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    Home » Recipes » Kuzhambu & Other gravies

    Paruppu urundai kuzhambu recipe, Urundai kulambu recipe

    August 5, 2009 by Raks Anand 80 Comments / Jump to Recipe

    Paruppu urundai kuzhambu recipe with step by step pictures. Paruppu urundai can be steamed or directly added to kuzhambu.

    paruppu urundai kuzhambu
    Jump to:
    • Recipe card
    • 📸 Step by step photo
    • For Gravy

    I love Paruppu urundai kuzhambu very much, its a life saver for me when I made this after long time. Actually I got bored of sambar and the usual stuff  I do for lunch. I have not seen my mom or MIL when they make it at home, so when I tried this at home, it was so new to me.

    I used to follow steaming method in the beginning, but now a days, since I know the knack of adding directly and cooking the urundai, its made more easier than before. So you too can try confidently adding the urundai to the boiling kuzhambu. Check out my other kuzhambu recipes

    paruppu urundai kulambu

    Recipe card

    paruppu-urundai-kuzhambu
    Print Pin
    4.80 from 10 votes

    Paruppu urundai kuzhambu

    Paruppu urundai kuzhambu recipe with step by step pictures. Paruppu urundai can be steamed or directly added to kuzhambu.
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Indian
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 30 minutes
    Soaking time 3 hours
    Total Time 3 hours 50 minutes
    Servings 4
    Cup measurements

    Ingredients

    For urundai

    • ½ cup Toor dal /thuvaram paruppu
    • 3 tablespoon small onion/ shallots chopped
    • 4 Red chillies
    • ¼ teaspoon Fennel/ soambu optional
    • 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
    • 4 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
    • Salt To taste

    For gravy

    • 1 tablespoon Tamarind/ puli big gooseberry size
    • ½ cup shallots/ small onions peeled
    • 10 flakes Garlic peeled
    • 1 Tomato small chopped
    • 1 tablespoon Sambar powder heaped
    • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
    • ¼ teaspoon Jaggery optional
    • Salt - To taste

    To grind

    • ½ cup Coconut
    • 1 onion

    To temper

    • 3 tablespoon Sesame oil/cooking oil
    • ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds/ vendhayam
    • ¾ teaspoon Mustard
    • 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
    • 1 sprig curry leaves
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Soak toor dal for 2 hours. In separate bowl, soak tamarind.
    • After 2 hours, first powder red chilli, fennel seeds (if adding) cumin seeds and salt
    • Then add the soaked toor dal drained from water. Grind coarsely. It should be little finer than we grind for masala vada.
    • Do not add water while grinding. I use only pulse option to grind (4-5 times). Make sure to wipe the sides in between for even grinding.
    • Transfer to mixing bowl. Add chopped onions, salt, coriander leaves and mix well.
    • Make small balls out of the ground mixture and if you are going to follow steaming method, steam it by placing in a greased idly plates for 10 to 12 minutes.
    • Cool down a bit (but let it be still warm),and again shape tightly, to make it perfect shaped koftas. SKIP this step if adding directly.
    • For Gravy: Extract tamarind juice, adjust water to make it total 1 & ½ cups, keep a side,
    • Heat a kadai, with oil and add the tempering items under the table 'To temper'. 
    • Add garlic, onion and fry till golden brown. Then add the chopped tomatoes and fry for a minute.
    • Add the tamarind extract, sambar powder, turmeric and 1 & ½ cups more water, bring to boil.
    • Meanwhile, grind the coconut and onion with little water to a fine paste, keep that side as well.
    • Add to the boiling kuzhambu and let it boil for 5-6 minutes.
    • Lower the flame and add the urundais one by one carefully. Give 10 seconds interval between adding urundais (while adding raw)
    • Finish with all ground mixture. Add from all sides so that it doesn't clump together. DO NOT stir.
    • Boil in medium flame until all the balls float on the top(6 mins approx), by this time it would have got cooked.Do not stir till this stage.
    • Simmer for 4 mins and add jaggery powder finally and mix.
    • Switch off flame, garnish with few more fresh curry leaves. Kuzhambu is ready!

