Chettinad Veg Kola Urundai Kuzhambu.
Tamilnadu Chettinad Style Veg Kola Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu recipe. Lentil kofta curry.
Urundai kuzhmabu / Lentil dumplings curry is a very traditional Tamilnadu dish served for lunch in the weddings, during celebration times and festival days. I have already shared a variation of this Urundai kuzhmabu curry here. The juicy Urundai kuzhmabu dumplings soaked in tamarind gravy makes lunch divine. Here is how to do Urundai kuzhmabu.
Lets do dumplings for Chettinad Veg Kola Urundai Kuzhambu. Soak 3/4 cup toor dal in water for 30 minutes. Drain the water and add fennel seeds (sombu), cumin seeds, salt, dry red chillies and green chillies. Grind it in a blender / mixie without adding any water. Do not add water while grinding. There might be one or two lentil grains that might be left whole while grinding. That is perfectly fine. After grinding, transfer the dal mixture to a cup and add in the finely chopped onions and coriander leaves. Mix well.
Mix everything well to combine. Make little dumpling balls from the mixture for Urundai kuzhmabu. Place the dumplings on an oiled idli plate. I use the mini idli plate. it works really well. Now, we need to steam the dumplings. Steam the dumplings in an idli vessel for 20 minutes. Set aside.
Lets make the masala for Chettinad Veg Kola Urundai Kuzhambu. Heat oil in a kadai / pan until hot. Add some fennel seeds (sombu), cumin seeds, coriander seeds (dhania) and curry leaves. Let the seeds splutter. Add in the onions and the garlic. Fry well until brown.
Once the onions and garlic is cooked and brown, add in the tomatoes and the salt.
Fry till the tomatoes are cooked and juiced down. Add in fresh shredded coconut and fry briefly for a minute. Remove off heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Grind the mixture to a fine paste. Add a cup of water while grinding to achieve smooth consistency. Set aside. This is a fine masala paste for Chettinad Veg Kola Urundai Kuzhambu.
Soak half a lemon size tamarind in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Once the tamarind has been soaked, squeeze it between the fingers to release all the juices. Strain the juice and set aside.
Heat oil in a kadai / pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds, fennel seeds (sombu) and curry leaves. Fry till the mustard seeds splutter and the curry leaves crisp up. Add in the tamarind juice and let it come to a boil. Add in the turmeric powder and sambar powder. Let it boil for 5 minutes. Add in the ground masala paste and simmer for 10 minutes on low flame. Check for seasoning. Add little water if the Chettinad Veg Kola Urundai Kuzhambu gravy is too thick.
Add in the cooked dumplings and let it boil on low flame for 5 minutes. Remove off heat. Chettinad Veg Kola Urundai Kuzhambu is ready.
Serve Chettinad Veg Kola Urundai Kuzhambu with rice.
Here is a printable recipe for Chettinad Veg Kola Urundai Kuzhambu.
PrintChettinad Veg Kola Urundai Kuzhambu
Tamilnadu Chettinad Style Veg Kola Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu recipe. Lentil kofta curry. Measurements Used – 1 cup = 250 ml , 1 teaspoon = 5 ml
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
For the Dumplings
- 3/4 cup toor dal
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (sombu)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 dry red chilly
- 2 green chillies.
- 1 Onion, finely chopped
- 6–7 sprigs coriander leaves, finely chopped
For the Ground Masala Paste
- 2 tablespoon peanut Oil
- 2 teaspoon fennel seeds (sombu)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoon coriander seeds (dhania)
- 2 sprigs curry leaves.
