A hearty and earthy mixture of elephant yam and black garbanzo with roasted coconut makes up for this Kadala Koottu Curry that is an integral ingredient of Kerala Sadya.
It is amazing how in spite of having lived in Kerala for most of my life, I did not know about this curry called Kadala Koottu Curry or for that matter any form of koottu curry that is served for sadyas, until very recently.
My husbands family is from a different part of Kerala – Palakkad and live in Kochi right now. When they visited us last month, my mother-in-law and I got to talking about food and she told me about this Kadala Koottu Curry that she has had at weddings in Kochi. Naturally, I got curious and wanted to make it. She told me the recipe and I made it one day for lunch. Even though it looks kinda fancy, it was actually a pretty easy curry to make!
And I also learnt that in Palakkad there is a different version of Koottu Curry that is made with Kadala Parippu or Chana Dal. That is now on my list to learn from her.
Sadya Kadala Koottu Curry
A hearty and earthy mixture of elephant yam and black garbanzo with roasted coconut makes up for this Kadala Koottu Curry that is an integral ingredient of Kerala Sadya.
Ingredients
- 1 cup elephant yam cubed
- 1/2 cup cooked black garbanzo beans
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp red chilie powder / cayenne
- 2 cups water
To grind together
- 1/2 cup grated coconut I use freshly frozen
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp black pepper corns
- 3 dried red chillies
- salt to taste
For tempering:
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 5 curry leaves
- 2 tbsp grated coconut
Instructions
Cook the elephant yam, black garbanzo beans, turmeric and red chilie powder along with the water till the yam is cooked and easily mushed.
Grind together the coconut, black pepper corns, cumin and red chilies together to a fine paste.
Add this paste to the cooked yam and beans along with some salt. Cook for a few minutes till the raw smell of coconut and spices goes away.
Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds to it. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves. Pour it over the koottu curry.
Dry roast the 2 tbsp grated coconut till nice and brown. Add this on top of the curry as well and mix it in just before serving.
Super