    Video

    Notes

    • If you are beginner to cooking you can follow the steaming the urundai method confidently.
    • The direct adding method is time saving, if you are confident on yourself you can just go ahead and try.
    • You can use chana dal also for making the urundais. Or mixture of both dals, I have tried all the ways, makes no difference.
    • I soak ¾ cup dal especially in steaming method, so that we can enjoy urundai as such or deep fry it for a change. ½ cup dal will be perfect for this kuzhambu.
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    📸 Step by step photo

    1. Soak tamarind in hot water.

    2. Wash and soak toor dal for 2 hours.

    3. Once done, in a mixer, first grind cumin seeds, fennel seeds (if adding), red chillies to a coarse powder. (I added little coconut in this, but it's optional)

    grind chilli, coconut, cumin

    4. Then add the toor dal (soaked, water drained) and grind coarsely.

    grind dal

    5. The texture should be slightly finer than we grind for masala vada. Don’t add water as the water in the dal itself is enough. Add chopped onions, salt, coriander leaves and mix well.

    6. Make small balls out of the ground batter and steam it by placing in a greased idli plates or a steamer and steam it for 10 to 12 minutes.

    steam

    7. Cool down a bit but let it be still warm, and again shape tightly, to make it perfect shaped Urundais.

    SKIP the previous 2 steps if adding directly.

    For Gravy

    1. Extract tamarind juice, keep a side.

    2. Grind the coconut and onion to a fine paste, keep a side.

    3. Heat a kadai, with oil and add the tempering items under 'To temper'. 

    4. Add garlic, onion and fry till golden brown. Then add the chopped tomatoes and fry for a minute.

    temper, saute

    5. Add the tamarind extract, sambar powder, turmeric and bring to boil. Mean while grind coconut with little water and onion to a paste.

    add spice, grind coconut

    6. Add to the boiling kuzhambu and let it boil for 5-6 minutes. Lower the flame and add the urundai one by one carefully.

    add urundai

    7. Boil in medium flame until all the balls float on the top 6 mins approx. By this time it would have got cooked. Do not stir till this stage. simmer for 4 mins and lastly add jaggery. Switch off flame and the kuzhambu is ready!

    ready

    Serve with any kootu or spicy curry. You can have the urundais as side dish as well. They are good to eat as such!

    paruppu-urundai-kuzhambu

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. meeso

      August 05, 2009 at 11:38 pm

      Hmmm, that looks really good and I like it because It's not fried... must be tasty 🙂

      Reply
    2. Aysha

      August 05, 2009 at 11:59 pm

      Looks so tempting...lovely click...

      Reply
    3. Poornima Nair

      August 06, 2009 at 12:43 am

      This would really be a welcome change from the usual sambar and rasam. Looks delicious.

      Reply
    4. Illatharasi

      August 06, 2009 at 1:08 am

      Hi Rak's, that's too yummy. Reminds me of my aunty's urundai kozhambhu. Will try your version soon.

      Reply
    5. Pavithra

      August 06, 2009 at 1:20 am

      Oh wow wow wow this is one of my fav .. drooling heres seeing the gravy.. please save for me I am coming there

      Reply
    6. A 2 Z Vegetarian Cuisine

      August 06, 2009 at 1:30 am

      Wow...Looks so tempting & healthy..gr8 thing is , its not fried..

      Reply
    7. Nithya

      August 06, 2009 at 1:49 am

      This is amazing.. I love this dish and I love the pic too. absolutely tempting.. too much.. 🙂

      Reply
    8. LG

      August 06, 2009 at 2:26 am

      I made this once, recipe taken from Mallika Badrinath's book. It tastes good. Pictures are awesome Raji

      Reply
    9. Pari

      August 06, 2009 at 2:39 am

      That's a detailed step by step explanation raks. Very nice clicks and a droolworthy recipe. Thanks for sharing. I have already posted my menu for my guests check it out, will send you the link.

      Reply
    10. jeyashrisuresh

      August 06, 2009 at 2:40 am

      lovely click. never made this,Will try soon.Tasted it a long back in my friend's place.

      Reply
    11. Seena

      August 06, 2009 at 3:11 am

      Raj, the process seems long, though i love to try it once.. 🙂

      Reply
      • Meena

        March 28, 2022 at 1:04 pm

        5 stars
        Hi Raks, I've been an avid followers of your blog over the years, tried several recipes and lived them all... I don't often leave comments.
        I must leave a comment on b this recipe.
        We make this urundai kulambu at home, the Traditional recipe is quite tedious and process driven, which has made it a rare occurrence in my life, today I used your recipe and the non steaming (add urundai directly) version... it was amazing- soft, tasty
        thank you for this fab recipe

        Reply
        • Raks Anand

          March 28, 2022 at 4:36 pm

          Thank you so much 🙂 Feeling content to read such feedbacks 🙂

          Reply
    12. Anu

      August 06, 2009 at 3:14 am

      Wow awesome looks delicious and tempting.... I have tried it many times but never posted in my blog.. One of my favorite recipe....

