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Chickpea curry serving

Traditional Kerala Kadala Curry Recipe

A traditional South Indian dish from Kerala, Kadala Curry is a flavorful black chickpea curry best enjoyed with puttu, appam, dosa, or steamed rice. This dish combines roasted coconut with aromatic spices to create a rich and creamy texture, making it a staple in Kerala cuisine.
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Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: Kerala Kadala Curry
Servings: 4
Author: Chef Yogi

Ingredients

Kadala Curry Paste

  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • ½ cup grated coconut
  • 8 no shallots sliced peeled
  • 6 no garlic cloves peeled
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tbsp coriander powder
  • 1½ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp black pepper powder
  • ¼ cup water for blending

Black Chickpeas

  • 2 cup raw black chickpeas
  • 2.5 to 3 cups water
  • 1 tsp Salt to taste

Kadala Curry

  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • 3 no dried red chilies
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 2 no onions finely chopped medium size
  • 1 no tomato pure large size
  • ½ tsp garam masala

Instructions

Kadala Curry Paste

  • Heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in a pan over medium heat.
    Heating coconut oil
  • Add shallots and garlic, sauté until fragrant.
    Sautéing shallots and garlic
  • Add grated coconut and dry roast until golden brown.
    Roasting grated coconut
  • Stir in fennel seeds and roast until aromatic.
    Roasting fennel seeds
  • Add coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric, and black pepper powder. Mix well.
    Adding spice powders
  • Let the mixture cool before blending it with ¼ cup water into a smooth paste.
    Blending spice mixture

Kerala Kadala Curry

  • In a bowl, soak black chickpea for 8 - 10hrs. Drain the soaked chickpeas and rinse them well.
    Black chickpeas soaking
  • Add chickpeas, water, and salt to a pressure cooker.
    Chickpeas in pressure cooker
  • Pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles or until soft. Set aside with the cooking water.
    Cooked soft black chickpeas
  • Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a pan over medium heat.
    Heating coconut oil pan
  • Add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
    Spluttering mustard seeds
  • Toss in dried red chilies and curry leaves, sauté briefly.
    Sautéing chilies and curry leaves
  • Add chopped onions and sauté until golden brown.
    Sautéing chopped onions
  • Add tomatoes pure simmered until oil releases
    Cooking tomato puree
  • Stir in the prepared masala paste and garam masala. Cook for 2–3 minutes until oil separates.
    Cooking masala paste
  • Pour in the cooked chickpeas along with their cooking water.
    Adding cooked chickpeas
  • Simmer for 5–7 minutes, allowing the flavors to blend. Turn off the heat
    Simmering chickpea curry
  • Serve hot with puttu, appam, dosa, or steamed rice.
    Chickpea curry serving
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