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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Ragi Dosa | Finger Millet Dosa

For the longest time I was apprehensive about introducing millets to our diets.Long back I tried making dosa with Sama/Barnyard Millet and it turned out to be a bad experiment.Maybe that is what kept me from trying out anything new but I kept hearing about its health benefits and wanted to try it out again.

Saw this video on YouTube(where else!)and it looked very simple and too good that I immediately purchased some Ragi and soaked it to try making Ragi dosa the very next day.The process is indeed simple and very similar to how we would soak and grind for regular idli/dosa.The batter fermented really well and the dosa too came out wonderful,light and crispy.

Paired with a coconut chutney it made for a delicious breakfast.I have also tried making Ragi Masala Dosa and that's just taking it a level up in taste department.Do try out this recipe and enjoy the health benefits of Ragi!

Ragi Dosa | Finger Millet Dosa

Recipe Courtesy - Skinny Recipes

Ingredients

Ragi(Whole)/Finger Millet - 1 cup

Urad dal - 1/4 cup

Methi seeds - 1 tsp

Cooked rice - 2 tbsp

Method

Wash the ragi,urad dal and methi till the water runs clear.

Soak for 2-3 hours.

In a mixer jar add the saoked and drained ragi,urad dal,methi along with rice and grind to a smooth batter adding enough water.

Ferment the batter overnight or for 8-10 hours.

Add salt to taste and loosen the batter if required with water to make dosa.

Heat a cast iron pan and make dosa with ghee.Don't skip the ghee as it helps to absorbs nutrients in the millets.

Step by Step Pictorial

Wash the ragi,urad dal and methi till the water runs clear.

Soak for 2-3 hours.

In a mixer jar add the saoked and drained ragi,urad dal,methi along with rice and grind to a smooth batter adding enough water.

Ferment the batter overnight or for 8-10 hours.

Add salt to taste and loosen the batter if required with water to make dosa.

Heat a cast iron pan and make dosa with ghee.Don't skip the ghee as it helps to absorbs nutrients in the millets.

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How to Roast Red Chillies | Kitchen Basics

During my initial days of cooking,while writing down recipes given by my MIL,I always wondered about the ingredient - roasted red chillies.At home,amma added red chillies as is to the coconut and made masala.But most recipes from South Canara(Mangalore side) used chillies in the roasted form.

MIL always has a big container of roasted chillies ready to be added to make chutney or any coconut based masala required for most of the curries in our cuisine.Initially,I roasted the required amount of chillies and used but that was tedious.So I started doing this.It is not actually a recipe or such.Just a method to keep the chillies roasted and ready to be used.

I use a mix of regular red chillies and Byadgi chillies.It gives the required spice and a lovely colour to the curry.You could use either chillies or a mix of both like how I am doing.

In a kadai add a couple of Tbsp of coconut oil and 

roast the byadgi chillies for about 5 minutes.

Then mix in the regular chillies 

and roast further for 10-15 minutes.The chillies become crisp and break when you crush it.That is the stage when you should switch off the kadai and let it cool down completely.Store in an airtight container.

Here are some recipes which use the roasted red chillies

Kellya Koddel

Palak and Vegetables Ambat

Alambe Saung

Ambya Gojju

Karaate Saglen

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Onion Tomato Chutney | Chutney Recipes

I absolutely love the fiery red chutney which accompanies dosa/idli in South Indian restaurants.Somehow I never tried it at home since Ajay only prefers coconut chutney.Even at home,amma always made chutney with coconut.But I badly wanted to try making the red chutney so I asked Selvi,my house help if she knows to make it.This is her recipe and believe me,it's awesome.

Most recipes call for either Onions or Tomatoes but this one uses both.I like to pair it with idli mostly because the heat of the chutney perfectly balances the bland taste of the idli.It tastes delicious with Ghee Dosa too.

Onion Tomato Chutney

Ingredients

Oil - 2 tsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 4-5,depending on your heat preference
Onion - 1,sliced
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Tomatoes - 3 medium,chopped
Salt to taste
Jaggery - a small piece,about a tsp

Method

In a kadai add oil and saute channa dal till golden brown.
Add the chillies and saute for a minute.
Remove the dal and chillies and keep aside.
In the same pan add onions and curry leaves and saute till the colour changes to golden brown(about 5 minutes on low-medium flame).
Mix in the tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes soften and become pulpy(about 5 minutes).
Switch off the flame and add salt to taste and jaggery.
Grind to a slightly coarse paste in the mixer jar - the consistency of the chutney depends on your preference.I like it not to be too smooth with a bit of texture.
You can serve it as is or add a tadka of mustard seeds and curry leaves in oil.

Step by step Method

In a kadai add oil and 

saute channa dal 

till golden brown.

Add the chillies and saute for a minute.

Remove the dal and chillies and keep aside.

In the same pan add onions and curry leaves and saute till the colour changes to golden brown

(about 5 minutes on low-medium flame).

Mix in the tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes soften and become pulpy

(about 5 minutes).

Switch off the flame and add salt to taste and jaggery.

Grind to a slightly coarse paste in the mixer jar - the consistency of the chutney depends on your preference.I like it not to be too smooth with a bit of texture.

You can serve it as is or add a tadka of mustard seeds and curry leaves in oil.

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