Kadala Kuzhambu–Chickpeas Gravy - Pondicherry

Come and travel with me to the beautiful coastal territory of Pondicherry. It is an Union Territory consisting of four unconnected districts of Pondicherry, Karaikkal, Yanam and Mahe. The city of Puducherry is divided into two sections – The French quarter and the Indian quarter. From Wiki – “Many streets retain French names, and French-style villas are a common sight. In the French quarter, the buildings are typically colonial style with long compounds and stately walls. The Indian quarter consists of houses lined with verandas and with large doors and grills. These French and Indian style houses are preserved from destruction by an organisation named INTACH. The French language can still be seen and heard in Puducherry.” From mapsofindia – “The French and the Indo style have given birth to an innovative taste that is simply marvelous. The influence of the neighboring areas like Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala is also visible. The concoction of the various kinds of cuisines is something to be savored and relished” Coming to today’s recipe it is a kuzhambu made with garbanzo beans. You could also used peanuts instead of garbanzo beans.. You will not need to soak the groundnuts overnight. Just pressure cook it and use it. Kuzhambu and sambar varieties are part of our daily food. There are many varieties and variations. Each of them very comforting and lip smacking.. Eat them with rice and you can call it a meal.. A delicious kuzhambu which is tangy and lip smacking.. I got this recipe from here and loved it..

Ingredients

Chickpeas / Garbanzo Beans - 1/2 cup
Onion - 2 (chopped)
Tomato - 2 (chopped)
Tamarind - 1 Lemon sized
Garlic - 6 cloves
Red Chili Powder - 1 tea spoon
Coriander Powder - 1 tea spoon
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tea spoon
Red Chili - 1
Curry Leaves - 10
Salt - 1/4 tea spoon + 1 tea spoon
Sesame Oil - 3 table spoons
Coconut - 1/4 cup (grated)
Small Onions - 10
Green Chili - 1
Turmeric - 1/2 tea spoon

Method

Soak the chickpeas in warm water overnight.
Pressure cook the chickpeas with 1/4 tea spoon salt until well done
Drain excess water and set aside
Soak the tamarind in 2 cups of warm water
Sauté the small onions for a few minutes and set aside to cool
Grind together the small onions and coconut to a paste and set aside
Extract pulp from tamarind and set aside

Heat oil in a kadai and allow the mustard seeds to crackle
Add fenugreek seeds and red chili
Add curry leaves, slit cut green chili, onions and salt
Sauté until the onions are clear
Add the tomatoes and sauté for 2 minutes

Add the tamarind water and bring it to a rolling boil
Add the turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder
Add asafetida and mix well
Bring it to a boil
Add the garbanzo beans and cook for 5 minutes
Add the grinded paste and cook for 3 minutes
Remove from heat and serve hot with rice

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 39

An InLinkz Link-up