Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu (Urundai Kulambu Recipe)
Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu is a traditional South Indian kuzhambu recipe made with toor dal, chana dal, onions and tomatoes. Delicate dal balls also known as paruppu urundai is cooked in a tamarind coconut gravy. This kuzhambu is one of the most popular recipe in the Iyengar community along with Ennai kathirikai kulambu. In this recipe post I have shared 2 version of making paruppu urundai kuzhambu, authentic version (using onions and tomatoes) and my mom's recipe which uses coconut gravy base. Learn how to make paruppu urundai kuzhambu with step by step pictures and video.
Ingredients
For Paruppu Urundai
- ½ cup Toor Dal
- ½ cup Chana Dal
- 1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds
- 3 Garlic
- 2 Dry Red Chillies
- 1 medium Onions chopped finely
- ¼ cup Coriander Leaves chopped finely
- 2 sprig Curry leaves chopped finely
- Salt to taste
For Tempering
- 3 tablespoon Gingelly Oil
- 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Urad dal
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon Asafoetida
- 1 Dry Red Chilli
- 2 sprig Curry leaves
For Kuzhambu
- 1 large Onion chopped finely
- 2 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
- 2 slit Green Chilli
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 2 large Tomato chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- 2 tablespoon Coriander Powder
- 1 gooseberry size Tamarind
- Water
- 2 teaspoon Jaggery
- Salt to taste
For Grinding
- 1 cup Fresh Coconut
- 1 tablespoon Roasted Gram Dal (pottu kadalai)
Instructions
Pre-preparation
- Take dals in a bowl and wash it 2 to 3 times. Soak dals for 2 to 3 hours.
- Take tamarind in a bowl, cover with 1 cup of water and let it soak for 10 minutes. Squeeze tamarind with water, strain the pulp and set aside.
- Take coconut and roasted gram dal in a blender and make into a smooth paste. Set aside.
Making Paruppu Urundai
- Soak toor dal for 2 hours, strain the dals. Take dal in a blender, add in fennel seeds, garlic and dry red chillies. Grind all ingredients given for dumplings into a coarse paste. Don't add water when grinding.
- Take the ground paste in a bowl. Add in onions, coriander leaves, curry leaves and salt. Mix well. Form small balls out of it and arrange it in a steamer plate which is lined with a clean muslin cloth. Steam this for 8 to 10 minutes until cooked through. Remove this and set aside until ready to use.
For Making Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu
- Heat oil in a wide pan. Add in tempering spices and let them sizzle for a minute. Add in chopped onions, sprinkle some salt and turmeric powder and saute for 2 to 3 minutes till light golden.
- Add in ginger garlic paste and green chillies and saute for a minute. Add in tomatoes and saute for 3 to 4 minutes until it gets mushy. Add in kashmiri chilli powder, coriander powder and saute for a minute.
- Add in tamarind water, some more water and mix well. Season with salt and bring this to a boil.
- Once the mixture boils, drop the steamed dumplings in this. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Add in coconut paste and mix well. Season with extra salt and jaggery and cook on medium flame for 10 minutes until oil floats on top.
- Switch off the flame and let it stand for 30 mins so that the flavours will mingle together. Serve hot with rice.
Notes
- The kuzhambu should be made little thin because the dal balls will absorb some of the liquid as they cook also it thickens when the gravy cools down.
- Adjust tamarind, salt and jaggery as per your taste.
- You can use more green chillies if you want it spicy.
- Make sure you finely chop onions and tomatoes which form the base of the gravy.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingsCalories: 267kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 8gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 46mgPotassium: 409mgFiber: 10gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1217IUVitamin C: 72mgCalcium: 91mgIron: 3mg
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