Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu

(Dhal Balls in thick Onion Gravy)

Yield: For 4 persons

This is a popular dish of Tamil Nadu.
Whenever we make this urundai kozhambu, we also make some vadai from the same batter. This recipe goes well with rice.
It gets this name from the round shape of the dhal batter, which is cooked in thick gravy.
‘Paruppu’ means ‘Dhal’, ‘Urundai’ means ‘Round’ and ‘Kuzhambu’ means ‘Sambar without dhal’.



Ingredients:

For Urundai / Balls: (Yield: 14 – 16 balls)

Split Pigeon Pea / Tuvar Dhal – 250 gms
Dry red chilly – 3 to 4
Salt - ½ tsp
Onion – 2

For kuzhambu / Gravy:

Tamarind / Imli juice – ½ cup
Onion – 250 gms
Tomato - 1
Red chilly powder – ½ tsp or ¾ tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Salt – 1 to 1 ½ tsp
Water - 3 cup

Seasoning:

Mustard seed – 1 tsp
Black lentil / Urad dhal – 1 tsp
Asafoetida / Hing - a pinch
Dry red chilly - 2
Curry leaves – few
Oil – 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Soak the tuvar dhal for 1 hour.
Wash and grind the dhal with chillies and salt to a coarse thick batter. Add little water if necessary.
Mix the chopped onion and make small lemon size balls out of the batter. (It will increase in size while cooking). Keep them aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and add the seasonings.
Then add the finely chopped onions and fry till they become transparent.
Add the tomato and fry a little.
Now add the chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Add the tamarind juice with 3 cups of water. Let it boil for 5 minutes.
Now drop the balls one by one. Do not stir.
Keep the flame low. When the balls are partially cooked, they will float on the top.
Leave it for 8 to 10 minutes for the gravy to become slightly thick.
By now, the balls will be completely cooked.
Dish out and garnish with coriander leaves.



Note:

While dropping the balls into the gravy, if it breaks, add 1 – 2 tsp of rice flour.
Do not add more rice flour as the balls will become hard.
Use more onions to make the kozhambu tastier.