Kadhi is a very popular dish throughout India. Kadhi is a blend of yogurt and besan (gram flour) with besan pakoras. Kadhi is served with plain white rice.

Serves 2-3.

Ingredients:

• Kadhi
  • 1 cup yogurt
  • 2/3 cup gram flour (besan)
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons ghee (clear butter)
  • Pinch of asafetida (hing)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (mathi)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 4 whole red chilies
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Pinch of citric acid if needed
• Pakoras
  • 3/4 cup besan (Gram flour)
  • About 2/3 cup water
• Garnish
  • 1 teaspoon of ghee or clear butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon of red chili powder or paprika

Method

Kadhi:
Beat the yogurt. Mix in 2/3 cup of gram flour and turmeric. Mix until there are no lumps. Add 3 cups of water slowly and mix well.

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil. If the cumin seeds crack right away, the oil is ready. Add the asafetida, fenugreek seeds, and cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds crack, add the bay leaves, whole red chilies, and red chili powder. Stir for a few seconds. Add the yogurt mixture and keep stirring until the kadhi comes to a boil. Add 3 cups of water and let it boil and turn the heat to medium low. Stir occasionally and let the kadhi cook for between 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When the kadhi is cooked, add salt. Adding the salt after the kadhi is cooked will prevent the yogurt from breaking. Tip: You can adjust the thickness of the kadhi by adding water.

Pakoras:
Mix 3/4 cup of besan with about 2/3 cup of water and mix well until there are no lumps. Beat the batter for few minutes so it is light and fluffy.
Heat the oil in a flat pan. The oil should be about 1/2 inch deep. When dropping the batter in the oil, it should not be covered with oil. This will allow the pakoras to expand. The pakoras will be softer if they are shallow fried. Drop about one teaspoon of batter for each pakoras. Fry the pakoras until golden-brown. After the pakoras are fried, soak in a bowl of room temperature water for about 10 minutes. Next, squeeze the excess water from the pakoras, being careful not to break the pakoras. Add the pakoras to the hot kadhi and let boil on low-medium heat for approximately 10 minutes.

Garnish:
Heat the clear butter (ghee) in a small saucepan. Add chili powder and/or paprika (adjust to taste). Pour over the kadhi when ready to serve.

Variations

• Add 1 cup of chopped spinach to the kadhi just before adding the pakoras for extra flavor.
• Try adding 1 tablespoon of dry fenugreek leaves (mathis) in the batter for the pakoras.