Kadala Curry With Roasted Coconut (Easy Kerala Chickpea Curry)
Very popular and delicious South Indian Kerala style chickpea curry (Kerala style chana masala or chole masala with coconut) or kadala curry for puttu, appam, chapathi, poori or rice, made using vella kadala or white chickpeas or garbanzo beans in a gravy of roasted coconut and exotic spices. You may adjust the spice levels based on your preferences.In this easy kadala curry recipe, I used spice powders to make the masala. You can use whole spices instead by adjusting the amount accordingly to make it in a more traditional way which will be even more delicious.
Servings 8
Calories 325kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry chickpeas
- 2 cups coconut grated or shredded
- 1 small sized onion finely chopped
- 5 cups water (plus more water for soaking chickpeas)
- ½ teaspoon salt adjust as needed
- 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
- 2 teaspoons crushed ginger
Spice Powders
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 4 tablespoons coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon curry powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds powder
For seasoning
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 string curry leaves
- 5 dry red chilies
Instructions
To prepare the chickpeas
- Wash the chickpeas and soak it in some water overnight or you can soak this for 7 to 8 hours at least.
- Once the soaking is done, drain the water, lightly wash the chickpeas and keep it aside.
To roast the masala ingredients
- Heat a pan, dry roast the grated coconut in low heat, keep stirring so it won't get burnt at the bottom of the pan.
- As you are roasting the coconut, add all the spices to the coconut in the pan, and roast for another few minutes or until the coconut is very well roasted. The coconut turns dark brown in color and become quite oily, but make sure it is not getting burnt in the pan. The roasted coconut (which looks brown now) along with the roasted spices gives a nice exotic aroma.
To Prepare The Masala
- Now let us grind the mixture of roasted coconut & spices in a food processor. We are grinding the mixture without any water here, so just don't use the water yet. However if really needed, you may add a little water to make the grinding easier.
To Make The Kerala Chickpea Curry (Kadala Curry)
- Heat oil in the pressure cooker (make sure to use a large sized pressure cooker which is enough to hold the cooked contents) and let us make the seasoning first. You may also add the seasoning at last instead of preparing it in the beginning, but making this ahead makes things more easier so I am doing it this way here but you can always make it at last and pour it over the dish which will look more appealing. So let us do the seasoning now.
- As the oil in the pressure cooker is heated enough, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the red chilies and curry leaves and fry for a few seconds.
- Add the garlic and ginger, fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the finely sliced onion and fry for few minutes until the onion slices are browned (or turn transparent in color).
- Now add the chickpeas (which is already drained and water content is removed) gently to the oil. You can use a long handled spatula to transfer the chickpeas gently to the hot oil without splashing the oil.
- Mix the chickpeas with the seasoning and saute for few seconds.
- Now add the prepared masala of roasted coconut & spices mix (which is made to a paste in by dry grinding the mix) to the chickpeas saute for another few seconds.
- Add the salt and water, mix everything well. Now this is ready to be cooked.
- Close the pressure cooker with the lid. Make sure you have put the safety valve and followed all guide lines in the manual as this is important for safety reasons while using a pressure cooker.
- Cook in medium heat for about 4 to 5 whistles or about 12 minutes in medium heat once the steam begins to come. Chickpeas need more time to get soft and cooked compare to most other small sized lentils.
- After 12 minutes of cooking, you can switch off the stove, and wait for the pressure cooker to cool down.
- Once the pressure cooker is cooled enough, you can open the lid and see if the chickpeas are cooked and soft.
- Mix well the contents, simmer for couple of minutes if needed and the delicious chickpeas curry which is ready to serve now!
Notes
You can serve the hot and delicious chickpeas curry with rice for lunch or use this as a side dish for flatbreads like chapati or use it with popular Kerala style breakfasts like puttu or appam or whatever dish you like!
Nutrition
Calories: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 175mg | Potassium: 640mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 350IU | Vitamin C: 49mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 4.6mg