Growing up, all the breakfast dishes at my house fell into one category - Spicy! Dosa + chutney, idli + sambar, puttu + kadala, appam + egg curry, kappa + fish curry, poori + chicken curry, the list goes on…  Don’t think I grew up in a weird family, these are the typical breakfast dishes of a Malayali.

But after moving to US, breakfast- if it ever happens- is normally cereal or yogurt. My body doesn’t even need breakfast anymore, the two cups of coffee I have in the morning can normally sustain me till lunch. Siv and I are used to eating when we are hungry. Sometimes dinner is at 7:00 PM, sometimes it is at 10:00. But now, my parents are here, and everything is on a timetable. 8:00 am breakfast, 1 PM lunch and 8:00 PM dinner, hungry or not. It is good to eat a nice heavy breakfast, I tend to eat a light lunch, and have much more energy throughout the day. The only issue is that my poor body will have to relearn the breakfast-free diet after three months, since I know I am not going to stick to the habit after they leave. But I am enjoying while I can.

Normally I don’t get time to photograph the breakfast dishes Amma makes before I leave to work. But I’ve been meaning to blog the Kadala curry recipe for a while now, since it is one of my favorite dishes. Puttu and Kadala curry is a common breakfast item in Kerala. Puttu is a dish made of rice flour and fresh coconut, steamed in special puttu makers, tubes made of bamboo. I wanted to link to a puttu recipe and did a search and looks like all the popular mallu blogs have a recipe for Puttu. Check some out here.    

Kadala is Malayalam for Black Chickpea, also known as Bengal gram or Kala Chana in Hindi. Most of the puttu recipes are accompanied by a kadala curry recipe as well, but everyone has their own version of this popular dish. Here is my mom’s version.  

Ingredients

Method

Mix the soaked kadala with sliced onions and turmeric powder. Add water to cover the kadala and cook till soft (or pressure cook for about 15 minutes).

In a shallow pan, heat oil and add cardamom, cloves, star anise & black pepper seeds and fry for a minute or two.

Add coconut and fry till brown.

Add red chilli powder & coriander powder and fry on low heat till brown.

Dry grind the fried ingredients in a spice grinder. The oil from the coconut will help form a smooth paste of all the ground ingredients.

Add this paste along with salt to the cooked kadala. If there isn’t enough water in the kadala, add a cup or two and mix well. Bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes till the gravy is thick.

To garnish, heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When the seeds start to splutter add shallots, curry leaves and red chilly and saute till brown. Pour this over the cooked kadala.

Serve hot with puttu or appam or steamed rice.

This is my entry for WBB #12, the popular Weekend Breakfast Blogging event started by my favorite celebrity blogger Nandita of Saffron Trail. The host this month’s WBB is another celebrity, Trupti from The Spice Who Loved Me. She picked the theme Spice It Up! for this month, and with all those spices in this curry, how can I not send this one?

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Comments

37 Responses to “Spicing It Up with Kadala Curry”

  1. Coffee on June 21st, 2007 6:18 am

    All your mothers recipes are coming on your blog!! :) Kadala curry sounds like a great accompaniment to breakfast. :)

  2. Roopa on June 21st, 2007 7:13 am

    wow thats great now we can see some traditional dishes also. kadala curry looks great combo for puttu i need to buy the puttu press yet.

  3. Anita on June 21st, 2007 8:41 am

    I asked a fried to lug a cast-iron appe pan for me - should have asked her to throw in a puttu steamer as well - dang!

    But I’m going to make the kadala curry - I will get to use my purchase of star anise in a stellar dish. Horsepower! (I think kala chana is also called horse gram, isn’t it?)

  4. sra on June 21st, 2007 9:25 am

    Cereal or kadala, don’t forgo breakfast, Sig, it helps your metabolism - from someone who started eating breakfast only a couple of years ago

  5. Sia on June 21st, 2007 9:30 am

    i second sra. EAT breakfast sweetie:)
    yayyyyyyy…now i get to learn (hopefully;) many kerala veggie dishes. puttu and kadla curry is one of my fav dish ever since i tried it for the 1st time. just last week i got a chance to visit a mallu shop i have seen puttu maker. we got frozen puttu and kadla curry and had it for lunch(yeah, lunch:) thanks to ur mom for kadala curry sig. i am gonna buy that puttu maker and gonna make puttu and kadala curry pretty soon:)

  6. indosungod on June 21st, 2007 11:10 am

    Sig, I would have taken the day off to eat a breakfast like that. It needs to be relished.

  7. trupti on June 21st, 2007 11:38 am

    HI Sig,

    this is one item I would love to try…..those Chanas would keep me going till evening, I bet!
    thank you for your entry. ;)

    trupti

  8. Richa on June 21st, 2007 12:37 pm

    timetable.. LOL! u echo’d my thoughts there, was on a strict & yummy timetable when my mom & dad were here :) ur mom’s version of kadala looks so thick & tasty, what a filling breakfast! Enjoy….

