.Add salt to taste and keep aside.

In a thick bottom pan(I use cast iron) add the ingredients for roasting - coconut,shallots,garlic,curry leaves and crushed pepper.

Saute on medium flame till everything heats up.Lower the flame and roast the ingredients till the coconut starts changing colour to a golden brown.

Once the coconut is evenly browned add in the masala powders - haldi,garam masala,chilly and coriander powder.Saute on low flame for a minute or two until the raw smell of the masala leaves.

Switch off the flame and let it cool down a little.

Grind to a smooth paste in the mixie-first grind without adding water.Once everything is powdered add enough water and grind to a smooth paste.

Into a pan add coconut oil and give tadka with mustard seeds,curry leaves,red chillies and shallots.Once the shallots starts changing colour add the ground paste and give it a boil.

Mix in the cooked channa along with the water and let it come to a boil.Simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve hot with Puttu:)

Step by Step Pictorial

Pressure cook the channa/kadala adding enough water for 10-15 minutes or until well cooked.Add salt to taste and keep aside.

In a thick bottom pan(I use cast iron) add the ingredients for roasting - coconut,shallots,garlic,curry leaves and crushed pepper.

Saute on medium flame till everything heats up.Lower the flame and roast the ingredients till the coconut starts changing colour to a golden brown.

Once the coconut is evenly browned add in the masala powders - haldi,garam masala,chilly and coriander powder.Saute on low flame for a minute or two until the raw smell of the masala leaves.

Switch off the flame and let it cool down a little.

Grind to a smooth paste in the mixie-first grind without adding water.Once everything is powdered add enough water and grind to a smooth paste.

Into a pan add coconut oil and give tadka with mustard seeds,curry leaves,red chillies and shallots.Once the shallots starts changing colour add the ground paste and give it a boil.

Mix in the cooked channa along with the water and let it come to a boil.Simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve hot with Puttu:)

The consistency of the gravy depends on how much water we add.When serving with Puttu I make it slightly of thin consistency whereas while serving with appam,I make it slightly thickish.

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Pressure Cooker Chole Recipe | One Pot Cooking Recipes

I hope all of you are doing great,staying home and staying safe.

I'm really enjoying the time spent with my husband and child.Except for the piling housework every minute of the day,for me it's just like any other day.I badly miss my house help Selvi though,always smiling and so gentle with Arjun.Picking after his toys,asking me to let it go when I insist he doesn't scatter his toys around and hiding from me when he spills something by quickly mopping up after him.

I can see through her son's Whatsapp status that she's whipping up a storm for her family and I feel so happy about that.Isn't it what we all are doing?Trying to keep our family happy by doing whatever we can during these trying times.I find so many people posting about how not to post food pictures during these times because so many are going hungry and so many are without food.

I disagree totally.Let us all do what makes us happy.Of course,let's do our bit for those who don't have any help but that shouldn't stop us from doing what we feel like.Our emotional state of mind has gone for a toss,so whatever keeps you happy,do it!

I made these Chole with plans to serve it with Bhatura.But deep frying in this already hot climate didn't sound appealing at all and I paired it with our humble chapathi/roti.It tasted delicious and I made our season's first Mango Milkshake to go with it---Nirvana :)

Pressure Cooker Chole Recipe
Recipe courtesy Kabita's Kitchen

Ingredients

Kabuli Channa - 1 cup,washed and soaked overnight or for 6-8 hours
Onion - 3 medium,chopped
Ginger - 1" piece,chopped
Garlic - 6-8 cloves
Tomato - 2 medium,chopped
Oil - 2 tbsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Whole Garam Masala - 2 bay leaf,4 cloves,2 cardamom,1' piece Cinnamon
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Haldi - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Chole Masala - 1 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp {I didn't have this,so skipped}
Water - 2 cups (I boiled the water and added 1 tsp tea to it,let it boil.Strained and used this water to cook the chole.This gives it a deep brown colour without any aftertaste of tea.You could skip this step and use plain water or use one tea bag if you have)
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves to garnish

Method

Make a paste of onions,garlic and ginger.Puree the tomatoes.Reserve.
In a pressure cooker add oil and splutter jeera along with the whole garam masala.
Add red chilly powder and haldi and simmer the flame.Cover and cook for a minute.
Add the onion+ginger+garlic paste and saute well.Cover and cook for a minute.
Now mix in the rest of the spice powders - coriander,garam masala and chole masala.Mix well and cook for a minute.
Add the tomato puree and mix well.Cook for a minute or two.
Now add the soaked and drained channa,tea water(or plain water),salt to taste.
Cover with the pressure cooker lid and cook on medium flame for 5-7 whistles.
Let the pressure settle down completely before you open.Check if the channa is cooked well.If not cook for another 3-5 whistles.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot :)

Step by Step Pictorial

Make a paste of onions,garlic and ginger.Puree the tomatoes.Reserve.

In a pressure cooker add oil and splutter 

jeera along with the whole garam masala.

Add red chilly powder and haldi and simmer the flame.Cover and cook for a minute.

Add the onion+ginger+garlic paste and saute well.Cover and cook for a minute.

Now mix in the rest of the spice powders - coriander,garam masala and chole masala.Mix well and cook for a minute.

Add the tomato puree and mix well.Cook for a minute or two.

