The best way to describe Kadhi is kind of like a warm and cozy blanket in your belly. Different regions of India have their takes on it, this one is closer to a punjabi kadhi and yes it is insanely good. The key components of it are turmeric, spices, besan (chickpea) flour and yogurt. The recommended way is to have it with rice but if you're trying to cut out some of those carbs, you can have it all by itself. My personal favourite is to also throw some pakoras in there. This recipe is lightly spicy but if you want to cut down on that, just omit some of the chili peppers.
Now, this is an easy recipe by the looks of it but it really does require your time to make it perfect.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of whole-milk yogurt
- 1/4 cup of besan flour
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric
- 1 tablespoon + 4.5 teaspoon of Ghee (separated)
- 5 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon of peppercorns
- 1/2 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoons of fenugreek seeds
- 1 + 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seed (separated)
- Salt
- Lime juice
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- Basmati rice
Instructions
1. Get all of your spices ready in a small bowl. Make sure you separate the 1/2 tsp of cumin seed for later.
2. Mix the plain yogurt and besan in a large bowl until it is a smooth texture and does not have any lumps. Add 1 cup of water and then follow with the turmeric. Once you're done mixing, you'll see a pale yellow color.
3. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp of ghee over medium heat. Add the spice mix and cook for about 1 minute. You'll start hearing a pop from the mustard.
4. Reduce the heat to low and add the yogurt, besan and turmeric mix with 3 more cups of water. Add some salt and juice from half a lime. Give it a quick taste, it should be tangy. If not, add some more juice and salt.
5. Now comes the part that requires your attention, increase the heat to high and let the mixture come to a boil while you constantly stir it. If you stop, the yogurt will curdle and become kind of lumpy. Once boiling, let it cook for 10 minutes without stirring making sure the kadhi does not overflow. It should become thick and bright and look creamy. Give it another taste and add more juice as needed.
6. Once step 5 is done, reduce to low and let rest. In the mean time, melt the remaining ghee in a small pan over medium heat. Cook the remaining cumin for 15-20 seconds. Remove from heat, add chillies and chilli powder.
7. Pour mixture with the kadhi and give it a nice stir.
8. Serve with rice and enjoy this warm and delicious dish.
* If you do not have ghee, you can use olive oil but ghee adds amazing texture to it.
** There are the whole spices at the end, you could strain some of the kadhi to remove them if you'd like but the occasional bites of whole spices are quite enjoyable.