Kerala-style vegan brown chickpea curry, popularly known as kadala curry, is made with freshly roasted and ground spices. This vegan Indian brown chickpea curry pairs perfectly with appam, puttu, and dosa.
My love for Kerala cuisine needs no introduction. You can find it on my blog, from Kerala-style rasam to parippu curry/dal to scrumptious Onam spread. I am adding this kadala curry to my vegetarian Kerala recipe repertoire.
This comforting vegan Indian curry is naturally gluten-free and pairs beautifully with appam, idiappam, puttu, dosa, chapati, and rice.
This is my version of this classic Kerala dish, where I use freshly roasted and ground spices to build deep, authentic flavors.
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What does kadala mean?
So what does kadala mean here in this context? Kadalai (in Tamil) or Kadala in Malayalam means grams, pulses, and nuts covered with this. In this recipe, Kadala means brown/black chickpeas, and the curry made with them is known as kadala curry.
What’s so special about my kadala curry
While I do enjoy shortcuts and ready-made spice powders, I truly love the depth of flavor that comes from freshly ground spice pastes.
For this Kerala-style kadala curry, I have used only freshly roasted and ground spices. Except for turmeric powder, I did not use any store-bought spice powders.
All the spices are roasted and then ground into a fresh paste. Yes, this may seem slightly time-consuming, but trust me — the flavor is absolutely unbeatable.
Since the spice paste is freshly roasted and ground, this version is called varutharacha kadala curry (roasted and ground kadala curry), a traditional Kerala preparation.
Ingredients required
- We need black/brown chana for this recipe. I have used dried ones, soaked them overnight, and pressure-cooked them.
- I highly recommend coconut oil for this recipe as it adds more flavor.
- For the masala, we need coriander, cumin, roasted gram, dried red chilies, peppercorn, cardamom, cloves, fennel seeds, cinnamon, onion, tomato, garlic, coconut and ginger. We roast all these ingredients and grind them with turmeric powder and cooked chickpeas.
- We need mustard seeds, fennel seeds, and some curry leaves to temper the gravy.
- Last, we need cilantro, salt, and lots of water.
Please check the recipe card for exact measurements.
Dietary specifications and serving suggestions
This South-Indian style kadala curry is vegan and gluten-free by nature. While kadala curry is a popular side for appam and puttu, you can also serve it with idli, dosa, chapati, parotta, and rice with a side of raita or papad. Yes, it’s a versatile curry recipe!
How to make it a part of your meal prep
- Soaking the chickpeas and pressure cooking involves a bit of planning. You can soak and pressure cook the beans as a part of your weekend meal prep and use the cooked beans to make the curry on weekdays.
- You can also prepare the curry, portion it, and freeze it.
- You can refrigerate the curry for up to two days.
Now, let’s see how to make this kadala curry without further delay.
How to make kadala curry
Cook the chickpeas
- Rinse and soak the chickpeas for 6 to 8 hours in 3 cups of water for 6 to 8 hrs.
- Drain the water after 6 to 8 hrs. Add 2 to 2.5 cups of fresh water and pressure cook the chickpeas for three whistles. If you use an Instant Pot, you can cook the chickpeas for 25 minutes at high pressure and release the pressure naturally.
- Drain the water and set the cooked chickpeas aside.
Prepare the masala
- Heat a pan or kadai and add 1 tsp of coconut oil.
- When the coconut oil melts and becomes hot, add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, whole peppercorns, cinnamon pieces, fennel seeds, cloves, cardamom, and dried red chilies—Roast over medium-low heat until the spices are fragrant and coriander seeds turn light brown.
- Add the roasted gram and coconut and roast for a couple more minutes. Transfer this mixture to a mixer jar.
- Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil in the same pan and add ½ of the chopped onion, garlic and ginger. Saute until the onion and garlic turn soft and the raw smell disappears.
- Next, add the chopped tomatoes and saute till they turn soft. Transfer this to a mixer jar and allow the mixture to cool.
- Add a handful of cooked chickpeas and turmeric powder to the mixer jar. Grind this into a smooth mixture by adding ½ cup of water or as needed.
Prepare the gravy
- Heat a pan or kadai and add the remaining oil. When it is hot, add mustard, fennel, and curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds splutter. Then add the remaining onion (chop this batch finely) and saute until it is soft and translucent.
- Now add the ground masala and one and a half cups of water. Mix well and ensure there aren’t any lumps. Add the salt and bring this mixture to a gentle simmer.
- When the mixture becomes frothy and gently simmers, add the cooked black chickpeas and mix well.
- Bring the gravy to a gentle simmer, add cilantro, and mix. Turn off the heat and enjoy.
Recipe Notes & Variations
- We need one big onion for this recipe. And we use half for the masala paste and the other half for sauteing/gravy. You can chop half of the onion for the masala paste while the other half finely.