Now add the soaked and drained channa,

tea water(or plain water),

salt to taste.
Cover with the pressure cooker lid and cook on medium flame for 5-7 whistles.

Let the pressure settle down completely before you open.Check if the channa is cooked well.If not cook for another 3-5 whistles.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot :)

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Mambazha Morkuzhambu

I love pairing sweet curries with rice and some spicy vegetable on the side.Usually when I make sweet Pulisheri with Mango,Banana or Pineapple I make a spicy Potato roast on the side and it makes for a finger licking meal.So when I saw a similar recipe for Morkozhambu using ripe mangoes,I tried it soon after.It tastes a bit different than Pulisheri but I loved it.The tang from the curd and the sweetness from the mango along with the heat from the red chillies made it an explosion of tastes in the mouth.

This year,we've tried a variety of mangoes and loved them all.Usually we stick to Banganpally,Alphonso and Kalaphadi mangoes but this year there are so many varieties available and we tried most of them.I made this curry with Banganpally but you can use any pulpy,sweet mango.

Mambazha Morkuzhambu
Recipe courtesy - Malpat's Kitchen

Ingredients

Banganpally mango - 1,peeled and chopped
Fresh curd - 2 cups
Salt to taste
Sugar - 2-3 tsp(optional)
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

For roasting and grinding

Coconut oil - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 1/2 tsp
Methi - 3/4 tsp
Red chillies - 2
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp


Method

Cook the mangoes till soft.You can steam/Microwave it,I added a few tbsp water into a pressure cooker along with the mangoes and pressure cooked for one whistle.Cool it down and grind to a smooth paste.
Whisk the curd well so that there are no lumps.
Mix in the mango puree.Add salt to taste.
In a pan add oil and roast the ingredients till the coconut slightly changes colour.Remove from pan and let it cool down.Grind to a smooth paste.
Add this to the curd-mango mix.Cook the curry on a low flame for about 5-10 minutes or till it starts frothing from the sides.Take care not to boil the curry as it may split.
Make tadka with coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves.Add this tadka to the morkozhambu.

Step by step Pictorial

Cook the mangoes till soft.You can steam/Microwave it,I added a few tbsp water into a pressure cooker along with the mangoes and pressure cooked for one whistle.Cool it down and grind to a smooth paste.

In a pan add oil and roast the ingredients till the coconut slightly changes colour.

Remove from pan and let it cool down.Grind to a smooth paste.

Whisk the curd well so that there are no lumps.

Mix in the mango puree.

Add the ground coconut paste to the  curd-mango mix.

Add salt to taste - I added a few tsp sugar as well.

Cook the curry on a low flame for about 5-10 minutes or till it starts frothing from the sides.Take care not to boil the curry as it may split.

Make tadka with coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves.Add this tadka to the morkozhambu.

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Maggya Koddel | Mangalore Cucumber & Jackfruit seeds curry

There are a few recipes which gets etched in your mind because of the stories associated with them.For me,this curry always reminds me of my mil's sister Vasanthpachi.It seems,she made such a fuss once when this curry was made without Jackfruit seeds in it.I always smile and think of her when I prep the jackfruit seeds/Bikkand while making this Koddel.

Koddel is a curry made with vegetables or pulses using a ground masala of coconut,red chilly and tamarind and finished with a garlic tadka.I always have a love-hate relationship with garlic.Having grown up without eating it,I wasn't quite fond of it except for maybe using ginger garlic paste without any problem.But now slowly,I'm open to the idea of using it in my regular cooking and also eating it without any issues.

Here I have made the Koddel with Magge/Mangalore Cucumber,Drumstick and Jackfruit seeds.You can use any combination of vegetables as per choice.I do have some Koddel recipes posted here a while back.

Kulitha Koddel

Kellya Koddel

Maggya Koddel | Mangalore Cucumber,Drumstick & Jackfruit seeds curry

Ingredients

Magge/Mangalore Cucumber - I used 1/2 of one medium sized cucumber

Drumsticks - 2,sliced into roughly 2' sticks

Jackfruit seeds - about 5-6,peeled and crushed

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Roasted red chillies - about 4-5

Tamarind - a small piece

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Garlic(with skin) - 10-12,crushed

Salt to taste

Method

In a pressure cooker,add magge/mangalore cucumber,drumsticks,jackfruit seeds and salt to taste.Add about a cup of water and cook for 2 whistles.(if you are cooking in a pan,cook till the vegetables are soft and tender)

Grind coconut,red chillies and tamarind to a smooth paste.

Add the ground masala to the cooked vegetables and bring to a boil.Simmer for about 5-7 minutes while you get the tadka ready.

For the tadka,add oil into a tadka pan and add the crushed garlic.

Cook till the garlic turns golden brown.

Add this to the Koddel and switch off the flame.

Step by Step Pictorial

In a pressure cooker,add magge/mangalore cucumber,drumsticks and jackfruit seeds.

Add about a cup of water and cook for 2 whistles.

(if you are cooking in a pan,cook till the vegetables are soft and tender)

Grind coconut,red chillies and tamarind to a smooth paste.

Add the ground masala 

and salt to taste to the cooked vegetables and bring to a boil.

Simmer for about 5-7 minutes while you get the tadka ready.

For the tadka,add oil into a tadka pan 

and add the crushed garlic.

Cook till the garlic turns golden brown.

Add this to the Koddel and switch off the flame.

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