- 2 medium sized onions
- 12 cloves garlic
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup fresh shredded coconut
For the Tempering
- Half a lemon size tamarind
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil (gingely , nalla ennai)
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds (sombu)
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon sambar powder
Instructions
- Soak 3/4 cup toor dal in water for 30 minutes. Drain the water and add fennel seeds (sombu), cumin seeds, salt, dry red chillies and green chillies. Grind it in a blender / mixie without adding any water. After grinding, transfer the dal mixture to a cup and add in finely chopped onions and coriander leaves. Mix well. Make little dumpling balls from the mixture. Steam the dumplings in an idli vessel for 20 minutes. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a kadai / pan until hot. Add some fennel seeds (sombu), cumin seeds, coriander seeds (dhania) and curry leaves. Let the seeds splutter. Add in the onions and the garlic. Fry well until brown. Once the onions and garlic is cooked and brown, add in the tomatoes and the salt. Fry till the tomatoes are cooked and juiced down. Add in fresh shredded coconut and fry briefly for a minute. Remove off heat and set aside to cool slightly. Grind the mixture to a fine paste. Add a cup of water while grinding to achieve smooth consistency. Set aside.
- Soak half a lemon size tamarind in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Once the tamarind has been soaked, squeeze it between the fingers to release all the juices. Strain the juice and set aside.
- Heat oil in a kadai / pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds, fennel seeds (sombu) and curry leaves. Fry till the mustard seeds splutter and the curry leaves crisp up. Add in the tamarind juice and let it come to a boil. Add in the turmeric powder and sambar powder. Let it boil for 5 minutes. Add in the ground masala paste and simmer for 10 minutes on low flame. Check for seasoning.
- Add in the cooked dumplings and let it boil on low flame for 5 minutes. Remove off heat. Serve hot with rice.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Gravy
- Cuisine: South Indian
You are a Godsend! Love all your recipes! Ty again for sharing your art and delicious meals by the way of your amazing posts! My mom & my great grandma were raving about a lady’s cooking show in India. Later, I realized it was your segment!!! And I wasn’t surprised! You are one of the fine cooks without an iota of doubt! Luv and hugs
Thank you so much.
Your cooking method is so tasteful, can you share pasav briyani
Hi Suguna Mam,
what can I use instead of Sambar powder? Thank you…
Hello mam iam watching your recipes from November,I tried cholam idly it comes very nice and today I saw kaju burfi in that can we use jaggery instead of sugar
I have never tried with Jaggery Nagalakshmi. Sorry about that.
Dear sugu sis.,
Vanakkam. Made urundai kulambu for first time. But the lentil balls are not tat soft. I won’t say it’s hard. But the texture we usually expect was not attained. My mom directly puts the lentil balls in kulambu(a little watery) and simmer it till it’s cooked and by that time kulambu becomes thick. And the lentil balls would be really soft, juicy and retain it’s shape too.I am afraid to adopt tat recipe as the lentil balls may break as I am a beginner. Your recipe always always works good. And almost every time I get the finished product as shown in your pictures. So pl guide ,where I went wrong?
Try soaking the dals for a longer time Andal. And of course the urundais dropped and cooked in the gravy is more tasty but a small mistake will make the urundai to dissolve in the gravy. So thats the thing.
I tried out this recipe. Comes out very well. Yummy taste. Thank you so much for posting such nice recipes.
Thanks Durga.
Too good. Reminds me those days when mom used to make this for me. Thanks
Thank you!
I love ur method of cooking this curry will try today n let u kn how my family liked.
Sure Rashmi.
I made this one and it was superb ,, I would call it as the best urundai kuzhambu, I have ever tasted in my life ,,
Thank you so much. Glad you liked the recipe! Happy Cooking!
How different is this from the vada curry? A recipeof vadacurry would be useful too
Can we use channa dal(kadalai paruppu) instead of tuvar dal..
Check this variation
http://www.kannammacooks.com/paruppu-urundai-kuzhambu-lentil-dumplings-curry/
Which dal is to use? The hard kadalai paruppu or the other paruppu which we used to make saambar
Toor dal , thuvaram paruppu used for sambar.
Very nice recipes. I love south Indian food. Thank you.
Yesterday night only i came across your site and the way you have explained and presented the recipies are really good 🙂 I just made this dish for lunch Suguna. DELICIOUS!!
Thank you for giving us the wonderful recipie.
Thank you so much for writing in Priya. I am really really happy that the Chettinad Veg Kola Urundai Kuzhambu -Kulambu came out delicious. Keep visiting!
I have heard of this kola kuzhambu for ever now. I think it’s about time I make it the recipe sounds so delicious
Thank you.