Pakoda Kuzhambu Recipe

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Pakoda Kuzhambu is one of the popular and tasty kuzhambu variety in Chettinad Cuisine. Bengal gram dal with spices and onions are made into yummy and crispy pakodas which are then added to tangy and masala rich kuzhambu. A very mouth-watering kuzhambu variety which has to be mixed with hot steaming rice. Any stir-fry veggie would be a nice combination, but personally, I like serving this yummy kuzhambu with papad / fryums. We can also make pakodas like we normally do with gram flour, rice flour, onion and spices. But making pakodas with channa dal would be much crispier and tastier than using flour. We can make the kuzhambu and pakoda in parallel which will make the whole process easier and quicker. Now, lets see how to make this yummy Pakoda Kuzhambu..

Tips for making Pakoda Kuzhambu Recipe:

Soak the dal atleast for 2 hours. Grind the dal coarsely. We can keep 1 handful of soaked dal aside and add it later to coarsely ground dal. This will ensure the pakoras are crispier.
While deep frying, keep the flame low and cook the pakoda til they are crispy.
Poppy seeds gives a nutty flavor, if you don’t have it, you can substitute with cashews.
If you are going to serve the kuzhambu later, then add the pakodas just 15 minutes before serving.

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Recipe card for Pakoda Kuzhambu Recipe:

Pakoda Kuzhambu

Course Kuzhambu

Cuisine Chettinad, Indian, Tamilnadu

Prep Time 2 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Soaking Time 2 hours

Total Time 3 hours

Servings people

Calories 42kcal

Author Sowmya Venkatachalam

Ingredients

Ingredients for Pakoda

½ cup Split Bengal Gram (Channa Dal / Kadalaparuppu) 1 Cup - 250ml
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
2 nos Red Chili
1 inch Ginger
1 clove Garlic
¼ cup Coriander Leaves
1 no Onion finely chopped
½ tsp Salt Adjust As Needed
2 Cups Oil For Deep Frying

For Kuzhambu

1 small Lemon Size Tamarind
1 no Onion Finely Chopped
1 chopped Tomato
1 slit Green Chilli
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tbsp Sambar Powder
1 tsp Salt Adjust As Needed

For Grinding

¼ cup Grated Coconut
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Poppy Seeds

For Tempering

1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 no Bay Leaf
1 inch Cinnamon (Pattai)
2 nos Cloves (Krambu / Lavang)

Instructions

Soaking Dal for Pakoda

Soak the channa dal in water for about 2 hours. After 2 hours, drain the water from channa dal and add the channa dal to the mixer along with garlic, ginger, red chilli, chopped coriander leaves, fennel seeds and salt.

Grinding Process

Grind them all to a coarse paste. Coarsely ground pakoda mixture will be crisper than the smooth mixture. So make sure you grind it coarsely. Take the coarsely ground pakoda mixture to the bowl and add chopped onions.

Frying Pakoda

Mix the onions and pakoda mixture well. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying the pakodas. When the oil is hot, take small quantities of pakoda mixture and drop them in oil.
Deep fry the pakodas till they are crispier and turns golden brown color. Remove the fried pakados and place it in a bowl having tissue paper to drain the excess oil. Repeat the step for and fry the rest of pakodas. Now our pakodas are ready. Set them aside. Lets prepare the kuzhambu next.

Soaking Tamarind

Soak the tamarind in water and extract the juice.

Tempering

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds and fennel seeds. When the mustard seeds starts to sputter, add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and fry for few seconds. Then, add finely chopped ginger and garlic and fry them for 10 seconds. Next, add finely chopped onions.

Saute Onion-Tomato

Saute the onions till they are translucent. Then add finely chopped tomatoes to the pan. Along with the tomatoes, add the slit green chilli, coriander powder, sambar powder and give a good mix.

Boiling Tamarind

Keep the flame in medium and allow the onion-tomato mixture to get cooked nicely. Next, add the tamarind water along with salt and mix well. Allow the tamarind mixture to boil for 5 minutes to get rid off the raw smell of the tamarind extract.

Grinding Coconut

Meanwhile, take the grated coconut, poppy seeds and cumin seeds in a mixer and grind them to a nice paste by adding water. Set this aside till the tamarind mixture gets nicely cooked.

Adding Coconut Paste to Kuzhambu

When the raw smell of the tamarind goes off, add the coconut paste and give a good stir. Adjust the consistency of the kuzhambu if needed by adding water. Finally add the deep fried pakodas and allow the kuzhambu to boil for 2 minutes and garnish with coriander leaves. Switch off the flame. If you are going to serve the kuzhambu later, then add the pakodas just 15 minutes before serving.

Serving Time!

Serve the Yummy Pakoda Kuzhambu with hot steaming rice and enjoy the chettinad style Pakoda Kuzhambu!!!

Nutrition

Serving: 20g | Calories: 42kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g

Instructions with step by step Pictures:

Soak the channa dal in water for about 2 hours. After 2 hours, drain the water from channa dal and add the channa dal to the mixer along with garlic, ginger, red chilli, chopped coriander leaves, fennel seeds and salt

Grind them all to a coarse paste. Coarsely ground pakoda mixture will be crisper than the smooth mixture. So make sure you grind it coarsely. Take the coarsely ground pakoda mixture to the bowl and add chopped onions.

Mix the onions and pakoda mixture well. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying the pakodas. When the oil is hot, take small quantities of pakoda mixture and drop them in oil,

Deep fry the pakodas till they are crispier and turns golden brown color. Remove the fried pakados and place it in a bowl having tissue paper to drain the excess oil. Repeat the step for and fry the rest of pakodas. Now our pakodas are ready. Set them aside. Lets prepare the kuzhambu next.

Instructions for making Kuzhambu:

Soak the tamarind in water and extract the juice

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds and fennel seeds. When the mustard seeds starts to sputter, add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and fry for few seconds. Then, add finely chopped ginger and garlic and fry them for 10 seconds. Next, add finely chopped onions,

Saute the onions till they are translucent. Then add finely chopped tomatoes to the pan. Along with the tomatoes, add the slit green chilli, coriander powder, sambar powder and give a good mix.

Keep the flame in medium and allow the onion-tomato mixture to get cooked nicely. Next, add the tamarind water along with salt and mix well. Allow the tamarind mixture to boil for 5 minutes to get rid off the raw smell of the tamarind extract.

Meanwhile, take the grated coconut, poppy seeds and cumin seeds in a mixer and grind them to a nice paste by adding water. Set this aside till the tamarind mixture gets nicely cooked

When the raw smell of the tamarind goes off, add the coconut paste and give a good stir. Adjust the consistency of the kuzhambu if needed by adding water. Finally add the deep fried pakodas and allow the kuzhambu to boil for 2 minutes and garnish with coriander leaves. Switch off the flame. If you are going to serve the kuzhambu later, then add the pakodas just 15 minutes before serving.

Serve the Yummy Pakoda Kuzhambu with hot steaming rice and enjoy the chettinad style Pakoda Kuzhambu!!!