Kadi Sauce Recipes

KADI SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the yogurt, gram flour, water, turmeric, ginger, and green chile. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil, 10 to 12 minutes. (Once the sauce comes to a boil, it is stabilized and the yogurt is no longer in danger of breaking.) Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and coats the back of the spoon, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• In a small skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle. Stir in the Kashmiri chilies, curry leaves, and asafetida. Scrape all of the pan's contents into the yogurt sauce. Stir in the sugar and salt. If not using immediately, let cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

KADHI (YOGURT-BASED SAUCE)

Steps:

• Leave yogurt or sour cream outside refrigerator overnight so it will sour more.
• Put flour in bowl and add yogurt or sour cream. Stir while adding 5 cups of water.
• Cut chilies in half lengthwise. Cut each length in half crosswise and add to mixture of yogurt or sour cream.
• Cut (do not grind) ginger cube into very small pieces. Add this.
• Cut away and discard tomato core. Cut tomato into 1/4-inch cubes. There should be about 1/2 cup. Add this.
• Add salt, sugar and curry leaves.
• Heat butter in small saucepan and add cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, hot dried peppers and asafetida. Cook briefly, stirring, and add about 1/4 cup of sour cream or yogurt mixture. Combine this with remaining yogurt or sour cream mixture in a kettle and bring to boil.
• Add remaining 2 cups water to saucepan in which spices cooked. Stir this around and add it to kettle. Bring to boil, stirring. Add lime juice. Cook, stirring, about 15 minutes. Stir in coriander leaves. Serve over cooked rice (do not cook the rice in a meat broth if the meal is to be vegetarian).

GUJARATI EGGPLANT AND SWEET POTATO "LASAGNA" WITH KADI SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the filling:
• Prepare the tomato masala and set aside.
• Prep the vegetables for the filling, keeping all of them separate: •Cut the sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. •Cut the eggplant into 1/2-inch cubes. •Halve the zucchini crosswise. Stand one of the halves up and cut four 1/2-inch slices of flesh from around the seeds in the center. Dice the flesh into 1/2-inch cubes (discard the seeds. Repeat with the other half. •Cut the bell peppers into 1/2-inch squares.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium- high heat until it shimmers. Stir in the sweet potatoes and sauté, stirring occasionally, until parcooked and still a bit crunchy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the eggplant and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the zucchini and cook until the zucchini is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and sauté for 1 minute. Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl. Add the peanuts, tomato masala, and salt and mix well.
• Make the "lasagna" sheets:
• Have ready a wide expanse of very clean counter space.
• In a medium saucepan, whisk together the gram flour and water until smooth. Add the ginger, green chile, turmeric, yogurt, salt, and citric acid. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the batter is very thick, 9 to 10 minutes. (It will resemble thick pastry cream or cream puff dough.)
• Turn the dough out onto the counter. Working quickly and using an offset spatula, spread it into a very thin (1/8-inch-thick) rectangular sheet roughly 24x20 inches. Use a paring knife to trim the rectangle to an 18-inch square. (Discard the trimmings or snack on them.) Then cut that square into four precise 9-inch squares. The dough cools and sets quickly so you will be able to peel each of the four squares off the counter easily as you need them.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
• Assemble the "lasagna":
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
• Spread one-fourth of the vegetable mixture evenly into bottom of the pan, pressing down lightly on it with the back of a spoon so it gets into the corners and is compact rather than loose.
• Position one of the lasagna sheets over the vegetables so that it fits exactly in the pan. Repeat with the remaining three portions of vegetables and three lasagna sheets, ending with a lasagna sheet.
• Cover the lasagna with a 9-inch square of parchment paper, then cover the dish with foil. Place is on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make (or reheat) the kadi sauce.
• To serve, cut the lasagna into six rectangles. Serve in large pasta bowls with kadi sauce ladled over each portion.