Kadhi

Kadhi: Kadhi or karhi is a North Indian dish, originated in Rajasthan. Kadhi is a spicy dish whose thick gravy is based on chickpea flour and contains vegetable fritters called pakoras, to which sour yogurt is added to give it little sour taste. It is often eaten with boiled rice or roti. Variations on this basic dish include the addition of certain vegetables to make vegetable kadhi.

Ingredients (serves 6-8):

For Onion Pakoras/fritters:

• 2 cups gram flour (besan)
• 1 cup water
• 4 medium sized onions, sliced
• 1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• Oil, for deep frying

For Kadhi:

• 500 ml curd/yoghurt
• 1 cup gram flour (besan)
• 4 cups water
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• Salt, to taste

For the tempering:

• 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi)
• 2 sprig curry leaves
• 2 green chillies
• 2 dry red chillies
• 3 tbsp mustard oil
• A pinch of asafoetida

Method:

For Onion Pakoras:

• Mix gram flour in a bowl with carom seeds, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and salt.
• Add in the sliced onions.
• Mix well.
• Pour in a little water at a time to make a thick batter.
• Rest the batter for about 20-30 minutes.
• Check the consistency of the batter and if it still feels dry, then add some water to it.
• Adjust the seasoning of the batter.
• Heat the oil to 180°C, for deep frying the onion pakoras.
• Drop a teaspoon of batter, at a time, in the hot oil.
• Fry the onion pakoras till they are crisp and golden brown.
• Drain the onions pakoras on kitchen paper napkins or tissues.
• Keep aside.

For Kadhi:

• Whip the curd till smooth, in a bowl.
• Add in the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and salt.
• Mix well.
• Add in the gram flour to our spiced curd.
• Pour in the water.
• Mix well to make sure there are no lumps
• Heat a deep bottomed large pan, on medium heat.
• Heat the mustard oil till the smoking point.
• Simmer the oil.
• Add in the cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
• Add in the garlic-ginger paste, green chilli, curry leaves and dry red chilli.
• Fry till the raw smell of the garlic-ginger disappears.
• Pour in the liquid curd-gram flour mixture.
• Bring the whole mixture to a boil.
• Now, simmer for 8-10 minutes.
• Add in the fried onion pakoras to the boiling curd mixture.
• Cover and close the pan.
• Remove from heat.
• Let the onion pakoras be soaked in the kadhi for some minutes.
• Kadhi is ready to be served.
• Garnish the kadhi with coriander leaves and serve with warm rice or roti.

Notes:

• If the lumps have formed, use a wooden spoon or spatula to dissolve the lumps into the curd.
• You can use the blender to dissolve the limps, but over beating the mixture will make butter from curd, which we do not want.

If you have any queries regarding the Kadhi recipe, please leave a comment.