Kachi Kadhi Recipes

KADHI RECIPE (PUNJABI KADHI PAKORA)

Steps:

• In a bowl take the sour curd and whisk it well till smooth
• Add gram flour, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and salt to the whisked curd.
• Stir and mix everything again.
• Add 3 cups water and stir again.
• Stir very well to make a smooth mixture without lumps. If there are lumps, then break them with a wired whisk or a spatula or with your fingers. Set the curd slurry aside.
• You can use a blender to make this mixture, but make sure you don't over do it. You will get butter instead of a smooth blended curd.
• Take the gram flour in a bowl and add carom seeds, red chili powder, garam masala powder and salt.
• Add 1 cup thinly sliced onions.
• Mix everything well and set aside covered for 30 minutes.
• This will allow the onions to release their water in the mixture. Depending on the water content in the onions, the mixture will become very moist or just about moist.
• Then accordingly add water as required to make a thick batter. I added ¼ cup water.
• Heat oil for deep frying in a pan or kadai. Let the oil become medium hot. Then with a spoon carefully drop the pakora batter in the oil.
• When the pakora are partly cooked, then turn over and fry the other side.
• Fry till the pakora are crisp and golden.
• Remove the fried pakora and place them on a kitchen paper towel so that extra oil is absorbed. Fry the pakora in batches this way. When done set all of them aside.
• In another pan or kadai, heat mustard oil. Make sure to use a large bottomed pot so that while boiling, the kadhi does not spill.
• Add the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and asafoetida. Allow the cumin seeds to crackle and the fenugreek seeds to change their color. Fry on a low flame, so that these spices do not get burnt.
• Add chopped onions. Stir and sauté for 3 minutes on a low to medium-low heat.
• Then add chopped ginger, chopped garlic and chopped green chillies. Stir and sauté for a minute.
• Now add curry leaves, dry red chilies (halved or broken and seeds removed). Stir and sauté for a minute on a low flame.
• Then add the curd slurry.
• Stir very well.
• Increase the flame to medium and bring the kadhi to a boil. Keep on stirring often so that the bottom does not get browned. Time taken to cook kadhi will be around 14 to 16 minutes.
• After the kadhi has come to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for more 6 to 7 minutes. The kadhi will thicken.
• If the kadhi becomes too thick, then add some hot water.
• Now add the onion pakora to the kadhi and stir gently.
• Cover with a lid and let the onion pakora be soaked in it for 8 to 10 minutes.
• Lastly sprinkle some garam masala powder.
• Serve kadhi pakora with steamed rice or cumin rice, topped with few teaspoonfuls of ghee. You could also have kadhi with roti or paratha.

GUJARATI KADHI

Steps:

• Mix the water, yogurt, and chickpea flour together in a large saucepan until smooth; add the green chile peppers, ginger, sugar, turmeric, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil and then immediately reduce heat to low; cook on low 5 to 10 minutes.
• Heat the oil and ghee together in a small skillet over medium heat; fry the dried red chile peppers, curry leaves, cumin seeds, mustard seed, and asafetida powder in the the mixture until the seeds splutter. Stir the mixture into the saucepan with the cilantro. Serve hot.

KACHI KADHI

Steps:

• In a bowl beat yoghurt till smooth
• To this add the green masala paste, salt and water.
• Add more water if you do not want a thick consistency just like butter milk.(If you do not have green masala paste on hand then just crush 2 green chilles and 2 cloves garlic and add to the yoghurt).
• Mix well.
• Now heat oil in a saucepan add mustard seeds, cumin seeds chopped or crushed garlic and curry leaves.
• When the seeds start to splutter add green chilies stir for a few seconds and add the yoghurt mix keep stirring this do not boil just heat through and turn of the gas.
• Add the coriander leaves now.
• Now enjoy this as it is or with any type of khichdi.

KADHI

Steps:

• Mix flour and butter milk well with a hand mixer or whipper.
• Heat the clarified butter in a saucepan, add cumin and mustard seeds, curry leaves, whole chilli and ginger allow to splutter.
• Add the buttermilk.
• Stir continuously adding crushed chilli, salt, sugar, turmeric and asafoetida and the mint/fenugreek leaves.
• Stir continuously till it reched boiling point.
• Simmer on low for 10 minutes till the flour cooks, stirring once in a while.
• Serve piping hot garnished with coriander.
• Note: 1.
• Kadhis have to be stirred continuously, till the curd mixture starts boiling to get a smooth and uncurdled texture.
• Once boiling starts,then it may be simmered on slow, to extract flavours to full extent, stirring occasionally.
• 2.
• Kadhis may be made in advance (a few hours and not days) but do not temper the kadhi, just boil the buttermilk with the flour and the ingredients added after that.
• Heat the clarified butter and temper just before serving and heat the kadhi through before serving.
• 3.
• Try and use the kadhi within a day.
• 4.
• If the curds/ buttermilk is not sour enough, then add a few grains of citric acid to get the sour flavour.
• But do not use overly sour curds (stale), as this will result in the kadhi tasting pungent, not aromatic.