Kadhi Pakoras
Kadhi, a blend of yogurt and besan (gram flour) with besan pakoras, this is served with rice. This dish is popular throughout India.
Ingredients
For Kadhi
- 1 cup yogurt dahi, curd
- 2/3 cup besan gram flour
- 6 cup water
- 2 tbsp ghee clarified butter
- 1/8 tsp asafetida hing
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds methi dana
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds jeera
- 1 tsp turmeric haldi
- 4 whole red chilies
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- pinch citric acid if needed to give more sourness to kadhi
For Pakoras
- 3/4 cup besan, gram flour
- 2/3 cup water use as needed
For Garnish
- 1 tsp ghe clarified butter
- 1 tsp red chili powder
Instructions
Making Kadhi
- Mix gram flour and turmeric with yogurt until smooth. Add three 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, cumin seeds, stir and add 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 three cups of water and let it come to boil. Add salt. Turn the heat to medium low. Let the kadhi cook an hour and a half, stir occasionally. To adjust thickness, add boiled water.
Making Pakoras
- Add water slowly to the besan to make a smooth and thick batter. Whip the besan batter two to three minutes in a circular motion using a spoon, until light and fluffy.
- Fry the pakoras in ½ inch of oil in a flat frying pan over medium heat. (Don’t use enough oil to cover the pakoras; they will be softer and fluffier if fried in shallow oil.
- To test, drop one drop of batter into the oil. The batter should form a ball on the surface of the pan, but not change color right away.
- Place about one tablespoon of batter into the oil. Fry the pakoras in small batches until golden-brown.
- After frying, soak the pakoras in room-temperature water for ten minutes. Squeeze the pakoras gently to remove the water, taking care not to break them.
- Add the pakoras to the kadhi and boil on low to medium heat for ten minutes.
Making the Seasoning
- Heat the ghee (clarified butter) lightly in a small saucepan. Add chili powder and/or paprika (adjust to taste). Pour over the kadhi when ready to serve.
Notes
Variations Add one cup chopped spinach to the kadhi just before adding the pakoras for extra flavor and color. Add one tablespoon dry fenugreek leaves (dry mathi leaves) to the pakora batter. My favrait way to Serve Kadhi Pakoras is with Rice, Roti, Jeera Aloo, Spicy Green Peas
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Maam please please suggest me, can I give khadipakoras in lunch box, will pakoras won’t become over soft. Please suggest what to do for pakoras in khadi not to be over melted if given in lunvh box
hello Vani, please chill and do not stress. but i must tell the truth, the pakoras will soft in the lunch box.
Can we reheat kadhi and how many days can we keep on the refrigerator?
Zen, yes you can reheat the kadhi and can refrigerate for few days.
Dear Manjula, 3/4 cup and 2/3 cup water for making pakoras made my batter too watery. I had to add more besan to the batter to make pakoras. Is this measurement correct? Just checking! Please reply.. thank you for the most delicious and easy recipes. You are truly appreciated by me and many others!
Mithilesh, sorry, my mistake, add the water slowly as needed to make smooth and thick batter, I will make the correction. Thank you
Aunty my kadhi turns thinner after 1 2 hour…when i am making its conositency is thick, but as time goes it becomes thinner and if i reheat it, it becomes like water…what could be reason.Please need your help
Rumana, I have never experienced this, with time Kadhi always becomes thick, I am clue less, sorry
Dear Manjulaji,
Why pakodas have to be soaked in water??
hi manjula jee
i think u forgot to use salt.. or u knowling forgot..please let me know
is this a dish to make without salt ????
Raps, sorry I just forgot and so far no one mention, after kadi comes to boil add salt.
Thank you
Can I freez left over Punjabi pakora Khadija?
Ratan, yes but before soaking in the water
Hi Aunty, I have tried kadhi recipe two times but both times it separated. Please advise why it separates and becomes watery. It doesn’t come out smooth.
thanks,
Meena
Meena Kadhi should be coked on low heat, infect any dish with yogurt should be cooked on low heat
Is there any other reason other than cooking on high flame that’s separates it. Cuz even my Kari gets separated in spite of cookin on low flame. Reasons like the texture of curd or ratio of beans to curd etc.. pls reply
Roshni, adding the yogurt and besan mix on low heat it should not seprate
YOU have to keep stirring it until the boil comes .
Add salt only after the kadhi comes to a good boil.. adding salt earlier may also cause the kadhi to split
Seems different and I never tried Kadhi Pakoras. I’m glad to find it and the recipe process has mentioned in a clear process. Thanks!
mam please tell kadi pakoda ke saath which type of salaad is mausam me chalege. mandir me langer hai uske saath
Parveen, try Stir-Fry Cabbage salad, enjoy!
