Pakoda Kulambhu

Most of you know that we group of friends started an event Tamizhar Samayal Tuesday and showcasing the traditional and authentic recipes of Tamilnadu on 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month.
As today is the 2nd Tuesday I am sharing a delicious kulambhu with pakoda which is quite popular in Southern part of Tamilnadu.
This pakoda kulambhu can be made  with the pakodas made out of gram flour or ground channa dhal,but we prefer to make it the later version.
This is my grandmothers signature recipe and she used the stone mortar to grind the channa dal and fry the pakodas in coconut oil.Here I used the regular cooking oil and fried the pakodas,lets move into the recipe................

Basic Information

Soaking Time ~ 2 hours
Preparation Time ~ 20 minutes
Cooking Time ~ 40 minutes
Serves ~ 3-4

Ingredients

For the Kulambhu/gravy

Ingredient	Quantity
Onion(finely chopped)	1no.(medium size)
Tomato(finely chopped)	2no.(medium size)
Garlic/poondu(finely chopped)	3cloves
Green chilly/pachamilagai	3(slit)
Red chilly powder/milagai podi	11/2tsp
Coriander powder/dhaniyapodi	2tsp
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	1/8tsp
Salt	to taste
Curry leaves/karivepillai	few leaves
Coriander leaves(chopped)	1tbs
Oil	11/2tbs

Grind to a fine paste

Ingredient	Quantity
Coconut(grated)	1/4cup
Fennel seeds	1/2tsp
Poppy seeds/kasakasa	1/2tsp
Roasted gram dhal/pottukadalai	1tsp

For the tempering

Cloves/lavangam	5
Cinnamon/pattai	1inch piece
Star anise	2 petals
Bay leaves	1
Fennel seeds/sombu	1/4tsp

For the Pakodas

Ingredient	Quantity
Channa dhal/kadalai paruppu	1/2cup
Ginger/inji	1/2 inch
Red Chilly	4-5nos.
Fennel seeds/sombhu	1tsp
Salt	to taste
Coriander leaves(chopped)	1tbs
Oil	for frying

Method

• Soak the dhal in water for 2 hours and grind it along with the red chilly,fennel seeds and garlic along with salt to a coarse paste without adding water.Sprinkle water if needed.
• Add the chopped coriander leaves and mix it well,heat a pan with oil and take a handful of ground batter and sprinkle it roughly in the hot oil.
• Cook it golden and no need to fry till it becomes crispy.Remove it and drain it on a paper towel and keep it aside.

Kulambhu/Gravy

• Grind the given ingredients given to grind to a very fine paste and set it aside.Now heat a pan with oil do the tempering with the ingredients.
• Add in the curry leaves and garlic,onion,green chilly,saute it with a pinch of  salt.Once the onion becomes translucent add the chopped tomato,cook it till mushy.
• Now add the spice powders and the ground paste,mix it well,add around 3-31/2cups of water and salt,let it boil till the raw smell disappears.
• Add the fried pakodas to the gravy and let it boil for a minute,sprinkle the coriander leaves and put off the flame.
• Serve it after 15 -20 minutes.

Serve it with white rice and pappad.

Enjoy................................................

• The gravy should be slightly watery otherwise the pakodas absorb the gravy.
• If you feel the gravy becomes too thick after adding the pakodas add hot water with a pinch of salt and adjust it.
• After adding the pakodas don't stir it,just one boil is enough.
• If the tanginess is not enough add a tsp of lemon juice to the gravy.

This recipe is off to Tamilar Samaya Tuesday.