  9. bee on June 21st, 2007 1:07 pm

    you lucky lucky gal. never seen star anise in kadala before. am till looking for the perfect kadala recipe. have bookmarked this one.

  10. Asha on June 21st, 2007 1:10 pm

    YAY!! I have collected many Kadala curry from many Kerala bloggers so far.Thanks for your’s too.I have to buy that Puttu maker though.I love ti try try Puttu.Looks YUM!!

  11. Mishmash ! on June 21st, 2007 2:05 pm

    Sig, I am also like one of the many who re used to light breakfast/or no breakfast at all….and I had a tough time eating up this heavy breakfast when my parents used to come and stay with us…and my hubby is like, he feels heavy and sleepy after a full Bf :) See how much the cereal companies have done to us! u enjoy ur puttu and kadala and let me grab a bowl of cereal:)

    Shn

  12. Sharmi on June 21st, 2007 2:06 pm

    it is my family favorite. we have it as our weekend brunch. puttu/ kadala curry is my childhood favorite.

  13. smdatta on June 21st, 2007 2:24 pm

    Saw the puttu and the kadala curry in several blogs recently. I think its a much loved kerala dish.
    Get pampered by your Mom as long as she is here :)

  14. Sandeepa on June 21st, 2007 2:29 pm

    Wow Sig, you are having lovely meals with Mom here :) I had seen this Kadala curry on several blogs but now I know “why the name”

  15. musical on June 21st, 2007 6:54 pm

    Sig, now this is a royal b’fast, dear. i love kadala curry with puttu. it reminds me so much of my dear friend who would loving make this for me…..

    he, he and somehow, i prefer spicy b’fasts too :)).

    Love this post and that picture, just so tempting and inviting! its lunch time here and now i have a new craving!!

  16. Ramya's Mane Adige on June 21st, 2007 7:21 pm

    Wow!!! it looks so delicious!! Your puttu looks gr8 too.. I Just love it!

  17. Suganya on June 21st, 2007 8:19 pm

    Grrr. Sometimes I get frustrated looking at the bland oatmeal or cereal. While I long for those spicy bfast treats, you gal, enjoy while you can..

  18. Viji on June 21st, 2007 9:38 pm

    The kadala curry looks really tempting.Love to have breakfast if somebody there to cook for me :-))

  19. Bharathy on June 22nd, 2007 4:06 am

    Hooof sig with at last a veggie breakfast.(who had been tempting me lately too much with her non veg feasts!!).puttum kadalayum…even this makes me home sick ,again!!:)

  20. Sig on June 22nd, 2007 4:54 am

    Coffee, yeah three months I am just the taster at home, my mom has taken over the kitchen :)

    roopa, yep, it is going to be a real mallu blog for three months now :)

    Anita, puttu steamer is really not necessary, any steamer would work, it won’t look like puttu thats all, will taste the same. Actually my mom makes it in a coconut shell too… I am sure someone has documented the process :). Horsegram is the green chana I think, different from bengal gram, which is dark brown.

    Sra, yeah I know I should… :( its just so hectic, I am not a morning person, so I program my coffee maker in the nite, get up , grab my cuppa and a serial bar and dash to work every morning… may be I will stick to this new routine after my parents leave…

    Sup, :) frozen puttu is what I used to have too, before my mom got here… it is not too bad actually… since kadala curry is so easy to make, I make that fresh. IMO, making puttu is not worth all the effort :)

  21. Sig on June 22nd, 2007 5:01 am

    Indo, lol… then I should just stay home… everyday it is something heavy these days…

    Trupti, thanks for this event… looking forward to the roundup.

    Richa, :) isn’t it funny with the strict timetable? Sometimes even when they are hungry they will wait for 1:00 ‘o clock to have lunch.

    Bee, star anise is her new addition… I think she just used the spices that she could lay her hands on :) let me know if you ever succeed in your quest :)

    Asha, :) puttu will be so simple for an expert chef like you. Enjoy your vacation.

  22. Sig on June 22nd, 2007 5:16 am

    Shn, :) i totally know what you mean. Initially I had a tough time too… I gradually worked my way up from having just one idli to the puttu and kadala… :)

    Sharmi, so you are a puttu kadala fan… it is perfect for a weekend brunch.

    smdatta, welcome… thanks for dropping by!

    Sandeepa, it is sometimes easy to forget that there are others who won’t know an ingredient by the same name … :) Kadala is so close to our hearts, so it feels weird explaining what it is… :)

    Musie, I thought you will like this. :) … have you gone back into napping mode? :)

    Ramya, thanks.

    Suganya. yep I am enjoying it while I can… after that it is back to cereal :)

    viji :) you are so right, it is easy to eat right if there is someone to cook for you :)

    Bharathy, :) yep lot more vegetables at my home these days

  23. Jyothsna on June 22nd, 2007 5:47 am

    My earlier comment got lost! Puttu and kadala look yummy! This is lunch/dinner for us, as hubby says he’ll fall asleep if he has a heavy bfast!!

