Paruppu urundai kulambu / Spicy gravy out of splited chick pea balls / Channa ball spicy gravy

This is a healthy-spicy recipe goes well with hot cooked rice. Chettinad special dish - pappad could be the best combination for this recipe.

Ingredients:

-to saute

1. Cooking oil - 2 tbs
2. Sesame / gingelly oil - 3 tbs
3. Vendhayam /Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tbs
4. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
5. Curry leaves - 4 nos

- to cook

1. Big brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
2. Tomato - 1 1/2 finely chopped
3. Tamarind pulp - 1 small lemon size ball (soaked in 1 cup of water for 30 mins, squeeze the juice and discard the husk) or tamarind juice - 6 tbs
4. Red chili powder - 1 1/2 tbs
5. Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tbs
6. Salt to taste

- for chick pea balls

1. Kadalai paruppu / Spilted chick pea / channa daal - 1 cup (soak in water for 45 mins)
2. Big brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
3. Green chili - 1/2 finely chopped
4. Jeera / cumin seeds / Seeragam - 1 tbs
5. Salt to taste
6. 1/2 handful of cilantro - washed and finely chopped
7. Hing / Asafoetida - pinch


Method:

1. Wash the soaked chick pea and drain the water completely. Add salt & hing to it and grind coursely. Add 1/4 cup of water while grinding !!! do not add more than 1/4 cup water, the batter will be watery and cant make balls !!!
2. Add the remaining ingredients mentioned below for chick pea balls and blend with chick pea batter (pic 2 of row 1). Make them into small balls and steam in a idli cooker or rice cooker (1st n 2nd pic of row 2) for 20 mins. Keep the cooked balls aside.
3. Heat cooking + gingelly oil in a pan and add the ingredients one by one mentioned under to saute in 30 sec interval. Add chopped onion to this and saute till it onion turns transparent. Then add chopped tomato and cook till it gets mashed. Then add tamarind juice, chili powder, coriander powder, salt, 3 cups water. Mix them well and cook in medium flame.
4. Once the above mixture (mentioned in step 3) boils drop the chick pea balls one by one. Cook the chick pea balls in spicy gravy for 20 mins and remove from flame.
Serve hot with cooked rice.