Kadhi Pakora is an all-time favourite dish in northern part of India. I call this recipe for Kadhi pakoda as Shandar Kadhi as it looks so beautiful and its taste takes you to the other world.
Kadhi or Karhi (as some may call) is served as main course. You might have heard of Kadhi Chawal, this combination is spot on! I, absolutely, love this kadhi pakoda recipe.
Kadhi is made by thick gravy of sour yogurt (dahi) or buttermilk, by adding chickpea or gram flour that is besan in hindi, with fritters of vegetables or gram flour dipped in the curry or Kadhi.
Introducing to the different types of Kadhi – There are lot of variations of this dish as different states make it in their own traditional ways. There is Gujarati kadhi, Rajasthani kadhi, Punjabi kadhi or Sindhi Kadhi. Rajasthani and Gujarati kadhis are sweetened by adding gur or jaggery. The other Kadhis are made with sour yogurt. Sometimes, Punjabis make this kadhi or karhi with buttermilk too, to make gravy smoother.
Sindhi kadhi is made by adding sour tamarind. The taste of tamarind is so yum! The Sindhi Kadhi has other variations too, like vegetable kadhi, tamatar or tomato kadhi, bhindi kadhi, etc. We’ll discuss them later
But, I like this lip-smacking kadhi with sour taste, so I had made this Indian cuisine with yogurt and sour tamarind. Belive me, it tastes so yum that you cannot stop yourself to making again and again.
I had addded tamarind with the yogurt in this Kadhi recipe as at my place we do not usually get the sour curd. And I was craving for this Shandar kadhi so much that I couldn’t wait for another day .
You can keep yogurt in kitchen for a day (not in fridge), if it’s winter, or for at least 5-6 hours to make it sour. If you are using sour yogurt, then you need not put tamarind.
How to Make Kadhi Pakoda at Home
Here is how to make this Shandar Kadhi at home. Servings 3-4 or you can increase the ingredients accordingly.
Time taken – 40 minutes.
All the Stuff you need
For Curry
- 200 gram yogurt full fat
- 150 gram besan or gram flour/ chickpea flour
- 1 medium-sized sliced onion
- 1 tbspn ginger/garlic paste
- 1 tspn coriander (dhania) powder
- 1 tspn cumin (zeera) powder
- 1 tspn turmeric (haldi) powder
- 1 tspn all spice (garam masala) powder
- sour tamarind 1/2 stick
- red chilli powder and salt according to taste
- oil for frying and cooking
For pakora or fritters
- 200 gram besan or gram flour/ chickpea flour
- 1 onion finely sliced (optional)
- 1 pinch baking soda
- 1/2 tspn cumin / zeera powder
- salt to taste
For Tadka or Tempering
- small dried red chilly
- cumin/zeera seeds
- mustard seeds
- 5-6 curry leaves
- pinch of kalonji/black seeds/nigella
Step-by-Step to your Homemade Kadhi Pakoda
For fritters/pakora
Take a big bowl, add gram flour, finely sliced onion (optional), a pinch of baking soda, cumin/zeera seeds and salt as per your taste. Mix well and beat it with your hand to make it fluffy.
Heat the oil to fry the fritters or pakoras in a wok. Now with the help of your fingers make the pakora and deep fry it till golden brown. Keep it aside.
For Curry
In a deep cooking pan or wok heat oil. After heating, add sliced onion fry it till golden colour. Now, add ginger-garlic paste and fry for 20 seconds. Then add turmeric/haldi powder, dhania/coriander powder, zeera/cumin powder, half tea spoon all spice powder and red chilli powder and salt to taste. Sprinkle some water to avoid sticking of masala.
Meanwhile, soak the sour tamarind in adequate amount of water or 1/2 cup of water.
Cook the masala for 10-15 minutes. Now in another bowl, beat the yogurt nicely, it should be in creamy consistency. Seive the gram/besan flour and add it to the bowl of beaten yogurt. Mix them together. There should be no lumps. Add 2 cups of water in the mixture of yogurt and gram flour. Mix well, again.
Now, take the seive and strain the mixture into the cooking pan of masala. Strain all the liquid mixture or you can say batter to it nicely. Immediately mix them all, together, nicely and keep stirring until the curry starts to thicken.
Now mix the soaked tamarind in water with your fingers and remove the seeds. Again with the help of seive, strain it into the mixture.
When gravy starts thickening add the pakora to the Kadhi and stir for 5-7 minutes more or until the gravy becomes thick like in a custard form. Remember not to over cook it.
Your dish is ready. Serve it in a serving bowl.
For tadka or tempering
Take a small pan add 1 tbspn oil, heat it. Add mustard seeds; let it splutter. Now add cumin/zeera seeds, kalonji/nigella seeds, curry leaves and small dried red chillies. Fry for a minute and pour over the ready kadhi.
So, here is your ‘Shandar’ kadhi pakora ready with the north Indian tadka. Isn’t this Kadhi pakora recipe easy? Write to us or drop us your experience when you make kadhi with this recipe.
And don’t forget to make rice, this Kadhi absolutely goes with chawal. You can have it with chapatis or parathas too.
Tip: Make some extra kadhi and keep it in your fridge for a day. And now have it, the older it gets, the tastier it is! Enjoy!
–Recipe and Images by Shumayala Khan