Today I have my mom’s easy peasy Kadala curry recipe for you all. This is especially dedicated to bachelors and newbies in cooking. I have already posted varutharacha kadala curry and an easy kadala curry recipe in the blog but this recipe is easier when compared to those two but still tastes good! It is a one-pot process, requires no ginger-garlic and there is almost no cooking involved. The pressure cooker does the job for you. I just love such quick and tasty dishes. It goes very well with puttu / idiyappam or even chapathis. Here goes the recipe..
Ingredients (Serves 5)
1. Black chana / kadala / black garbanzo beans – 1.5 cups (Soaked in enough water for 8 – 10 hours and drained)
2. Coconut oil – 1.5 – 2 tbsp
3. Mustard seeds – 3/4 tsp
Dried red chilly – 1 (optional)
4. Onion – 2 – 2.5 cups, thinly sliced
Green chilly – 1, slit (optional)
Curry leaves – A few
5. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Chilly powder – 1 tsp (I used 1/2 tsp regular medium spicy chilli powder + 1/2 tsp good quality kashmiri chilly powder)
Coriander powder – 3/4 tsp
Pepper powder – 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder – 1 tsp (Recipe below)
6. Salt – To taste
Method
1. Heat coconut oil in a 4 or 5 liter pressure cooker at medium-high heat. Splutter mustard seeds and fry dried red chilly. Add onion, green chilly and stir for a few minutes until transparent. Add drained black chana, hot water (around 1.5 cup or as required), 1/2 tsp salt, turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Mix everything well. Check for salt. Water should be in the same level as that of chana. Cover with the cooker lid. Cook for 5 – 6 whistles. Switch off.
2. Open the cooker after 15 minutes. Remove 1/4 cup chana to the small jar of a mixie and grind well. Add this to the cooked chana along with salt, to taste. Bring to a boil and cook for 6 – 8 minutes until thickened over medium-low flame. Add 1/4 tsp garam masala powder, 1/4 tsp pepper powder, curry leaves and 1 tsp coconut oil. It will thicken further over time. Serve hot with appam / idiyappam etc.
Recipe for Garam Masala (Yield – Around 2 – 2.5 tbsp)
- Fennel Seeds (Perumjeerakam ) – 2 tbsp
- Cloves (Grambu) – 10 – 12
- Cinnamon stick (Karuvapatta) – 1 inch piece
- Cardamom (Elaikka) – 5 – 6
- Star anise (Thakkolam) – 1 (optional)
- Whole pepper (Kurumulaku) – 1/2 tsp
- Poppy seeds (Kus Kus) – 1 tsp (optional)
Dry roast all the ingredients lightly in a pan at low heat for about 10 – 15 seconds (dry-roasting is optional). When they cool down, grind to a powder (not very fine) in a coffee grinder. Store in an airtight container. It will be flavorful even if you do not dry roast them.
Hi Maya,
This kadala curry looks delicious! I definitely want to try it sometime. Question – Do you use a standard american cup (8 oz.) for this recipe (and all the others)?
It seems like a lot of onions to me, but maybe that is the because it is the main flavor of curry? Do you use an Instant Pot? I wonder if the recipe can be adapted to cook faster in an Instant Pot.
Thanks for the recipe.
Yeah i use a standard american cup (235 ml) for all my recipes. I used the large costco onion for this recipe, you can use a medium-sized onion if you prefer. I dont use an Instant pot. Hope you like this recipe…do let me know if you have any other questions.
Maya, you are AWESOME!!! I just made this kadala curry and it is the best one I have ever cooked!!! THANK YOU SOOooo MUCH! I was craving for some putt/Kadala , tried the daily delight frozen ones a couple of time which was quite good but ran out of it today and was searching the blogosphere for some easy recipes. Your recipe is a keeper!! Way better than the daily delight one. I’m gonna freeze some curry tonight for future cravings.
Maya, Your directions are so easy to follow . I did not grind the ingredients for the Garam Masala, just eyeballed some cardamoms, cloves, star anise and fennel to fit in a teaspoon . Had ground peppper – so no time lost on making the masala.
Never knew the trick of grinding kadala to make the curry thick and creamy – that’s so cool! It transforms a watery plain curry to a thicker yummier version.
Maya, I am your fan! I have seen updating your blog consistently , and I admire your for your culinary talents and self discipline. Wish I could emulate that in my life as well.
Warm regards,
Deepthi
Thank you so much for writing, Deepthi..You made my day!! Really great to hear that you enjoyed this dish. Hope you get to try more of my recipes. Do let me know if you have any questions. Thanks again for your feedback!
Tried it for lunch today and it was sooo delicious. I made a full pressure cooker and my hubby finished almost half of it even though he’s hard core non veg :)). I loved how it gives the taste of madam without too much effort. Love you Maya. You are such an inspiration.
Really happy to read this..Thank you so much for your kind words dear!! 🙂