Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu (Lentil Balls in Spicy Tangy Curry)

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu is a popular dish of Tamil Nadu. Lentils are the major ingredients in this dish with slight variations from home to home. I soak, grind lentils and shape it like balls to cook directly in the boiling gravy. In this method, the lentils dissolve slightly in the gravy to give a wonderful taste.

Lentils are known as Paruppu in Tamil and Ball/Sphere shape is known as Urundai in Tamil. Paruppu Urundai looks like  north Indian Kofta.

Ingredients

• For Paruppu Urundai
  • Bengal gram – ½ cup
  • Toor dal – ½ cup
  • Pearl onions – 8 no
  • Garlic – 2 cloves
  • Green chilli – 4 no
  • Coconut – 1 piece
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tea spoon
  • Red chilli powder – 1 tea spoon
  • Rice flour – 1 table spoon
  • Fennel seed – 1 table spoon
  • Ginger – small piece
  • Curry leaves – few
  • Oil – 1 table spoon
  • Salt – as per taste
• For gravy/curry
  • Tamarind – small lemon size
  • Pearl onion – 10 to 12 no
  • Garlic – 3 cloves
  • Green chilli – 2 no
  • Tomato – 2 no
  • Grated coconut – 3 table spoon
  • Fennel seed – 1 table spoon
  • Red chilli powder – 2 tea spoon
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tea spoon
  • Coriander powder – 2 table spoon
  • Mustard, fenugreek, cumin seed – ½ tea spoon each
  • Coriander curry leaves – few
  • Oil – 1 table spoon
  • Salt – as per taste

Method

• Paruppu Urundai: Soak Bengal gram and toor dal for 2 hours; grind it to a coarse paste in the mixer for few seconds.

• Finely chop onion, green chilli, coconut, ginger, garlic and curry leaves (I did it in the food processer).

• Add this with ground gram paste; add rice flour, oil, salt, red chilli powder, fennel seed, turmeric powder and mix well.

• Gravy: First grind coconut, fennel seed with 2 piece of onion to a fine paste; then chop remaining onion, tomato, curry leaves, coriander leaves, green chilli and crush the garlic; soak tamarind and extract the pulp.

• Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu: Heat a pan with oil and do the seasoning with mustard, fenugreek, cumin seed and curry leaves; add crushed garlic, chopped curry leaves, coriander leaves, green chilli and fry for few minutes; then add onion and fry.

• Add tomatoes and fry for few seconds.

• Now add all dry spices, salt and mix well.

• Add tamarind juice, 8 cups of water and boil for few minutes; add ground coconut paste and mix well.

• Take small amount of lentil paste, shape like a ball and add in the boiling gravy carefully; add some more balls like this and let the gravy boil (make sure that that each ball is free to boil without touching each other; the number of balls to be put can be decided accordingly).

• Lentil balls as they get cooked, will start floating one by one; after it starts floating, add next shift of balls and cook; repeat this process for remaining lentil paste (for the given quantity of ingredients, I got nearly 12 balls).

• Now Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu is ready; garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice.

• Here is the cutaway section of a Paruppu Urundai.

Tips

• After adding lentil balls, never stir the gravy till all lentil balls float on the surface. The gravy will get thickened by the small amount of lentils dissolved in gravy. The balls do not break or dissolve fully as we add little rice flour to bind them.