      Reply
    13. Suparna

      August 06, 2009 at 3:23 am

      I like traditional dishes looks tasy and yummm...this one is new to me ..looks superb.
      Raji please accept ur award from my blog 🙂

      Reply
    14. Prathibha

      August 06, 2009 at 3:42 am

      looking yummy...nice sidedish...gr8 clicks

      Reply
    15. Anonymous

      August 06, 2009 at 3:52 am

      wat a tempting click!
      Luv ur version...looks so tasty!

      Reply
    16. jayasree

      August 06, 2009 at 4:11 am

      Lovely click... I make undai sambhar. Will try ur version some time. I am drooling here..

      Reply
    17. Faiza Ali

      August 06, 2009 at 4:17 am

      Looks too yummy and healthy too coz its not fried. Will definitely try making it soon.and thanks for detailed steps dear.

      Reply
    18. vidhas

      August 06, 2009 at 4:58 am

      Temptin one Raji. Awesome clicks. I add the urandais directly without steaming it.

      Reply
      • Meena

        March 28, 2022 at 12:40 pm

        5 stars
        Hi Raks, I've been an avid followers of your blog over the years, tried several recipes and lived them all... I don't often leave comments.
        I must leave a comment on b this recipe.
        We make this urundai kulambu at home, the Traditional recipe is quite tedious and process driven, which has made it a rare occurrence in my life, today I used your recipe and the non steaming (add urundai directly) version... it was amazing- soft, tasty
        thank you for this fab recipe

        Reply
    19. anudivya

      August 06, 2009 at 5:13 am

      I have been looking for an authentic urundai kuzhambu recipe for a while, I am glad you posted it. I have no doubts that it tastes good since it comes from you.

      Reply
    20. Sailaja Damodaran

      August 06, 2009 at 6:18 am

      Step by step is excellent.....nice one

      Reply
    21. Sanghi

      August 06, 2009 at 7:01 am

      Excellentkuzhambu..! Loved it!

      Reply
    22. Nags

      August 06, 2009 at 8:02 am

      my mil makes it very similar, except we don't steam the urundai 🙂

      Reply
    23. Priti

      August 06, 2009 at 8:11 am

      Looks so gud...the pic is so nice

      Reply
    24. Sush

      August 06, 2009 at 10:19 am

      very nice step by step instructions & a neat presentation at the end 🙂

      Reply
    25. sowmya

      August 06, 2009 at 11:07 am

      that looks tempting enough to be tried soon..

      Reply
    26. Chitra

      August 06, 2009 at 11:24 am

      Hmm..looks superb..Will surely try and let u know:)Thanks for the recipe!:)

      Reply
    27. Sushma Mallya

      August 06, 2009 at 11:34 am

      picture is really lovely and mouth watering raks....pls come and collect lovely blog award from mine....

      Reply
    28. Valarmathi

      August 06, 2009 at 1:26 pm

      Pic looks so tempting and yummy.

      Reply
    29. Priya Narasimhan

      August 06, 2009 at 3:15 pm

      superb recipe raks...the best part is urundais are not fried in oil..will definitely try..bookmarking it..

      Reply
    30. Ann

      August 06, 2009 at 6:26 pm

      AWESOME PICTURES Dear!! I love looking at the very first pic.. Super tempting, My all time fav recipe 🙂

      Reply
    31. DEESHA

      August 06, 2009 at 7:26 pm

      we make this too but in a slightly different way. The 1st pic is mind blowing btw

      Reply
    32. Nithya Praveen

      August 06, 2009 at 7:42 pm

      Yummy one...great click too

      Reply
    33. Varsha Vipins

      August 07, 2009 at 1:46 am

      WOWOWOW..really good Raks..tho it seems like a lot of work to lazy me,I sure want to try this out..it looks really yummm..:)

      Reply
    34. Bhawna

      August 07, 2009 at 2:06 am

      I'm glad i have to type coz i can't speak else i will drool all over. Yummy, different delicious recipe. ur pictures makes it more simple. U'll know when i'll try.