Can you pls post a recipe of palak kadhi? UP style? Thanks!!!
You are rocking man can you explain how to make bhel puri
Govt,
check this link https://manjulaskitchen.com/bhel-puri-chatspicy-crunchy-snack/
I have a suggestion which my Ma used to do while making pakori.pakori ke liye aap Besan ke batter mei u can add little refine oil, sauf, salt and all Mirch powder. Put the fried pakori in slight warm water. This will add softness to pakori.
Lovely pakoras.Want to eat it now.Very tempting.
hi aunty, i’m pinky your all recipes were fab n i dint know the proper way to prepare these food thanks for helping me like mother because my dad n mom separated wen i was small…. so from cooking your recipes i ll make my papa happy…. 🙂 please send some tips for making good food, my request is for all didis,auntys n grandma too… 🙂 thank u… 🙂
Dear Manjula,
can you please tell me if i can just leftover pakoras (which are made one day before) in the khadi? Would it work?
Thanks for your answer
Hello Manjula,
i would ask you if i can leftover pakoras (which made one day before) just put in the ready kadhi? Would it works?
Thank´s for your answer
thanqs aunty,i love rajastani receipes.perticularly theese curry pakora.thanq u very much.
Hello Manjula Auntie,
I have prepared alomst all of your recipes. Your Aloo Gobi and Daal Makhni are all time favorites in my family. Keep posting and thank you
Manira
Manjula Aunty,
Thank you for your wonderful recpies. I have made the kadhi, but not the pakoras. I added vegetables and it was delicious.
Bhavi.
Hello Auntie ji
I’m trying to use the least amount of oil possible and am wondering if it is possible to cook pakoras in a manner other than frying. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes, greatly enjoyed by my family. Kelly
Kelly,
Pakoras are deep fry,but if you want to avoid the fry food check the recipe for MUTHIA
thank you. I have guests coming who do not eat onion and garlic and your recipes are a blessing!!
It was extremely simple to make as well as full of flavor
Thank you for the recipe, it was very easy to make and very tasty. Sri Sri Radha Giridhari, our deities here at New Govardhana Dhama in San Diego certainly enjoyed it with their puris, hot milk, and mysore pak tonight.
Hare Krsna
Can this Kadhi be prepares 1-2 days earlier ? Would it affect the taste?
MJ
you can prepare the Kadhi few days before and refrigerate.
Namasteji,Manjulaji,
thanks so much for sharing your recipes.They are easy to prepare and so tasty!
from Reunion island,
zahra
Hi Manjulaji
My compliments on your fail proof recipes! I had some aloo pakoras left and have question on mixing that in the yogurt blend instead of the bland pakoras. Your thoughts are appreciated.
Renuka
Renuka,
Cooking is more fun when we are experimenting; specially try to use left over. Besan aloo they blend together well so give it a try.
All of your recipes are very nice. Thank you.
Thanks manjula ji for all these recipes.
Thanks a lot Manjulaji.Your delicious and mouth watering recipes are so accurate…………….its amazing…..i m learning a lot from you everyday.
God bless you and your family……….
Thank you once again.
Will it be okay if I don’t use Hing in any of the recipes?
Tiana,
It will be fine without Hing.
Thanks Manjula ji for this great recipe. I really wanna thank you for your other delicious & mouth watering recipes. I must say that you put really good efforts to make us learn how cooking is done perfectly. I have learnt a lot from you. Whenever I watch you cooking its feels as if my own mom is cooking for me 🙂
God bless you & your family….!!!!
Kuku
it looks like mama is making kadhi pakora thank u manjula ji
two points for clarity
1) agree the besan must be sieved and warm water maybe is better add in small increments slowly while continuing to mix with a spoon or hand blender
2) to prevent lumpy hold the salt till later
3) also continuous stirring when the Karhi starts heating up u cannot walk away must stir till rolling boil otherwise the karhi may fragment/or particulate .
hi aunty
if you can gave the Recipe of kachi dabeli will really appreciate it.
thank you
its very yummy….
Hello
My mother makes the kadhi almost the same way… although I always wanted to try making it myself but never had the confidence, because I never followed my mother to the kitchen to learn the process… which I regret.
I really want to thank you for the video. Not only it helped me learn but gave me the confidence to try this recipe right now.
