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Kerala Kadala curry served with puttu

Kerala Kadala curry/Kari

This spicy and coconut-y Kerala Kadala curry is the perfect accompaniment to steamed rice based dishes.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 8 hours
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 25 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

Chickpeas/Kadala

  • 1 cup/ 180g dry black chickpeas baby brown chickpeas or kala chana
  • 1 tea bag for dark colour optional

Coconut paste

  • 2½ cups water
  • ¾ cup coconut pieces or ½ cup grated coconut, sub with coconut milk or desiccated coconut

Kadala curry Base

  • ⅓ cup chopped shallots if available, use pearl onions
  • 1 inch ginger finely chopped
  • 1 or 2 green chilies or serrano peppers chopped
  • A bunch curry leaves about 10
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp red chili powder to taste
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 to 2 cups water or the black chickpea water
  • salt to taste

Kerala Garam Masala (makes about 3 times this recipe)

  • 5 thin strands of mace
  • 2 inch cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 6 cloves
  • 1/4 tsp grated/ground nutmeg

Instructions
 

Chickpeas

  • Pressure cook (overnight) soaked chickpeas with salt, tea bag and 6-8 cups water until tender.

Kerala Garam Masala

  • Dry roast the Kerala Garam Masala spices till aromatic. Very slightly, do not let it burn!
  • Grind them in a coffee grinder or a mortar pestle and store in a small air tight jar.

Coconut Paste

  • Add coconuts to a blender with just enough water to blend it smooth. Set aside.

Kadala Curry

  • Heat coconut oil in a pan.
  • Add mustard seeds and let them pop.
  • Add chopped shallots. Stir and saute for a minute.
  • Then add the aromatics- ginger, chopped green chilies, curry leaves and saute till the shallots turn light brown.
  • Then add ground spices- red chili powder, coriander powder, black pepper and 1 tsp of the Kerala garam masala.
  • Saute for a minute on low heat.
  • Then add the ground coconut paste and mix well. Saute for about 5 minutes on a low heat.
  • Add the cooked black chickpeas (Kadala) and the chickpea water and stir.
  • Season with the salt and cook kadala until you get the right consistency.
  • Serve kadala curry hot with puttu, like I did here or with dosa (recipe on the blog) or rice.

Notes

  • Sub black chickpeas with white chickpeas or any other beans you have
  • Scaled this recipe as per your needs (make smaller or bigger batch).
  • Sub fresh coconut with coconut milk, frozen coconut or unsweetened desiccated coconut.
  • If cooking chickpeas in a pot, add the soaked chickpeas to 3 cups water in a pot and the salt. Cover and bring the water to a boil. Cook on medium to till they are tender.
Keyword Chickpea curry, Kadala, Kadala curry, Kerala recipe
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