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You are here: Home / Dal Recipes / Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu – Brahmin Kuzhambu Recipes

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu – Brahmin Kuzhambu Recipes

November 23, 2015 34 Comments

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu literraly means dal balls in a gravy. As with most tamil Brahmin recipes, this one has the most common ingredients like toor dal, tamarind, hing and of course sambar powder! 

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu - Brahmin Kuzhambu Recipes

I have mentioned before how new I was / still am to an extend new to Tamil Brahmin cooking. My parents-in-law are here for a visit and that means amma takes care of all the cooking and dinner is ready by the time I get back from office. Bliss. But, I told her first off that I wanted to watch her making Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu. The dish features dal balls in a tangy tamarind sauce. Though it looks a bit like kofta curry, the recipe couldn’t be further from it. Amma had given me the recipe long back and I tried it once but the dal balls (urundai) dissolved in the sauce and it ended up like sambar in the end. It does take some practise to get it right and what better way to learn than by watching!

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu - Brahmin Kuzhambu Recipes


PARUPPU URUNDAI KUZHAMBU RECIPEServes 4

Recipe source: MIL
Ingredients:
Toor Dal – 1 cup, soaked in water for atleast 1 hour
Onion- 1 small, minced
Hing – 1/4 tsp
Dried red chillies – 3 to 4
Salt – 1 tsp
Tamarind water – 2 cups (or 2 tbsp tamarind paste dissolved in 2 cups water)
Grated coconut (fresh or frozen) – 1/4 cup, ground to a paste in little water
Sambar powder– 1 heaped tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Hing – a pinch
Oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – a few
Salt – to taste

How to make Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu:

1. Take a heavy-bottomed pan that’s preferably evenly shaped at the bottom (so that the dal balls cook evenly). Pour in the tamarind water and add turmeric and salt. Bring to a boil.

2. Then add the hing, sambar powder and ground coconut and let it boil on low flame.

3. Meanwhile, rinse the soaked toor dal completely and grind it with red chillies, hing and salt, without adding any water.

4. Mix in the minced onions to the above dal paste and make small lemon-sized balls with it.

5. Add the dal balls one by one, slowly, into the boiling sauce. Do not mix around too much or else the balls will crumble. If you are trying this for the first time, add one or two balls at a time and then keep adding more.

6. Now its time to be patient and wait for the dal balls to cook. They will almost double in size as they boil in the sauce and the sauce will thicken as well.

7. Once the dal balls are cooked (will take about 15-20 mins), temper mustard seeds in some oil, add curry leaves and transfer to the boiling kuzhambu.

8. Remove from fire and serve hot.We made this paruppu urundai kuzhambu last weekend and though I didn’t have a flat bottomed pan which brings out the best results, the kadai worked pretty okay too. We had to keep stirring the balls gently so that it cooks evenly. If you are making this for the first time, you can also try steaming the balls before dropping in the sauce. This will prevent break-age. I will let you know how it comes out when I try it on my own next 😀


Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu tastes great with steamed rice and any dry vegetable curry of choice.

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By nags Filed Under: Dal Recipes, Kuzhambu Recipes, Tamil Recipes, Uncategorized

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ashta

    September 14, 2017 at 4:55 am

    Hi Nags,

    Can I freeze the urundais for later use? If yes, How many days would it last in the freezer and should i let them come to room temp before using?

    Reply
    • nags

      November 13, 2017 at 2:30 pm

      yes you can freeze them. thaw and bring to room temperature before adding to the kuzhambu and boiling

      Reply
  2. Anonymous

    September 27, 2012 at 12:39 pm

    how do you grind without adding any water? whenever i grind i am forced to add water. (living in usa) and probably therefore the balls dissolve in the sauce. help please.

    Reply
  3. Divya Vikram

    April 1, 2010 at 1:39 pm

    Congrats..Beautiful presentation with the kuzhambu

    Reply
  4. RAKS KITCHEN

    April 1, 2010 at 1:38 pm

    Lovely recipe and presntation too,I have forgot this recipe for sometime,thanks for posting!

    Reply
  5. sangeeta

    September 12, 2009 at 7:40 am

    yeah this one….the name i am sure i'll forget again………bookmarking this one.
    i make a north style kadhi with chana dal the same way but was curious with toor dall n in a sambar masala…will be completely different from the one i make…..ball (dumplings) breaking in the gravy is not a prob with me….am cooking for more than 25 years now..:)
    thanks….n please do what i suggested..

    Reply
  6. Mriganayani

    September 10, 2009 at 4:55 am

    This does look so good! perfect!

    Reply
  7. Anonymous

    August 24, 2009 at 9:40 am

    waaaaaaaah…i tried this today and the balls crumbled instantly. How do u keep them from crumbling?

