Kadappa

This dish is renowned in Thanjavur and is typically served with Idli or Dosai. The fundamental recipe consists of a blend of mashed potatoes and lentil-based batter, seasoned with ginger, garlic, and garam masala to enhance its flavor.

Kadappa

Recipe by S Kamala
Course: GraviesCuisine: Indian, Tamil, ThanjavurDifficulty: Medium
Servings

5

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

15

minutes

This dish is renowned in Thanjavur and is typically served with Idli or Dosai. The fundamental recipe consists of a blend of mashed potatoes and lentil-based batter, seasoned with ginger, garlic, and garam masala to enhance its flavor.

Ingredients

  • Medium sized potato-2

  • Onion- 1 chopped finely

  • To Grind:
  • Pottu Kadalai – 1 tablespoon

  • Green chillies – 4

  • Coconut gratings – 2 tablespoons

  • Fresh ginger – a small piece

  • Garlic flakes – 4

  • Cloves-2

  • Cinnamon stick – 1 piece

  • Aniseed (sombu) – 2 tsp

  • For Seasoning:
  • Oil – 4 tbsp

  • Cardamom – 2

  • Bay leaves – 2 small pieces

  • Salt – 1 teaspoon or as per taste

Directions

  • Cook potatoes till soft and mash coarsely.
  • Chop the onion lengthwise. Grind green chillies, aniseed, ginger, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, pottukadalai and coconut to a fine paste.
  • In a kadai pour the oil. When it is hot add the cardamom, bay leaves and fry for a few minutes.
  • Add onion and fry well. Add mashed potato and fry for two to three minutes.
  • Then add ground paste and mix well. Add enough water to cover potatos along with salt and bring to boil on medium flame. Cook till the gravy is slightly thick.

Notes

  • Instead of Pottukadalai, we can use besan flour also. Mix one tablespoon besan flour with water and make a thin batter and add to the kadappa and boil.
  • Some people prepare this with moong dhal also. Cook 1/4 cup moong dhal very soft and mash it nicely. Then add to the kadappa and boil it again

23 Comments

  1. Wow! Thats my favorite! Its prepared often without potatoes in Cuddalore district. comes handy when there are no veggies. Thanks for sharing!

  2. Hi Nirmala, Thank you for posting your comments. Yes. The dishes are prepared in different ways in each place.

  3. That sounds interesting!..thanks for sharing..

  4. I never heard of Kadappa..Looks easy and delicious

  5. i have eaten this at my friends…luv it thanks for the recipe 🙂

  6. Hi Kamala,
    This is one dish I was waiting to try!
    Thanks for sharing. Will give you a feedback.
    Viji Varadarajan

  7. Hi Srivalli, Mrs Kannan, Sangeeth and Viji,

    Thank you all for taking time to write your comments. If it is served hot, you will really enjoy the real taste of kadappa.

  8. Looks mouthwatering! What is Pottu Kadalai? Is it mustard seeds?

  9. Hi Jennifer,

    Thank you for visiting my site. Pottu Kadalai is Chutney Dhal or puffed dhal. It is not mustard.

  10. We are from kongunadu. My amma makes this kadappa exactly. Some time she use califlower instead of potatoes. This kadappa good with puri too. Thanks.

    Ramya

  11. Vanishree Venugopal

    Hi Kamala, I am from Mumbai, India. Your recipes have been very useful, especially during the festive season; and, i must mention that my daughter likes the Mint Rice,very much.Thank You very much.

  12. Hi Vanishreee Venugopal,

    Thank you for visiting my site. It is really nice to hear that your daughter likes the Mint Rice.

  13. knitnkanmani

    r u 4m thanjai ?I like ur cooking style very much

  14. Hi Knitnkanmani,

    Yes. I am from Thanjavur. Thank you for visiting my site and your comments.

  15. Hey, I can't view your site properly within Opera, I actually hope you look into fixing this.

  16. I will check and let you know.

  17. Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!

  18. hi kamala,when i was studying in s.r.c. TRICHY it was a regular feature there,after 30 years i am hearing this word,thanks for the recipe/Radhika

  19. Hi Radhika,

    Thank you for visiting my blog. This kadappa is famous in Trichy/Thanjavur and other southern districts of Tamilnadu.

  20. Hi. it tastes good, but i have doubt. we have to grind garlic freshly or after frying it ah?
    coz raw smell of garlic is in my try… pls tell.

    • Hi Aswini,

      We can grind garlic fresh and no need to fry. You have to use a small size 4 flakes only. Considering the quantity of potato and other ingredients we use in this recipe, 4 flakes of garlic will not make any smell. Moreover, when it boils well, you won’t get any raw smell. Pl check the quantity of the garlic you used and sometimes the size of the garlic flake is very big, especially the garlic you get in US. In such case you can reduce the garlic to just one or two big flakes.

  21. hello kamala
    i love ur website a lot. I have tried many recipes from ur site and they all turned out good. I have a doubt in this particular recipe.
    what did u mean by Aniseed/sombu.can u jus tell me its name in telugu.
    Becoz when i tried searching them in google both seem to be diff.
    aniseed —> anise star
    sombu–> sompu

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