Pakoda Kuzhambu

Ingredients

For Gravy

Onion   - 1
Tomato  - 1
Red chilli - 4 nos
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Roasted channa dhal -1 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Coconut - 3 tsp

For Pakoda

Onion finely chopped - 1/2
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Salt - to taste
Besan - 1/4 cup
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves

Method
Dry roast all the ingredients for gravy except coconut. Let it cool. In the meantime make the pakoda by mixing all the ingredients from the "For Pakoda" section above with water. The mix should not be like a dough. It should be crumbly & should barely hold them together. Spread the pakoda mix over hot oil & fry them. You don't have to worry about shapes. Keep the pakodas aside.

Grind the roasted ingredients along with coconut. Heat some oil in a pan (you can use the fried oil as it gives nice flavor). Season it with hinge & curry leaves. Saute the ground paste & add salt & water to it. Add some tamarind juice & a pinch of sugar. When the gravy starts to boil, add the fried pakodas & simmer for another 5 minutes. Pakodas will absorb some of the gravy. So make the gravy little watery.