Kerala Kadala curry/Kerala black chana curry/varutharacha kadala curry/Black chana in roasted coconut gravy

I like to call this curry a posh cousin to our everyday kadala curry. If you have friends like us who think Kerala cuisine is all about puttu, can talk endlessly about how tasty puttu is, and painstakingly learn the entire process of puttu making, pass on this recipe to them. Let them create Kerala heaven in their homes with smell of roasting coconut wafting through air. Don't forget to gift them a puttu maker.

Ingredients
Kadala/Black chana - 1 1/2 cups
Onion sliced - 1 medium
Garlic - 2 cloves
Ginger - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 1-2
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Coconut oil
Salt

To Roast and grind

Grated coconut - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp

Method
Soak black chana overnight. Pressure cook chana along with salt and water. Keep it aside.

Heat a pan, dry roast grated coconut. In between the roasting process, add 1 tsp of coconut oil and fry till it turns brown in colour (don't burn it). Switch off the stove. Now add coriander powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder, and turmeric powder. Mix them well. Allow it to cool. Now grind them in a blender.

Heat oil in a pan, crackle mustard seeds. Saute onion. When onion turns translucent, add garlic, ginger, green chillies, and curry leaves. Stir them well. When onion turns light brown in color, add ground mixture to this. Saute for 1 minute. Now add cooked black chana along with water and allow it to boil. When the gravy starts to thicken, switch off the stove. Transfer this to a bowl and serve hot with steaming puttu.