Kadala Curry | Kerala Style Black Chickpeas Curry

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

Kadala Curry is a famous and traditional dish in Kerala and Southern Part of TamilNadu. Kadala curry is generally served with Appam, a healthy breakfast and also with Kuzhal Puttu. A best accompaniment for both Appam and kuzhal puttu. This curry is made with black chickpeas cooked in an aroma rich coconut spice gravy. Kadala curry is usually served with Kuzhal Puttu or Appam. The conventional method of making this curry is first soaking chickpeas and then cooking the chickpeas. Cooked chickpeas is then then tossed into onion-tomato-coconut gravy.

This Kadala curry is much different than the NorthIndian Style Chole masala. Here the main uniqueness is the freshly ground coconut spice paste. Kerala Cuisine is always rich with coconut flavor. This kadala curry also has a rich flavor of coconut which makes the curry extremely delicious and a perfect accompaniment for not only Appam or puttu but also for Idli/dosa, Idiappam and even for Roti!

Table of Contents

Tips for making Kadala Curry:

Conventionally black chickpeas (Kala channa) is used to make this curry but if you don't have you can use white chickpeas too.
Soak the chickpeas atleast for 8-12 hours so it gets cooked nicely in pressure cooker within 4-5 whistles. If you are in a hurry or forgot to soak, then soak in hot water for 2 hours and then cook the chickpeas with a pinch of baking soda.
The cooked chickpeas has some water left, do not discard the water. The cooked chickpeas water gives a nice color to the curry. So we can use the water to dilute the curry.
The onion-tomato masala which we prepare can be ground to puree. Grinding the masala gives the curry a smooth texture without bits of onion-tomato getting stuck in teeth.
Instead of grinding coconut spice paste, we can add dry spice powders and add coconut milk.
Use coconut oil for tempering and frying grinding ingredients. Coconut oil gives an authentic taste.

You may also want to try:

Kerala Style Stew : otato Stew is a very easy and simple dish of Kerala that goes well with Appam, Poori, Chapathi, Puttu, Idiyappam, or even with plain bread.
Appam : a popular breakfast dish in Kerala made using rice flour. It's very soft and it's usually served with cocunut milk / /
Kuzhal Puttu : one of the popular and conventional breakfast in Kerala. It is made of steamed cylinders of ground rice layered with coconut shavings, sometimes with a sweet or savory filling on the inside. Kerala Puttu is served hot with sweet side dishes such as palm sugar or banana, or with curries such as dal, chickpea or papad
Mor Curry : Moru Charu/ Kaachiya Moru / Pullisseri is a simple and tasty traditional recipe from Kerala, India. It is a mild spicy curry with yogurt and some spices.
Parippu Curry : a typical Kerala dish. It's one of the main dishes in Onasadhya (Onam Sadhya menu). Kerala's unique version of this curry is elevated with addition of spiced coconut mixture. It's usually served with rice and ghee.

Recipe Card for making Kadala Curry

INSTRUCTIONS WITH STEP BY STEP PICTURES:

Wash and soak the chole overnight or atleast for 12 hours. It is advisable to soak the chole overnight then only it would be cooked nicely.

After 12 hours, drain the water from chole, add fresh water just to soak the chole and add salt and pressure cook it allowing for 5-6 whistles.

While the chole is getting cooked in cooker, lets prepare our curry paste. Heat oil in a pan and add all the grinding ingredients other than grated coconut and roast them in oil till they turn dark brown color. Take these roasted ingredients in a mixer Jar.

Then add the grated coconut to the pan and roast the coconut till it turns golden brown.

Take this roasted coconut to the mixer. Allow the grinding ingredients to cool off.

Grind everything to a smooth paste.

Now heat the pan and add oil. When the oil is hot add chopped ginger and garlic and saute them for couple of minutes.

Then add finely chopped onions along with a pinch of salt and saute them till they turn translucent.

Add chopped tomatoes and mix well.

To this now add turmeric powder, coriander and red chilli powder and allow the tomatoes to cook till they are mushy.

Cover & cook so the tomatoes get cooked nicely.

When the tomatoes are cooked nicely and becomes mushy, remove this masala from flame.

Open the pressure cooker and check if the chole is cooked. Do not discard the cooked water. We can use it for our masala.To the cooked chole, add the onion-tomato masala. Give a good stir.

Again cook the chole with the onion-tomato masala in pressure cooker for 1 whistle. This step is optional, but the onion-tomato masala gets nicely combined with the chole if you again allow for a whistle in pressure cooker.