      Reply
    35. Kitchen Flavours

      August 07, 2009 at 10:15 am

      Wow....love those lentil kofta's.....soaking in tamaring gravy...looks yum.....

      Reply
    36. Priya

      August 07, 2009 at 10:48 am

      Wow my all time favourite...Lovely clicks!!!

      Reply
    37. Shama Nagarajan

      August 07, 2009 at 12:13 pm

      i love this kuzhambu....u r tempting me to have it .....yummy

      Reply
    38. Jaishree

      August 07, 2009 at 12:55 pm

      Wow this is one of my fav ..Looks so tempting ...lovely click...Loved it!

      Reply
    39. Mythreyi Dilip

      August 07, 2009 at 6:27 pm

      Hey i was looking out for this recipe and got it in ur blog. Thanks for sharing and loved the step by step pics!!!

      Reply
    40. Mahimaa's kitchen

      August 08, 2009 at 4:32 am

      kozhambu nicely captured. looks very pleasing.

      Reply
    41. rekhas kitchen

      August 08, 2009 at 9:24 am

      wow mouthwatering love to have with hot rice beautiful pic.

      Reply
    42. talat

      August 08, 2009 at 6:58 pm

      It looks delicious. I'm slowly learning about Indian cuisine since I got married. I'm trying to master mung dal, black dal and now Toor dal, which I find to be a little tough. Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipe.

      Check my attempt at making kitcheri at http://www.phamfatale.com/id_330/title_Kitcheri-Indian-Moong-Dal-Lentil-Rice/

      Reply
    43. Sireesha

      August 09, 2009 at 8:58 pm

      Looks very tempting:)

      Reply
    44. Vibaas

      August 10, 2009 at 4:20 am

      raji, ur version is very different and tempting. will try this for sure 🙂 bookmarked!

      Reply
    45. Parita

      August 10, 2009 at 9:31 am

      Oh my that looks fabulous, I am so gonna make this soon! thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    46. Viki's Kitchen

      August 10, 2009 at 5:55 pm

      well said , truly this recipe is a keeper.Urundai kulambu looks delicious.

      Reply
    47. TBC

      August 11, 2009 at 12:31 am

      The khuzhambu is making me hungry- and I just had dinner! 😀
      BTW, the image in the header is lovely.

      Reply
    48. Priya Narasimhan

      August 11, 2009 at 5:17 pm

      raks, i would like to pass on kreativblogger award to you..please do accept..and check out my blog.

      Reply
    49. Srivalli

      August 12, 2009 at 4:48 am

      Raji..sure looks delicious..never came around making this..will have to make it sometime!

      Reply
    50. Mangala Bhat

      August 13, 2009 at 12:11 pm

      Hey sorry for the late comment ..Looks soo colorful and new recipe to me .must try this ..bookmarked .dear .//Hey One more ..Thanks for the comment ..i usualy add jaggery to my dosa batter like this way the color turns little golden brown ..try this ..let me know dear!

      Reply
    51. Duchess of Tea

      August 15, 2009 at 7:25 am

      Appetizing blog, simply divine. I joined your followers and will be back.

      Duchess xx

      Reply
    52. jeyashree's kitchen

      August 28, 2009 at 3:16 am

      Hai Rak's.i like this dish very much.i will try soon.
      your style is very diff&yum

      Reply
    53. Uma

      December 07, 2010 at 2:18 am

      HI Raks,i tried this recipe today..awesome..it came out very well..beautiful step by step illustrations..i like the way u take pics..good work..keep it up..u must have lot patience to do this..i appreciate it..grinding onion with coconut was a great tip..thanks for the wonderful recipe..

      Reply
    54. RAKS KITCHEN

      December 07, 2010 at 2:22 am

      Thanks Uma for trying and the prompt feedback :)Keep visiting!!

      Reply
    55. Karthiga.S

      May 02, 2013 at 4:54 am

      Hi Raks,

      When i got married 2 yrs back, i knew to make only few routine dishes... My husband is not a very big lover of food... So i lost interest in cooking... But now, as my 1 yr daughter likes my dishes, i started reading and trying new dishes from internet... i successfully made many of ur dishes... Even my husband started appreciating them... Usually paruppu urundai kuzhambu never came out well for me... But after following ur steps, it came out very well 🙂 Thank u very much Raks 🙂

      Reply
    56. RAKS KITCHEN

      May 02, 2013 at 4:56 am

      Thank you Karthiga 🙂

      Reply
    57. Dev

      July 11, 2013 at 12:32 am

      Came out really well... Yummmyyyy taste... Raks you rocks..