- Adding cooked chickpeas while grinding the masala paste yields a thick gravy, which we prefer. I add roasted gram, too, which helps in thick gravy, but grinding black chickpeas adds flavor. You can skip roasted gram if adding chickpeas while grinding or vice versa, which is fine, too.
- Traditional Kerala kadala curry calls for black/brown chickpeas, but you can swap it with other beans of your choice.
- I have used both peppercorns and red chilies. Adjust them according to your taste preference. The same goes for salt, too.
- You can skip coconut while preparing the masala and add coconut milk. Add coconut milk along with chickpeas directly to the gravy if you use coconut milk. Half a cup of thick coconut milk would be sufficient for this measure.
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More chickpea recipes
📖 Recipe
Kadala Curry | South-Indian Style Vegan Brown Chickpeas Curry
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
- Kadai or Saucepan
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
- 1 cup black chickpeas dry chickpeas
- 1 tbsp coconut oil divided
To roast and grind
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp whole peppercorns
- 2 dried red chilies or to taste
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 2 cardamom
- 2 cloves
- 2 cinnamon pieces small 1-inch pieces as shown in pic
- 1 tsp roasted gram pottukadalai
- ¼ cup coconut if using frozen, used thawed
- 1 medium-sized onion chopped (approx 170 grams), divided
- 1 medium-sized tomato chopped (approx 120 grams)
- 2 garlic cloves approx 10 grams
- 1 tsp ginger grated
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
For the gravy
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 5 to 7 curry leaves
- 1.75 tsp salt or as needed
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 8 cups water divided, for soaking, cooking
Instructions
- Cook the chickpeas: Rinse and soak the chickpeas for 6 to 8 hours in 3 cups of water for 6 to 8 hrs.
- Drain the water after 6 to 8 hrs. Add 2 to 2.5 cups of fresh water and pressure cook the chickpeas for three whistles. If you use an Instant Pot, you can cook the chickpeas for 25 minutes at high pressure and release the pressure naturally.
- Drain the water and set the cooked chickpeas aside.
- Prepare the masala: Heat a pan or kadai and add 1 tsp of coconut oil.
- When the coconut oil melts and becomes hot, add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, whole peppercorns, cinnamon pieces, fennel seeds, cloves, cardamom, and dried red chilies—Roast over medium-low heat until the spices are fragrant and coriander seeds turn light brown.
- Add the roasted gram and coconut and roast for a couple more minutes. Transfer this mixture to a mixer jar.
- Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil in the same pan and add ½ of the chopped onion, garlic and ginger. Saute until the onion and garlic turn soft and the raw smell disappears.
- Next, add the chopped tomatoes and saute till they turn soft. Transfer this to a mixer jar and allow the mixture to cool.
- Add a handful of cooked chickpeas and turmeric powder to the mixer jar. Grind this into a smooth mixture by adding ½ cup of water or as needed.
- Prepare the gravy: Heat a pan or kadai and add the remaining oil. When it is hot, add mustard, fennel, and curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds splutter. Then add the remaining onion (chop this batch finely) and saute until it is soft and translucent.
- Now add the ground masala and one and a half cups of water. Mix well and ensure there aren’t any lumps. Add the salt and bring this mixture to a gentle simmer.
- When the mixture becomes frothy and gently simmers, add the cooked black chickpeas and mix well.
- Bring the gravy to a gentle simmer, add cilantro, and mix. Turn off the heat and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- We need one big onion for this recipe. And we use half for the masala paste and the other half for sauteing/gravy. You can chop half of the onion for the masala paste while the other half finely.
- Adding cooked chickpeas while grinding the masala paste yields a thick gravy, which we prefer. I add roasted gram, too, which helps in thick gravy, but grinding black chickpeas adds flavor. You can skip roasted gram if adding chickpeas while grinding or vice versa, which is fine, too.
- Traditional Kerala kadala curry calls for black/brown chickpeas, but you can swap it with other beans of your choice.
- I have used both peppercorns and red chilies. Adjust them according to your taste preference. The same goes for salt, too.
- You can skip coconut while preparing the masala and add coconut milk. Add coconut milk along with chickpeas directly to the gravy if you use coconut milk. Half a cup of thick coconut milk would be sufficient for this measure.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Oh I loved making this kadala curry Srividhya, so aromatic and delicious…Even I love kerala cuisine and love this one with appam!
Thanks Valli.
I love this kadala curry with appam more than puttu. Thanks for sharing an authentic recipe vidhya. We all
Loved it at home
Thanks Kalyani
Love the kadala curry. We are just back from Kerala and the flavours you described are fresh in my mind. Need to give the puttu pan a workout so will make some of this curry with the puttu. Soaking the gram just now.
:-) Thank you. I am sure you will love them.
Roasting and making the fresh masala paste gave the curry unique flavor that we don’t get with store bought masalas. Kadala curry was on my to make list for a long time and finally made using your recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Usha. I hope you all liked it.