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Home » All Recipes » Paruppu Urundai Kulambu / Lentil Balls in Tamarind Gravy

Paruppu Urundai Kulambu / Lentil Balls in Tamarind Gravy

Posted on Sep 19, 2011 · Last Updated on Jun 23, 2020 by Uma Ramanujam · 50 Comments

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This is how we prepare Paruppu Urundai Kulambu at our home. As it involves bit lengthy process and needs an extra care, I mostly avoid it to prepare. But I would say that it is worth to do the lengthy stuff for the awesome taste that you get at the end.

This typical south Indian dish has its own traditional way for preparation which is now tweaked according to our convenient and as a result we have few methods for preparation. One of which is blogged here with pictures. I have also mentioned other methods and it is absolutely your wish to follow your convenient way.

Dal dumplings/balls which look like koftas are cooked in tamarind gravy and sometimes in yogurt gravy and thus the dumplings absorb the flavor from gravy and you get an exotic taste at the end. I’ll post the lentil dumplings in yogurt gravy in upcoming days.

Basic Information:

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

For Lentil Balls:

Channa Dal/Toor dal/Mixture of both – 1 cup

Dry Red chillies – 4 nos

Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Salt – to taste

Turmeric powder – a big pinch

Asafoetida – a big pinch

Onion – 2 tablespoon, finely chopped

Coriander leaves – 1 tablespoon

Curry leaves – few

For Gravy:

Onion – 1 large size, chopped

Tomato – 2 nos , chopped

Green chilli – 2 nos, chopped

Tamarind – 1 small gooseberry size, (soak in a cup of warm water for 15 minutes and extract juice from it.)

Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon

Oil – 3 teaspoons

Salt – to taste

For Seasoning:

Oil – 2 teaspoons

Mustard and Urid dal – 1/2 teaspoon

Fenugreek – 1/4 teaspoon

Curry leaves – 1 string

Method:

For Lentil Balls:

1) Soak Channa Dal for 30 minutes to 1 hour in water.

2) After an hour, drain the water from the Dal and add dry red chilli, cumin seeds, salt, turmeric powder and asafoetida.

3) Grind it to a coarse paste. Add finely chopped onion, coriander and curry leaves with this and mix well.

4) Make small size balls and steam them in a idly maker exactly for 10 minutes.

5) Lentil balls are ready to go with gravy.

For Gravy:

1) In a wide pan, heat 2 teaspoons of oil.

2) When it is hot, add chopped onion and curry leaves. Saute till onions turn soft.

3) Add tomato and green chilli. Continue sauteing till tomato mashes well.

 

4) Allow this mixture to cool and grind to a fine paste by adding water.

 

5) Wipe off the same wide pan and add ground paste.

6) Add tamarind water, salt and turmeric powder. Mix well.

7) When it boils and starts a gravy consistency, add balls.

 

8) Turn the flame to low and cover and cook for 10 minutes or till you get your required gravy consistency.

9) When the gravy is ready add the seasoning.

10) Serve hot with steamed rice.

Note:

1) In traditional method, the lentil balls are prepared and directly (instead of steaming them) cooked in gravy. It requires extra care as the lentil balls might break while cooking. But it can be done by practise. In another way, you can shallow fry the lentil balls in oil and add them with gravy.

2) You can also add ginger garlic paste and coconut paste with this gravy which enhances the flavor and taste.

3) My MIL will not add tamarind instead she adds more tomatoes to get tangy taste. You can also follow this method if your prefer.

4) If you find it grinding the onion makes the method too long, skip the step of grinding and directly add the tamarind. In this case, you can add the seasoning in the initial step itself.

5) Do not overcook the lentil balls as they may become hard.

This recipe goes to Akheela’s Food palette series finale rainbow colours
and
Simply Food’s Flavors of South India
and

Umm Mymoonah’s Any one can cook series-34

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Next Post: Vangi Bhath / Brinjal Rice »
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Raks
Raks
14 years ago

I too make almost same way…love it!

0
Lifewithspices
Lifewithspices
14 years ago

wow too good but i dont steam the urundais.. the clicks r so good n makes me to go with a cup of hot rice..

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Reshmi Mahesh
Reshmi Mahesh
14 years ago

Sooooo tempting….Awesome clicks..

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Nithu
Nithu
14 years ago

Lovely pictures. Couldn't take my eyes off. I love this dish.

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Pushpa
Pushpa
14 years ago

I make it the similar way too,one of our family favs.

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Ramya
Ramya
14 years ago

never tasted this curry…it looks rich and creamy…lovely pics

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Suja Manoj
Suja Manoj
14 years ago

Gravy looks so tempting..delicious and healthy curry,bookmarked

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Laxmipriya
Laxmipriya
14 years ago

Looks really tempting.. I prepare the gravy only with tamarind and add the balls directly.. Let me try urs asap..

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Sobha Shyam
Sobha Shyam
14 years ago

i have never tasted this curry, but ur recipe is tempting me to try it out, looks so delicious and a healthy curry, initially I thought lentil balls are fried or so, steaming the lentil balls is so good..!!

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Sensible Vegetarian
Sensible Vegetarian
14 years ago

I love this paruppu urundai kuzhambu and yours look so delicious and tempting.

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Alpana
Alpana
14 years ago

Never heard of steamed lentil balls…….very innovative…..Bookmarked.

0
Unknown
Unknown
14 years ago

awesome dear….love the presentation and pictorial….

