Karamani Curry

Karamani is a versatile legume that can be used in various dishes. It is also known as cowgram or black-eyed peas in English. In this blog post, I will show you how to make a delicious karamani curry that is rich and creamy. This curry is perfect for pairing with Indian breads like roti, naan, or paratha. You can also serve it with any mild pulao or fried rice for a satisfying meal.

Karamani Curry

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Recipe by S Kamala
Course: GraviesCuisine: Indian, TamilDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes

This Karamani Curry is a gravy type dish goes well with Indian Breads or any mild pulao/fried rice.

Ingredients

  • Karamani (Cow gram) – 1 cup

  • Tamarind – Gooseberry size

  • Tomato – 1 big

  • Onion – 1

  • Sambar Powder – 1 heaped teaspoon

  • Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

  • Cinnamon stick – 2 small

  • Sombu (aniseeds) – 1/2 teaspoon

  • Red Chillies – 2

  • Oil – 2 tablespoon

  • Salt – 1 teaspoon or as per taste

Directions

  • Soak the Karamani in water for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.
  • Rinse the soaked Karamani thoroughly and transfer it to a pressure cooker. Add two cups of water and a pinch of salt. Cook for three to four whistles, ensuring not to overcook.
  • Grind the tomatoes and tamarind into a smooth paste.
  • Finely chop the onion.
  • Heat oil in a kadai. Once the oil is hot, add cinnamon sticks, red chillies, and aniseeds. Then, add the chopped onion and fry until it turns transparent.
  • Add the ground tomato-tamarind paste, sambar powder, turmeric powder, and salt to the kadai. Mix well.
  • Add the cooked Karamani along with the water used for cooking. Stir well.
  • Allow the mixture to boil on medium heat. Once it reaches a semi-solid consistency, remove it from the stove.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • If you want to make this curry immediately, you can skip soaking and fry the Karamani in a teaspoon of oil till it turns golden brown and pressure cook it as above.

32 Comments

  1. when tomato and tamarind paste should be added .it is not mentioned in the method.but i added it after the onion.it came out well .thanx for the recipe.

  2. Thank you for pointing out. I have included the above in the recipe. Thank you once again for visiting my site and writing your views.

    • Hi kamala mam
      all ur recipies are really nice… I live in Denmark and ur recipies really help me a lot….
      thank u for sharing ur cooking talent…

      with regards
      karunya

  3. Hi Kamala,
    I have tried your recipie and it turned out to be awesome….
    I had bought this cow pea and wondering what to make out of this.
    Finally had learnt this recipie.
    Thank you
    Vaishnavi

  4. Hi Vaishnavi,

    Thank you for visiting my site and your comments. You can also prepare sundal, kuzhambu with karamani. Recipes are available in my site. Pls check.

  5. Anonymous

    Tasty one. I prepared this curry, really tasty one. Thanks a lot.

  6. Thank you for visiting and nice to hear that you prepared this curry.

  7. Tried it today. Came out well and ate with Chappathi.

  8. tried this recipe and came out really well.it was appreciated by all my family members.thank u.

  9. Today I tried this gravy, its really nice and my colleges too like this…

  10. hi aunty,
    I wanted to try out this recipe without onion.. Can i try? Will it come out good?

  11. Hi Aunty,
    Thanks for ur advice on this recipe.. will try out today.. And i wanted more recipes were onion and garlic can be optional.. Because i have elders who fast on particular days..

  12. I’m confused, some recipes soak the bean overnight, drain water, wash bean and cook in fresh water.

    Some soak overnight, cook in same water then drain water.

    Some fry in oil until it pops like mustard. You fry it in oil but didn’t mention it should pop.

    Which is correct method and why? and should it pop?

  13. In addition some soak for 30 min some 1 to 2 hrs some soak overnight then cook. So I’m confused what is the proper soak time and why?

    • Hi Radha,

      Soaking time for gram may vary depending upon its size. For example, whole gram (kondai kalai) will take more time to soak well whereas green gram (Pachai Payaru) will soak within few hours. If you soak it for more time, then it will cook fast and the cooking time will be reduced. But for some curry, the grams are just fried in a dry kadai and cooked starait away without soaking also. For Kuzhambu etc., it will enhance the taste also. To check the gram whether it is soaked well, just put a soaked gram in your mouth and munch it. You may feel raw, but it should be munched easily. Then you can know it is soaked well.

      • Which dals we don’t have to soak?
        You say karamani doesn’t need soaking, any others?

        • Hi Radha,

          It depends what type of dish you are preparing with the dhal. Sundal etc., you have to soak the dhal. But for kuzhambu, I used to fry even “Mochai Kottai” and straight away pressure cook it. Green Gram can also be cooked without soaking. But if you soak the grains, it will save cooking time.

  14. But what I wrote above is in regards to Karamani. In this blog you mention various ways to prepare it for cooking.

    Why I am confused is that I heard we always have to soak dals to get rid of some sugar that gives us gas. I’m not sure how to do it right so we won’t get gas. Some say soak and throw away the water, others say cook in soaking water so we maintain the nutrients, others say slow cook it so that it soaks and cooks at the same time, by bringing it to a boil on low heat which takes at least 1 hr.

    So I was surprised to see we can fry it. But what about the gas issues?

    I want to cook dals without gas issues and to maintain all the nutrients.

    • Hi Radha,

      Dhal has its own quality and you cannot completely remove the gas. However, the quantity you consume is the factor. To some extent you can remove the gas issue by adding garlic/asafoetida while cooking the dhal.

  15. In addition I never knew Karamani comes red too! I saw a pict for first time on Internet yesterday,

    I assume all your Karamani dishes uses the white kind.

  16. How to cook by boiling over stove, not pressure cook it?
    How to tell its done cooking?

    • Hi Radha,

      If you want to cook it on stove top, then soak the gram for 5 to 6 hours. Wash well and drain the excess water. Put it in a thick bottomed vessel and add clean water. The water should cover the soaked gram well. Then cook it on stove. It will take more time than pressure cooking, say about 15 to 20 minutes. If you take one gram and press it, it will be soft. Then you can remove from stove and drain the cooked water. Use the cooked gram in this curry.

  17. Hi,

    You’ve listed such wonderful and simple recipes.
    I usually turn up to ur site first get a recipie with my available veg, gram etc and you had never let me down. All the best wishes 🙂

  18. all recieps in this site r super
    . fine and easy to cook. iam daily surprising my hubby with ding good delicious recipe

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