Kadhi Pakora is one of my favorite dishes. Kadhi Pakora is a North Indian dish which means a soup-like dish made with chickpea flour and yogurt. Kadhi Pakora is good for digestive health as it is loaded with good bacteria for the gut and helps in nutrient absorption. Kadhi is particularly light on the stomach and the spices that typically flavors kadhi help boost digestive fire.
This dish can be made with or without pakoras. Kadhi tastes the best with rice but you can have it plain, with roti or with any other sides of your choice.
Kadhi Pakora - recipe and ingredients
Ingredients:
or kadhi mixture
1.5 cups full fat sour yogurt (curd). Yogurt turns sour if it's left out overnight.
3 cups water or add as required
½ teaspoon red chili powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon garam masala powder
½ teaspoon of asafoetida (hing)
Salt as per taste.
8 tablespoon chickpea flour (besan)
1 medium onion chopped
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
¾ to 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
8 to 10 fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)
2 red chilies, broken (optional)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
8 to 10 curry leaves or 1 sprig curry leaves
2 tablespoons mustard oil or any other oil is fine as well.
Any oil of your choice for shallow frying or deep frying pakoras.
for onion pakoras
2 medium to large onions thinly sliced. If you don't prefer onion, you can use fresh chopped spinach or potatoes for the pakoras.
1 cup chickpea flour (besan)
½ teaspoon red chili powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon garam masala powder
½ teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)
salt as per taste
¼ cup water or add as required to make a thick paste.
Directions to make the yogurt:
In a bowl take 1.5 cups yogurt and whisk it well.
Add 8 tbsp chickpea flour, ½ tsp red chili powder, ½ tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp garam masala powder, and 1 tsp salt or as per taste to the whisked curd.
Add 3 cups water and mix well.
You can use a blender to make this mixture to make sure there are no lumps. Do not overuse the blender.
Keep the yogurt mix on the side and let's get started on the pakoras. if you don't want the friend pakoras then you can skip the directions for making pakoras and go straight to the directions for making kadhi.
Directions to make onion pakoras:
Heat oil for deep frying in a pan or kadhai.
Take the 1 cup gram flour/besan in a bowl and add ½ tsp ajwain/carom seeds, ½ tsp red chili powder, ½ tsp garam masala powder, and ⅔ tsp salt or as required.
Add thinly sliced onions and water to make a thick batter.
Now, take a spoonful amount of onion-chickpea batter and drop it in the hot oil one at a time. You can add multiple pakoras in at a time given you have space in your pan or kadhai.
When the pakoras are partly cooked, then turn over and fry the other side.
Fry till the pakoras are crisp and golden.
Remove the fried pakoras and place them on a kitchen paper towel so that extra oil is absorbed. Fry the pakoras in batches this way. When done keep all of them aside.
Directions for making Kadhi:
In another pan or kadhai, heat 2 tbsp mustard oil.
Add the 1 tsp cumin seeds, 8 to 10 methi seeds, and a generous pinch of asafoetida. Allow the cumin seeds to crackle and the methi seeds to change their color. Fry on a low flame, so that these spices do not get burnt.
Add ⅓ cup chopped onion. Stir and saute for roughly 2-3 minutes on low flame.
Then add chopped ginger, and chopped garlic, Stir and saute for a minute.
Add 8 to 10 curry leaves, 2 dry red chilies (halved or broken). Stir and saute for a minute on a low flame.
Now, add the yogurt mixture. Make sure the pan has enough space available after adding the yogurt mixture to avoid any spills.
Keep stirring the mixture.
Increase the flame to medium and bring the kadhi to a boil. Keep on stirring often so that the kadhi doesn't burn or sticks to the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring the kadhi for 20 minutes.
After the kadhi has come to a boil, then lower the flame and simmer the kadhi for more 6 to 7 minutes. The kadhi will thicken.
Once the kadhi is cooked, add the pakoras if you made them, or else you can skip this part. Stir gently.
Cover with a lid and let the onion pakoras be soaked in the kadhi
Lastly, sprinkle some garam masala powder on the Kadhi.
Serve Kadhi with rice, roti, parantha, naan, or any other side of your choice.
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