Kadala (Black gram) Curry

I bet kadala curry is one of the most common accompaniment found in a Kerala breakfast fare. It goes very well with puttu, appam, idiyappam, pathiri and lots more. Its a very tasty and a healthy curry filled with the proteins of black gram or black chana. Every one will have their own style of making this curry and the below one is how I make at home.

Ingredients:

• Black gram 200 gm or 1 cup
• Salt to taste
• Onion 1 medium
• Tomato 1 medium
• Grated Coconut 1/3 – 1/2 cup
• Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli powder 2 tsp
• Coriander powder 3 tsp
• Pepper corns 8-10
• Mustard seeds 1 tsp
• Curry leaves 2-3 sprigs
• Shallots 5-6
• Refined oil 1-2 tbsp

Method:

• Wash and soak the black gram or chana for atleast 6-7 hours or overnight.
• Pressure cook it along with turmeric powder and salt till it is cooked well.
• Slice the onion finely and chop the tomatoes. Cut the shallots into thin rings and keep these aside.
• Heat oil in a kadhai and add the pepper corns and few curry leaves in it. Saute the onion slices till they are light brown in colour.

• Add the grated coconut and fry on a low to medium flame till it is roasted uniformly and is nice brown in colour. This step is very important. Do it with lot of patience.

• Add the chilli powder and coriander powder and switch off the flame. Stir well so that the masala doesn’t burn.

• Allow the masala to cool well. Grind it into a fine paste in a mixer . You can add a tablespoon of the cooked chana while grinding the masala to get a nice thicker  gravy.

• Add the ground masala to the cooked chana and mix well. Boil it till all the masala gets cooked well and mixes with the chana. Check and add salt if required.
• Heat remaining oil in a kadhai and add mustard seeds to it. When they crackle add curry leaves and shallots. Fry till they are golden in colour.
  

• Add it to the gravy and mix. Close the lid and let the flavour of the tempering infuse into the gravy.

Notes:

• One can add cinnamon, cardamom and cloves too while cooking the black gram or during the final tempering.