  24. sunita on June 22nd, 2007 9:42 am

    Sig, make hay while the sun shines…make the most out of your folk’s stay by gorging on all those delicacies which are dear to your heart…after all, there’s nothing beter than eating out of amma’s hand…

    btw, you mentioned that puttu is made of rice and coconut and then steamed…is it ground rice?…we too make something similar with ground rice and dessicated coconut which is then placed on the lids of a kettle(with broad lids) and wrapped in a light cloth. The lid is replaced like that and steamed over that kettle.

  25. USHA on June 22nd, 2007 11:59 am

    Hey Sig…Lucky man..enjoying mother’s recipes..huh!!!

    Kadal Curry looks tempting..i like that Kuzha puttu side….convey our thanks to mom…Enjoy your days…

  26. Cynthia on June 22nd, 2007 3:55 pm

    Aha! Mommy spoiling you :) Enjoy my friend.

  27. mallugirl on June 22nd, 2007 6:24 pm

    sig..nice photo!!!i know.. i too tend to eat more with mom around.and on time too!and u are right.. no time to photograph coz everything is ready when i come back!

  28. Sheela on June 22nd, 2007 8:25 pm

    Sig, I am with indosungod - such a breakfast cannot be hurried :-)

    and, when my mom takes over the kitchen during her visit, photos are nearly impossible - i rush home, gobble it all down and then have the lightbulb moment of ‘Oh! I should post this!’

  29. Dilip on June 22nd, 2007 9:17 pm

    great recipe….looks fantastic…thanks for sharing

  30. Dumela on June 23rd, 2007 5:16 pm

    my puttu recipe sometimes comes ok, and sometimes flops… there’s something im not doing right… wud love to read how yur mum makes em… the pic looks so nice!

  31. Amy on June 23rd, 2007 5:52 pm

    What a delicious looking breakfast! Must be great to wake up to a warm breakfast. :D I’m looking forward to seeing all the delish things your mom makes!

  32. Manisha on June 23rd, 2007 8:53 pm

    Is that a perfect puttu or what?! Thanks for another version of kadala curry. I’m hooked!

    And I echo what everyone said about breakfast. I am not a morning or breakfast person either. Of course if someone was serving me puttu or dosa or idli, I would happily chomp into it! But I know what you mean and I sympathize and empathize and everythingize with you. But breakfast is the most important meal of the day even though we tend to put dinner in the spotlight. Dinner should typically be the lightest meal.

    Enjoy your Mom’s cooking while she’s here. Bask in it, I say! Before she goes, have her make stuff and freeze it in small portions. If you can’t eat it before you head out, warm it and eat it as soon as you get to work. All this is easier said than done. But it is worth the effort!

    Hugs to you!

  33. Sig on June 25th, 2007 2:50 am

    Jyo, thanks for coming back :) blogger does that to certain people ;) yeah this wouldnormally be brunch for us too, but days are longer now.

    Sunita, yes it is rice flour. And the way you describe the dish, it sounds exactly like puttu, just a different shape and technique, but might taste the same… small world , I mean small country huh? :)

    Usha, thanks :)

    Cynthia,thanks :), and thanks for the recipe… I will email you soon.

    Shaheen, lol… yeah, I get back from work hungry and then attack the dishes.. photography is always an afterthought and by then it is too late :)

    Sheela, thats exactly how I am too… Now I just tell my mom she has to make a particular dish again and remind me to take a pic before I eat… she is sooo happy to do that… she is enjoying the fame :D

    Dilip thanks :)

    Dumela, She doesn’t do anything special, I will try and post a step-by-step puttu recipe soon.

    Amy, :) it sure is nice to wake up to warm food everyday… getting spoiled though.

    Manisha, :) yeah, sounds like a great idea… but you know how it is… may be a month, and then back to old habits :( this time I am definitely going to try and stick to the eating on time routine… lets see how it goes…

  34. shilpa(aayisrecipes) on June 25th, 2007 3:04 am

    Its one of my dreams to eat puttu atleast once before I die :). I have heard so much about it but never got a chance to try it. The kadala curry looks absolutely yumm….Looks like you are getting all delicious home cooked food these days. Enjoy…

  35. lakshmi on October 17th, 2007 4:02 am

    Came here via Raaga’s - this is one of the few vegetarian dishes from Kerala that I like

    Oh really? You don’t like other Kerala veg items? We have some nice dishes you know, Aviyal, Kalan, Olan etc… :)

  36. Venkatesh Iyer on January 10th, 2008 8:22 pm

    We usually have Puttu along with Kadalai Curry on Sundays. It is very tasty. We will try your recipe.

  37. MeMeMe on February 17th, 2008 6:07 pm

    :sealed:
    I tried out this recipe and it didn’t turn out as expected..
    :???:

    Sorry to hear that mememe… Can you be a little more specific as to what went wrong? May be I can offer some suggestions?

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