Yet another entry for IDFP…celebrating our country’s pride…This recipe reminds me of Madras. The quaint old city where ancient traditions rub shoulder with modern landscape. Madras has a magic of its own, with its beautiful beaches, numerous temples, conservative outlook, lively people, the much notorious ‘Madras Bashai’ and the omnipresent heat and humidity. Madras is very dear to me, has a special place in my heart and has been a part of me starting from my parents..
My dear aunt Kanchana (mom’s sister) lives in Madras and her home has been my holiday getaway, as far as my memory goes. The shopping sprees, walks down the beaches and the hilarious situations arising when four girls get together on a busy Ranganathan street evoke peels of laughter even now.
Ah…good old Madras…This post isn’t enough to talk of its granduer. I will save it for another day.
The recipe which I made today is Appala Kozhambu.. A unique blend of appalams (Urad dal wafers) and channa dal. To the recipe now..
Recipe Source: My Mom
Ingredients:
Appalams – 6
Onion – 1/2 of a big onion
Tomato – 1 big
Garlic – 3 to 4 big flakes
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Channa dal – 3 fistfuls
Mustard seeds – 1 Teaspoon
Urad Dal – 1 Teaspoon
Saunf – 1/2 Teaspoon
Chilli Powder – 2 Teaspoons
Dhaniya Powder – 2 Teaspoons
Turmeric – A pinch
Salt – As per taste
Oil – 1 Tablespoon
Soak channa dal in water for some time and pressure cook till soft. Fry appalams and keep aside. Chop onion and tomato to small cubes. Crush garlic and ginger.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dal, saunf and curry leaves. After the mustard seeds splutter, add onion, ginger and garlic. Fry till light brown. Add tomato, chilli powder, turmeric, dhaniya powder and salt. Fry till the tomato is almost cooked. Add the channa dal and cook on a medium heat till a semi liquid consistency is reached. Break each appalam into 3 or 4 pieces and add to the curry. Simmer on a low heat for 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves.
Hi- appala kuzhambu is made differently in my family. It is just adding fried or roasted applams to vathal kuzhambu. But your recipe sounds good, the images evoked from your description is all very nostalgia-inducing…
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Appalam means urad daal papad? Can you please show a picture of them? Where can we get them?Well..its a very nice recipe. I had heard my mom saying about papad gravy, it has coconut in it (well..there is no food without coconut for Konkanis). Great entry for the event.
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We too make appala kuzhambu just like Mika’s . Must try you version too. The pictures are beautiful as usual.
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I havent heard of appala kozhumbu. i would love to try new varities of kozhambu as iam bored with the very few kozhambu i make. thanks for the recipe. btw ur words abt madras are very true. iam basically from madras and love that place. whereever we are in the world we can never forget the place we grew up.. good old memories.
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I have never heard if this recipe, sounds mouth watering!
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Your curries always look so splendid, colorful and homely !!! This recipe is totally new to me. Thank you, will try this one out. What a nice entry for the event.
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Hi Chandrika,I tasted this Kozhambu,Now I learnt this recipe from you, thanks for sharing.
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Like Mika has said we too add appalam to our vatral kuzhambu. This one is new to me. Thanks for sharing
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Hi – The colors of this dish look gorgeous – makes me crave some carbs, or even just a spoon to dig in!!Thanks for sharing.
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Papad curry yumm! I have tried curries with vadiyams before but not with papad.
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Hi..First time here. Really liked your blog. Very good recipes and colorful photos. Like shilpa i also don’t know about urad dal pappad. We made the same type of curry with pumpkin vadiyalu. Also liked your dosakaya-royyala curry. Thankyou.
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Mika, Priya, Shankari, Krithika, Krishnaarjun, MenuToday : Thanks a lot… this recipe is different from the usual..Do try it out..Thanks a bunch Shilpa, appalam is urad dal papad…U can get them at any Indian grocery store..I haven’t taken a snap of the papads, but found an image on the Net..The link is http://jsiyengaar.tripod.com/.. I will take a snap and post it for u soon….Thank you for your kind words, Archana…Welcome Sudha and thank you…Thanks Monisha…Shall I send some across? 🙂Prema, I will be posting a lot more curries soon, hope they will be useful to you…I miss Madras a lot…:-)
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Very interesting recipe. 1st time hearing bout it. Thanx for sharing.
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this looks and sounds wonderful! great to make when you have no other veggies on hand. cheers!
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Chandrika,I have never heard of this before.. Wouldnt the papad go soggy?Just curious as to how it will taste
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Raji,The papad does get soggy, but doesn’t lose its shape. It blends well with the dal and the tomatoes.
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My mom used to make something like this which we call pappada curry…bt I had forgotten the ingredients…I think now I can try your recipe…u hv got a good collection of recipes…
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Hi, I like curries… especially chicken curry, it is my favorite. I will try this one.Ciao.
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I’m used to Appalam vaththa kuzhambu, I’ll try out your version soon. BTW, you haven’t listed tamarind. Other than Porichcha kozhambu, I didn’t know we could skip tamarind.
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it was so easy to make and so tasty ..my husband usually is very picky in trying new foods, but he liked this dish so much..thanks..
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Chandrika,
This is my first time to your blog….ended up here searching for stuffed brinjal curry on google ;-)….was going thru all your recipes and wasnt planning to leave a message until I was thru with all but my god!!the appalam vathakuzhambu and Madras,maan!! i sooooo miss my grandmom(thanks to the recipe) and my hometown too…You’ve done and are doing a great job…Happy new year!!!! Its really nice to see soooo many people posting recipes and lovely blogs…Which part of TN are you from? Keep up the good work and plssss start writing your book soon 😉 it would be a pleasure to read….I really enjoy the way you put your ideas across…Virgos are the best!!! 😀
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Chandrika, I have a few lijat papads, I can use them right? Do I have to fry them? How about I just saute them to a golden brown or microwave them?? I’ve become very health-conscious these days and I can’t afford to eat fried foods often..well, once in a while is fine though. 🙂Vee
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Aarthi,Thank you for your very kind words. I am from Vellore, near Madras. And I am very happy that you like my blog. Thank you once again…Keep visiting often!
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Vee, you can use the Lijat Papads. Fry them or microwave them. Roasting them on a pan is not recommended. I totally agree with you…We need a break from healthy stuff once in a while! 🙂
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Hi i tried ur appala kuzhambu and it came out very well.thks soo much.Nice blog.keep it up.
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Hi, I made this appala kozhambu and it came out really well. Its been years since I have tasted this one. Thanks a lot! This is one of best websites I’ve ever come across searching for recipes. Good work! Keep it up!
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Hi, I made this appala kozhambu and it came out really well. Its been years since I have tasted this one. Thanks a lot! This is one of best websites I’ve ever come across searching for recipes. Good work! Keep it up!
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