Kaalan | Kerala Kurukk Kalan | Katti Kaalan

A thick curry made with yam and banana, with a yogurt and coconut base…

For the second post for the theme “A dish for each course of a meal” for the Blogging Marathon #138, I am going to post the recipe of a dish, which is impossible to read correctly with the English spelling, so if you can read Malayalam, I am leaving it here – കാളന്‍. Anyway, not digressing too much into its name, Kaalan is a very thick stew made with yam and raw banana – yes, the same vegetables as the Koottucurry -, with a base of a sour yogurt and coconut base. The interesting bit in this recipe is the addition of fenugreek, which is not a very common ingredient as far as vegetarian cooking is concerned.

This curry uses sour curd along with a ground coconut mixture. I kept the yogurt out on my countertop overnight to make it sour. The process is quite easy with very limited spices. There are two ways of serving this – as a loose curry simply called Kaalan or as a thick side dish called as Kurukk Kaalan. I have mentioned the difference in the notes in the recipe card. After I made this curry and tasted it, I realized that this was one curry umma used to make once upon a time. I really don’t think she has made it anytime in the near future, since the taste felt really nostalgic to me. I am glad that I came across a dish that I can make as a repeat for my lunch menus now… Off to the recipe…

5 from 2 votes

Kaalan | Kerala Kurukk Kalan | Katti Kaalan

Course Afternoon Side

Cuisine Kerala

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 large raw banana around 250-300 gm
• 250-300 gm yam
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp pepper powder
• 1 cup sour yogurt refer notes

FOR GRINDING

• 1 cup grated coconut
• 3 green chillies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds

FOR TEMPERING

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 5-6 dried red chillies
• 1-2 sprigs curry leaves

Instructions

• Roughly peel (not completely) and chop the raw banana. Peel and chop the yam too in similar sized pieces. Wash well and set aside to drain.
• In a chatti (earthern pot), add the chopped vegetables along with water upto its level, turmeric powder and salt. Bring to boil.
• Cook till the vegetables are almost done.
• Meanwhile, grind the coconut with the other ingredients under "for grinding" till it is nice and smooth. Add a little water as needed.
• Keep the flame on simmer. Whisk the yogurt well along with pepper powder and add into the cooked vegetables. Give a good mix.
• Add the coconut paste and mix well. Simmer for around 5-8 minutes till the raw smell is gone. Switch off and adjust seasoning.
• To temper, heat coconut oil, splutter mustard seeds. Fry the dry chillies and curry leaves briefly and add into the gravy.
• Close and allow the mixture to rest till the time of serving.

Notes

To make sour curd, measure the curd and keep it on your countertop overnight. 

This recipe will give a thick gravy. For a looser gravy like the regular kaalan, grind 1/2 cup more of coconut and add 1/2 cup more of sour curd, add a little less than 1 cup of water to adjust the sauce. Adjust salt and pepper accordingly.