Friday, May 25, 2007

Parrupu Urundai Kuzhambu

This is one of my favorites. It might look like a kofta curry, but this is totally different. It is toor dal balls cooked in a tangy tamarind sauce. It goes well with plain rice. There is another version called paruppu urundai mor kuzhambu. Will post about that later.

Meanwhile, I just wanted to share my experiences on making this gravy. The first time I did this curry, I dropped the dal balls directly in the boiling gravy and it came out well. But the second time it was a total flop. All the balls broke and I ended up in one single mess. After doing it frequently I have now mastered the art of doing it right. So, if you wish to give this gravy a try I strongly recommend you to steam the toor dal balls for a 10 minutes and then add to the gravy. Slowly as you gain confidence you can add the dal balls directly.

Ingredients:

Toor Dhal – 1 cup
onion- 1/2 (finely chopped)
Sambar Powder – 1 tsp
corriander leaves- 3 tbsp
Salt – 2 teaspoon

Mustard – 1 teaspoon
urad dal -1/4 tsp
small onions – 10 chopped finely
tomato- 1 small
Curry leaves – few
tamarind- 2 spoons
sambar powder- 1 heaped tbsp
coconut- 1/4 cup(grind to a paste)

Method:

Soak toor dal in water for about 2 hours. Wash the dal and drain out the water completely. Put it in a mixie and grind to a thick coarse paste (as you do for vadai). Add ½ teaspoon salt, sambar powder, a pinch of turmeric powder, chopped onions, one tablespoon coconut gratings and few curry leaves chopped to the dal paste. Mix well. Make a small lemon size balls. Set aside.
Heat oil in kadai and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal. Then add onions and curry leaves. After sometime add tomatoes and fry till soft. Add the tamarind paste and sambar powder. Add 3 cups water. Bring to boil. When it starts boiling, add two to three dhal balls and reduce to heat to medium. Allow to boil. When it starts boiling again, then add three more balls. Again wait for the Kuzhambu to start boiling. Add three more balls and finish all the balls like this. Once you finished all the dal urundais, gently turn them with a spoon. Keep the flame to low. Add ground coconut to the boiling kuzhambu.

Note: This is the authentic way of doing this gravy. If the dal balls gets cooked directly in the kuzhambu itself then the tamarind juice enters the balls and gives a special taste.

Check out my friend's viji's version too: Viji's

One more thing, I might go to India by june 10th to attend my SIL's marriage. Will keep you guys posted.
Till then, try this curry friends and have a great weekend!!!!

13 comments:

FH said...

Kribha,have fun in India,sounds great.June 10th is still long time away.Keep blogging until then:))
Lovely recipe,I will try it.Looks delicious.Have a great weekend too.

Anonymous said...

This I have to try...it looks so good, and thanks for the steaming tip, I am sure I would have had a mess on my hands otherwise.

Have a lovely weekend....and you're going to India? well, have fun at the wedding!
trupti

Richa said...

yeah does look like kofta, kribha!
this sounds like an exciting dish to try and as u mentioned will steam it first :) gravy has a pretty color to it. i guess u will be busy shopping for ur trip this wknd ;)

Pravs said...

Is this the tamil version of the kofta ? looks good.
Good to see a new recipe every day...keep posting till you go to india. Meanwhile have a great weekend. :D

Aruna said...

Kribha, Wish I could enoy that lovely curry with u :-(

Looks great!!!!

மதி கந்தசாமி (Mathy Kandasamy) said...

Oh. it looks so yummy. shall be going thru your blog trying various dishes.

Have a great time in India Kribha.

-Mathy

Suganya said...

Hay this sounds new to me... Never tried this before. I think i am going to try this. Nice pictures..

Viji said...

Have a nice trip and the dish is great. Viji

Suma Gandlur said...

Yummy. Thanks for sharing. I have noticed this dish on several blogs and I was not sure how the balls remained intact.

Sia said...

south indian version of koftas:) love it and drooling here

Kribha said...

Dear Asha,
Yes,I'm excited about the India trip. It's been 2 years. Hoping to have a nice time.
Glad you liked the recipe. Hope you give it a try.

Dear Trupti,
The first time I made this dish it came out well. The second time I don't know what mistake I did. All the balls broke. After that atleast the next 5 times I did this curry, I steamed the dal balls and then added to the gravy. You cannot go wrong this way.Try it, you will surely like it.

Dear Pravs,
You can call it as 'tamil version of kofta'. But it has no cream in it. It is tangy and spicy. Try it when you find time.
I wish to keep blogging until I go to India. But the problem is, oflate I'm not spending any time in the kitchen at all. Hope to get back the spirit of cooking.

Dear Aruna,
Please come over anytime. I'll be glad to make it for you.

Hi Mathy,
Thanks dear.Glad to have you here again. Please keep visiting.

Hi Sukanya,
Try it when you find time. I'm sure you will like it.

Hi Viji,
Thanks dear. I saw the same recipe in your blog too. Will link it with mine. Hope that's ok with you.

Dear Suma,
Many people don't steam it. They add it directly to the gravy. But 'steaming' can help first-timers.

Dear Sia,
I'm happy that you liked it. Try it sometime.

Sharmi said...

this looks very yummy. will want to try out. I have heard of it but never had the recipe. hope its not a lengthy process.

Kribha said...

Dear Sharmi,
Glad you liked it. Any dish when you try it for the first time it will be a little time-consuming. Once you do it, next time it will be a breeze. Hope you try it. Good luck.