    Reply
  8. Nags

    August 24, 2009 at 9:50 am

    Anon – there are a couple of tips. You can steam the balls before dropping it in the gravy. Alternately, add about 1 tbsp rice flour before making the balls. That should help to keep the balls in intact.

    Once thing is, it takes practise. It took me 3-4 attempts before I could get it right. A flat bottomed pan is also important.

    Reply
  9. Gayathri

    July 11, 2009 at 8:53 pm

    Thanks for this yummy recipe!

    Reply
  10. Divya Vikram

    June 5, 2009 at 4:34 am

    http://telugu-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/05/kathirikkai-vellai-mocha-kottai-kaara.html
    Nags, I found your pic here!

    Reply
  11. Pavithra

    April 14, 2009 at 1:26 am

    Great pictures !!!!Tempting too

    Reply
  12. Aparna

    November 3, 2008 at 11:34 am

    Congratulations on the win, Nags.
    This is another favourite with us and I’ve finally mastered it. The first time I made it, the balls just disappeared into the gravy and I was left with a thick lentil glop!

    Reply
  13. Seena

    November 3, 2008 at 5:58 am

    Congrats Nags!
    This one in my list to try out. looks lovely! 🙂

    Reply
  14. DEESHA

    November 2, 2008 at 7:20 pm

    they look sooo cute .. wish I could have them .. my mom makes this too N I just love it

    Reply
  15. Sig

    November 3, 2008 at 1:50 am

    It looks very nice, but I am sure I will mess it up too… 🙂 Congrats on winning the contest!

    Reply
  16. Divya Kudua

    November 1, 2008 at 10:04 am

    Great recipe and the dish looks so pretty with the curry leaf garnish..!!Congrats for the prize!

    Reply
  17. sra

    November 1, 2008 at 5:44 am

    I’ve made these in rasam once, after seeing a recipe in one of the blogs, that was tasty too!
    Your photos are droolworthy!

    Reply
  18. Kalai

    October 31, 2008 at 11:12 pm

    Love the pics, Nags! Great that you’re getting to learn so many traditional dishes! 🙂

    Reply
  19. RAKS KITCHEN

    November 1, 2008 at 3:28 am

    Lovely recipe and presntation too,I have forgot this recipe for sometime,thanks for posting!

    Reply
  20. anudivya

    October 31, 2008 at 6:20 pm

    That looks very traditional and yum Nags.

    Reply
  21. Rajitha

    October 31, 2008 at 5:59 pm

    this is in my list of favorites..amma makes it on the 2nd day of my arrival to India…just love it 🙂

    Reply
  22. Mallika

    October 31, 2008 at 5:56 pm

    You make this recipe sound easy. Congrats on the award!

    Reply
  23. Lori

    October 31, 2008 at 4:58 pm

    This sounds really good.

    Reply
  24. Ramya's Mane Adige

    October 31, 2008 at 4:43 pm

    We make this in Karnataka as well…. we call it Nuchinunde! but soaking it in gravy is a cool idea!! looks delicious

    Reply
  25. Priya

    October 31, 2008 at 2:50 pm

    Yummy gravy…one of my fav…

    Reply
  26. Vibaas

    October 31, 2008 at 2:06 pm

    Looks delicious..this is my favorite.

    Reply
  27. Divya Vikram

    October 31, 2008 at 7:24 pm

    Congrats..Beautiful presentation with the kuzhambu

    Reply
  28. Rachel

    October 31, 2008 at 11:20 am

    this is a new dish to me..sounds very flavourful..

    Congrats on the win!

    Reply
  29. Laavanya

    October 31, 2008 at 11:01 am

    I just love this kuzhambu and my mom and grandmom make it really well. Nice picture Nags!

    Reply
  30. SMN

    October 31, 2008 at 7:13 am

    very nice pic and a dish yummy..

    Reply
  31. Raaga

    October 31, 2008 at 5:42 am

    Nice… and congrats 🙂

    I posted this ages and ages ago… three months into blogging I think.

    Reply
  32. arundati

    October 31, 2008 at 5:12 am

    i saw the pic on orkut and was wondering when you were gonna post…lovely picture…the light is perfect….i make the gravy…and then cheat with potatoes!! must try the parripu urundai

    Reply
  33. Jayashree

    October 31, 2008 at 4:53 am

    Congrats!!!

    Reply

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I am Nags, the face behind Edible Garden, a food and recipes website for the busy (and sometimes lazy!) cook since 2007. My recipes are meant to be quick yet healthy and delicious - Nothing fancy, nothing too difficult. Follow Me On Instagram for real-time food and life updates.

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