      Reply
    58. Lakshmi Rajesh

      October 23, 2013 at 12:07 pm

      This came perfect without pre boiling the urundais! Thanks for all the recipes

      Reply
    59. Pavithra Sreenivasan

      November 23, 2013 at 9:14 am

      i am going to try this tomo.. U have explained clearly.. photos makes it very easy..

      Reply
    60. Aisha Nizaam

      January 10, 2014 at 11:33 am

      this looks tempting..have heard of this kuzhambu but.have never tried...shall try now that i have d recipe....thanks

      Reply
    61. Sangeetha

      June 17, 2014 at 6:53 am

      hi,

      It looks yummy. can I make the urandai alone the previous night and refrigerate it. is it possible to make kulambu the next day morning and pack it for lunch. how long the toor dhal tastes good

      Thanks
      Sangeetha

      Reply
    62. Raks anand

      June 17, 2014 at 7:10 am

      Not sure if you can do so. Coz we use coconut so will get spoiled.

      Reply
    63. Sangeetha

      June 18, 2014 at 11:06 am

      Hi,

      Thanks for your reply. I didnt add coconut in the paruppu urandai.i refrigerated the urandai the previous ngt and next day I made the kulambu alone and added them.. it came out well. thanks again.

      Reply
    64. Vidya Bharadwaj

      September 15, 2014 at 12:40 pm

      Thanks for the step-by step instructions
      turned out great

      Reply
    65. Anonymous

      November 13, 2014 at 7:25 am

      Your recipes are too good 🙂 procedure with pics is really helpful.. Thanks 🙂

      Reply
    66. taj ayan

      February 23, 2015 at 9:43 am

      hi, i love your all recipes i learnt so many dishes from you, really thanks a lot, my family appreciated from my dishes which i learnt from you, your explaination also very good.

      i just wanted to ask you that if i dont have idli maker than how to steam this?

      Reply
    67. Raks anand

      February 23, 2015 at 9:48 am

      Skip the steaming part, you can add the koftas one by one directly in boiling gravy. Read all the steps to understand.

      Reply
    68. SUBASHINI SHANMUGAM

      July 25, 2015 at 12:27 pm

      Tired this recipe and it was tasting very good . Thanks for the awesome recipes. I have tired several other her recipes from your blog and everything turned out very good. Thanks once again and wonderful work on your blog !!

      Reply
    69. Unknown

      October 30, 2015 at 10:53 am

      If it will not bind can I use chick-pea flour ??

      Reply
    70. Raks anand

      October 30, 2015 at 11:01 am

      Yes you can. But if it doesn't bind, grind little smoothly.

      Reply
    71. December 2011

      December 11, 2015 at 11:14 am

      Whenever i make this , my paruppu urandai turn hard after steaming. What am i doing wrong.
      The gravy turns out yummy every time. Thank you/

      Reply
    72. Raks anand

      December 11, 2015 at 11:21 am

      Reasons could be either you are grinding it bit smoother than needed. Make sure to drain water completely and grind coarsely. (Hope you soak for enough time, may be try soaking for 3 hrs)

      Reply
    73. Saranya

      December 22, 2015 at 2:59 am

      I tried this today. Did not steam, it was yummy!! Keeper recipe!!

      Reply
    74. sagar lekha

      January 31, 2016 at 2:43 pm

      Wow sooper raks mouth watering am going to try today itself

      Reply
    75. Aks

      July 05, 2017 at 8:06 am

      Tried this for the first time today and it was awesome! Followed your tips of grinding coarsely with zero water and the urundais were just perfect! Thanks for the recipe..

      Reply
    76. Gayethiri Rk

      November 16, 2018 at 12:35 pm

      Hi... I tired it taste was fabulous but balls started to drink gravy so what can I do?

      Reply
    77. Raks Kitchen

      November 16, 2018 at 1:07 pm

      Try geinding dal coarsely also make the gravy slightly thin so that it gets adjusted.

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Rajeswari Vijayanand! I am the person behind Rakskitchen, sharing recipes with pictures & videos.

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