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Puja
Puja
14 years ago

The pics look way too good, especially the second one n the recipe is something I want to try right away!
USMasala

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Torviewtoronto
Torviewtoronto
14 years ago

thank you for linking this delicious looking kulambu looks wonderful

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Sarah Naveen
Sarah Naveen
14 years ago

Beautiful clicks and the curry looks awesome!!! yummy!!

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Amina
Amina
14 years ago

First time here… you have a very beautiful blog… The clicks are awesome..

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Reshmi Mahesh
Reshmi Mahesh
14 years ago

I have shared few awards…pls come and collect it from my space..:)

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Priya Sreeram
Priya Sreeram
14 years ago

they look so yummmm uma- loving it !

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Vardhini
Vardhini
14 years ago

My favorite .. I make it the same way too. Nice clicks.

Vardhini
Zesty Palette

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Richa
Richa
14 years ago

these look perfect..and very pretty pictures!

Richa@ Hobby And More Food Blog

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Roshna Feroz
Roshna Feroz
14 years ago

tempting!!!!!nice presentation!!!

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jeyashrisuresh
jeyashrisuresh
14 years ago

my mom and mil makes this but i have never tried on my own. wonderful clicks and looking very nice too

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Treat and Trick
Treat and Trick
14 years ago

Fantastic clicks and looks scrumptious!

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Priya Suresh
Priya Suresh
14 years ago

I can survive for many days with this delicious kuzhambu..makes me hungry..

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Kaveri Venkatesh
Kaveri Venkatesh
14 years ago

This is one of favorite kuzhambu…beautiful clicks…liked your version

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Jayanthy Kumaran
Jayanthy Kumaran
14 years ago

this looks so simple, tasty n yummm..~
Tasty Appetite

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GEETHA ACHAL
GEETHA ACHAL
14 years ago

wow..You clicks makes me hungry here very much…

My favorite kulambu…

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TheYummyMorsel
TheYummyMorsel
14 years ago

Looks very delicious!

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Nandinis food
Nandinis food
14 years ago

The kuzhambu is very alluring and delicious! Yum!

0
Indian Khana
Indian Khana
14 years ago

Wow this looks so delicious with such tempting pictures …

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anthony stemke
anthony stemke
14 years ago

Looks great, I suppose I can steam them some way.

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khushi
khushi
14 years ago

nice recipe Uma…..the sourness of tamarind will be a great combination with the vadas.
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Prathima Rao
Prathima Rao
14 years ago

Healthy lentil dumplings in a spicy, delicious gravy!!! Sure to give this a try…
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner

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cookingvarieties
cookingvarieties
14 years ago

hi uma, lovely dish, you are a great cook.
you deserve recognition..
I have an award for you. please collect at my site. Do let me know if you cant download, gimme your email address, I will send to you by email .Thanks

0
Unknown
Unknown
14 years ago

kulambu looks tempting… I was planning on making it and I got my recipe right here 🙂

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arthi
arthi
14 years ago

amazing clicks..perfect urundais in delicious curry..love it!!

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priya ravi
priya ravi
14 years ago

most favourite recipe.. i too prepare it the same way but rarely as its very lengthy.. but looking at urs has really tempted me to prepare this sooner 🙂

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Rinku Naveen
Rinku Naveen
14 years ago

Tempting gravy! Never tried this before. Superb snaps Uma!

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Vineetha Sush
Vineetha Sush
14 years ago

Thanks for visiting my space…
Never heard about this curry,looks soooo tempting and mouthwatering !

0
Unknown
Unknown
14 years ago

Thanks Vineetha.

Cheers,
Uma

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Unknown
Unknown
14 years ago

Thank you for the comments. Lovely blog!!!Paruppu urundai koyambu looks yummy!!!

0
Unknown
Unknown
14 years ago

Awesome dish.. Clicks are beautiful…

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foodie @ tastingspot
foodie @ tastingspot
13 years ago

i like your pictures and would like to invite you to share them on tastingspot.com

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khushi
khushi
13 years ago

hey Uma why dont you send this to my event:
Event: Kerala Kitchen

0
Unknown
Unknown
13 years ago

This recipe looks so delicious!! It caught my eye on taste spotting.

Is this dish also called Malai Kofta?? I cant wait to try making it for my family.

0
Unknown
Unknown
13 years ago

Hi Gourmet Gateways,

Thanks for your kind words. This recipe looks like malai kofta but both the dishes are different. Please try out to feel the taste of it.

Cheers,
Uma

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Biny's Recipes
Biny's Recipes
13 years ago

wow gr8 clicks and gr8 recipe

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Deeps @ Naughty Curry
Deeps @ Naughty Curry
13 years ago

wow…looks so good i wish i could dive into the pitures and eat it! lovely recipe. i ate this dish at south indies restaurant and loved it…i couldnt rest until i found a recipe and yours matches what i ate very closely 🙂

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Anonymous
Anonymous
12 years ago

very tasty dish

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Olof Z
Olof Z
8 years ago

Hi Uma!

I recently did your Prawn Masala Curry, which was the first indian recipe where I actually managed to get the taste right.

I would like to do this dish but unfortunately lack a Idli Steamer. Is it possible to cook the lentil balls with some other cooking method (perhaps conventional steaming)?

0

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I am Uma Ramanujam who manages this Food blog. Food & its various cuisines have always fascinated me. I love traveling to new places, enjoy their heritage, explore their cuisine and finding out the unknown, forgotten recipes. Read More About Me!

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