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Spicy Tangy kadala curry(Brown chickpea curry)

It's January and the weather is pretty rough here. It is hitting 35 degrees F. In such cold weather, all I want to do every day is to eat something hot, watch tv and stay indoors. I got pretty bored of souping to combat this weather and  I badly missed the spicy kara/puli kulambu a sour curry that my mother used to make.
Okay, that is sour and definitely spicy and hot... But I also need to include some nutrients in my meal(especially am after protein ).  I opened my fridge thinking to make some vegetable stew and that's when the pre-soaked brown chickpeas caught my attention.
Tada, decided to make the traditional kadala curry from Kerala with the coconut paste and other spices. But, my mind was so obsessively filled with puli kulambu, that I ended up making this tangy chickpea curry
Read on for the recipe details

Ingredients :

  •  Brown chickpeas - 1 cup soaked for a minimum of 8 hours 
  •  Shallots/pearl onion(small ones) - (8-10) or a medium sized onion 
  • Tomato - 1 medium 
  • Salt - 1 tsp or as needed; turmeric - half a tsp or a pinch
  • Chilli powder - 1 tsp or more as needed
  • Coriander powder - 2 1/2 tbsp 
  • Instead of chili and coriander, can use sambar/curry powder spice mix appropriately
  • Sesame oil - 2 tbsp 
  • Garlic - 1 whole or 10 pods 
  • Lime sized tamarind soaked in warm water or a half a tsp of thick tamarind paste 
  • Jaggery - 1 tsp or more as needed
  • Fenugreek - 1 tsp

Instructions :

  • Pressure cook the soaked to brown chickpeas for around 10 whistles. If you have soaked for less time, increase the no of whistles
  • Meanwhile, cut the onion, tomato into small pieces; Soak the tamarind in little  warm water
  •  Once the chickpeas are cooked, and pressure settled, transfer the chickpea filtering the water to another bowl
  • In the same cooker, add 2 tbsp of sesame oil, add the fenugreek(vendhayam) when oil is hot.
  • Once the fenugreek starts browning, add the onions, garlic, and cook for a couple of minutes until it becomes translucent.
  • Now add the tomato and saute for 2 minutes.
  • Add the spice powders, salt, turmeric mentioned, and give it a quick stir. 
  • Add the cooked chickpea and a cup of water.
  • It is optional to add the tamarind paste at this point. I usually add towards the end. 
  • close the cooker and let it cook for 3-4 whistles. I like the onion to be cooked, but not very mushy. You can cook for 2 more whistles if you want the onion and tomato completely mushy and blended with the gravy. 
  • Once pressure settled, open the cooker, add the tamarind and the jaggery and curry leaves and simmer briefly.
  • My tolerance to chili spice is a bit less and used less amount of chili powder.  you can vary the ratio per your likings and taste buds. 
This recipe serves 2 and took around 20 minutes in total.

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