What is unique about Kadhi
Recipe for Kadhi is rather traditional and very popular Indian recipe consisting of pakora or fritters made of gram flour scattered and soaking in a sour- creamy yogurt-based gravy typically referred to as ‘ Kadhi ‘
It is to be served hot with Rice or ever Rotis. Gram Flour and yogurt are two main ingredients make this gravy unique.
Ingredients for Kadhi
Ingredients for tempering the oil for Kadhi
Oil- 2 -3 tablespoons
Cumin seeds- 1 tablespoon
Curry leaves – 12-14 fresh leaves
Dried red chillies- 2-3
Preparing the Kadhi mixture
Ingredients for preparing the kadhi batter
Gram flour (Besan)- 1 teaspoon
Yogurt – (thick or Greek-style )250 gms
Turmeric- 1/2 a teaspoon
Salt to taste
Green chilies – 4-5, finely ground in a blender by adding a hint of salt and water
Water – 2 cups
Method to cook Kadhi
• In a bowl take the gram flour, green chilli paste , turmeric powder and salt and mix the ingredients well
• Whisk the yogurt in a separate bowl until smooth
• Add the yogurt to the gram flour mixture and beat the yogurt
Stir well to make a smooth mixture without lumps. If there are lumps, then break them with a wired whisk or a spatula or with your fingers.
Add 2 cups of water and stir again so the final batter is semi-liquid consistency
Keep this mixture aside
Making pakoras for Kadhi
Ingredients for making the Pakoras for Kadhi
Gram flour (Besan)- 250 gms
Turmeric – 1/ 2 a teaspoon
Salt to taste
Chilli powder- 1/2 a teaspoon
Baking soda – a pinch
Oil -1 teaspoon
Water – 1/2 – 3/4 cup
Method to cook Kadhi
In a bowl add the besan (Gram Flour), Add the turmeric, salt, red chili powder in the required quantity as mentioned above and mix well
Add water and give the batter a though whisk ensuring there are no lumps that formed
The resulting batter should be of semi-thick and smooth consistency
The next step would be to use this batter for making the pakoras
For this Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan or Kadai. With the oils heats up, reduce the heat to medium flame
• Spoon in some prepared batter and drop the pakora batter in the oil
• When the pakoras start to fluff and change color to a light golden brown turn them over with the help of a perforated ladle and allow them to fry on the other side
• Fry the pakoras till crisp and place them on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil
• Fry the pakoras in batches this way till the entire batter gets used up
Getting it all together :
• In another pan or Kadai, heat 2 tbsp oil. Make sure to use a large bottomed pot so that while boiling, the kadhi does not spill
• To the heated oil, add the ingredients mentioned at the beginning to temper the oil
• As the cumin seeds start to crackle and the curry leaves and chilies start changing color, lower the flame and pour in the yogurt mixture
• Increase the flame to medium and bring the kadhi to a boil making sure to stir the gravy often so that yogurt doesn’t split
• Carry on cooking the gravy for 20-25 minutes
• As the kadhi starts to come to a boil, lower the flame and simmer the kadhi for more 6 to 7 minutes. The kadhi will thicken If the kadhi becomes too thick, then you could add in some hot water
Now add the pakoras in the kadhi and stir gently
• Leave the gravy to simmer on low flame for 10 more minutes by covering with a lid
• Switch off the flame after this time The creamy Kadhi pakora is best served with steamed rice or Jeera Rice, topped with few teaspoonfuls of ghee
