Indian Cooking Challenge: Punjabi Pakora Kadhi

I was in India last month and could not part of last month's challenge. This month's challenge is Punjabi Kadhi, Simran's recipe.  Kadhi is  a yogurt based gravy, cooked in several parts of India and each part of the country has its own way of preparing it.  Growing up, I had eaten kadhi at my neighbor's place but never Punjabi Kadhi.   So, I was excited to make it and also for a  change, it was nice to try out something other than a sweet or a snack for ICC.

I tried this recipe on Tuesday,  adjusting the spices to treat my palate, and it turned out very good!   I  had it for lunch both on Tuesday and Wednesday, for dinner last night and still have some leftovers in the fridge.  As Simran mentioned in her  post, you can't make kadhi in small quantities!  That is so true.  Thanks Simran  for the this delicious recipe and thanks to Valli for picking this recipe!

Source: Simran
Cooking Time: 1 hour

Printable Recipe

• For Pakora
  • ½ teaspoon Besan/Gram Flour/Chickpea Flour
  • 1 medium Onion sliced
  • Salt to taste
  • ½ teaspoon Chili Powder
  • ¼ cup water approx.
  • Oil for deep-frying
• For Kadhi
  • 1 cup Yogurt
  • ⅓ cup Besan/Gram Flour/Chickpea Flour
  • 2 ½ - 3 cups Water
  • 1 tablespoon Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin
  • 1 teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
  • 1 large Onion sliced
  • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon Chili Powder (adjust to heat tolerance level)
  • Salt to Taste
  • ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
  • 1 - 1 ½ teaspoon Amchur/Dried Mango Powder (depends on how sour you yogurt is)

• Pakora
  • In a bowl mix gram flour, salt and chili powder.
  • Add ¼ cup water to the flour mixture to make a semi-thick consistency batter. If required, add more water. I used ⅓ cup water and the batter was too thin. I ended up adding additional 1 ½ tablespoon – 2 tablespoon of gram flour to get the right consistency batter.

  

  • Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add sliced onions to the batter and mix well. Using your hand, drop small quantities of batter into the oil.

  

  • Deep fry the pakora on medium high flame until golden brown and crispy.
  • Remove them from oil and drain them on paper towel. I ended up eating ⅓ of the pakora even before the kadhi was ready.. 🙂 If you are lie me, make more pokaras than the quantity required for the recipe.

  

• Kadhi
  • In a bowl, mix together yogurt and gram flour, add water and make a very thin batter. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter.
  • Heat oil in a sauce pan, when the oil heats, add mustard, cumin, fenugreek seeds and let them splutter.
  • Add onions and fry till light golden brown.
  • Add turmeric powder, salt and chili powder and mix well.
  • Add the yogurt mixture, mix well and bring to a boil stirring it constantly. Simran said it is not required to stir constantly but I was afraid yogurt might curdle.
  • Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes are until the mixture is thick. Stir it once in a while.  Also remember, Punjabi kadhi is thick.
  • Once the kadhi is thick, add the pakoras and bring it to a boil.
  • Add garam masala and amchur and mix well and turn off the heat.
  • Serve it with rice or roti. I served mine with rice.