This was my first visit to your kitchen… but I think I’m gonna continue visiting you from now on 🙂
thanks
Subaika
(Houston, Tx)
Suggestion to fellow readers : if you are bored to make pakodas, you can put in Boondi instead , it tastes great 🙂
hi manjula,
You made cooking so easy and delicious. Now I dont have to ask any one else because now whenever I have to make something i just see your recipe and good thing your recipe are very simple and easy. tahnks a looooooooooot for your help.
Akvinder
hi manjula ji,
for the kadhi, do you need sour yogurt or right out of the refrigerator wil give the same taste.
hi nina,
sour yoghurt makes good taste so u can take out curd from the refrigerator a day before u make kadhi. u can even try buttermilk for this.this also goes well.
last time when i made kadhi i used buttermilk along with half of curd and it came out very delicious.
i never boil it for that long, i make it quick, it comes out okay, i will try this one. thanks,
Thanks Manjula aunty for all the lovely recipes…enjoyed watching…now I will enjoying cooking your recipes….
Hi Manjula Ji
whenever I amek kadhi, it leave particles .. i never get the creamy consistency . would you know the reason?
hi jyoti,
your problem could be because of the besan. For smooth even texture, you should sieve the besan before adding to the yogurt mixture.i use a manual egg beater and put the besan in small quantities in the yogurt, that way i can make sure there are no lumps. See if that works for you!
namaste manjula ji….
can i use buttermilk instead of yogurt…..for making this dish….
rest ur dishes are all fabulous mst say this……
may god bless u
Hi Manisha, yes you may use buttermilk texture will be little different.
hello manjula ji ,
i want to make this kadhi pakoda for at least 15ppl plz tell me the qauantities of ingredient used .
\thankyou
Hi,
I made this yesterday but I think my yogurt was not very sour, hence the kadi lacks the tanginess – is there anyway to fix this?
Add some lemon juice at the end of cooking. Check for tanginess and add more lemon juice if needed.
hi mam,
i saw some of ur cookery videos.its vry nice.if u try any new dishes.send me 2 my mail id.its vry useful 2 me .I need 1 help ,im studying mbbs,im staying in hostel.at morning i want 2 make easy dish fastly & tasty too.send me some recipes.
hi,
manjula ji, how to make garam masala
Hamida, in my opinion the pakoras need spices.
I add salt, red chili powder, and cumin powder to the pakora batter. Put the same amount as you would for any besan pakora. I sometimes add crumbled dried methi (fenugreek) leaves to the pakora batter too – probably about 2 tablespoons for this recipe.
Jaya
I made this today and the kadhi was just okay and the pakoras were tasteless. I don’t know why that happened but it just turned out very bad. The pakoras didn’t have any taste in it and I had to throw away the entire dish. Is it because the pakoras didn’t have salt or any type of spice in it?
you have not used khoya in gajjar ka halwa why?
Awesome recipe. I am going to try it soon! Thanks for the video!
Manjula Jee,
Your recpies remind me of my late mother’s cooking … Thank you for sharing your wealth with us. I am making the Kadhi tonight …. and it just looks like my mom’s and I am sure it will taste as good …
Thanks,
SK
Hello Manjulaji, Namaste.
Thanks for gr8 recipe. Do we add turmeric powder anytime during the preparation?
can anything be done if kadhi goes khatta………………….any corrections while making it
Thanks for the gr8 recipe,
today for the first time i have cooked Kadhi..and it has turned out fantastic.
FYI: Find dry fenugreek leaves in the Indian/Pakistani grocery store sold as “Kasoori Methi”.
“Methi” means fenugreek and is pronounced as “may-tee”.
Dear Manjulaji,
I just made this today for dinner and it came out very well! I liked the flavor a lot. I had always made Kadhi with garam masala (my family’s recipe), but I like your recipe better without the garam masala – nothing I need to mention to my mother-in-law 🙂
I used a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice to make it more “khatta” (sour) as I didn’t have citric acid in the house.
Thank you again for providing such RELIABLE recipes.
Thankyou aunty, I am really learning a lot from your website. Please, do keep posting new recipies.
Hello Jaya, Use citric acid if you like Kadhi more sour.
Dear Manjulaji,
What is the citric acid for and how do I know if it’s needed?
Thank you.
I saw ur video on Youtube & in that i read about ur website…it is excellent way to teach veg. cooking…Me & my whole family is vegetarian……& it is amazing that been in USA from so log u r still vegetarian.Now i will always refer ur site for recipes.
Thank you Aunty…I am following all your recipes and found them easy to follow. you are simply fascinating and I see my mothers image in you..Keep posting new recipes as I have become a better cook solely because of you..