punjabi kadhi pakora recipe

wish a happy new year to everybody and i pray that this new year brings peace, wisdom and abundance in your life.

i am finally posting a favorite recipe that was lying in the drafts for a month. a recipe that should have been an earlier post of mine… many a times i made punjabi kadhi, but just could not manage myself to take step by step photos.

so better late than never… am finally posting this awesome traditional punjabi recipe. i have many recipes in the drafts, but wanted this recipe to be posted as the first recipe of this year. after a hectic and work loaded year, i hope this year is easy.

i just love kadhis, be it plain or with pakoras. at home we call it kadhi chawal, coz the kadhi is had with plain rice or jeera rice. mom in law makes fantabulous curry and one can just keep licking their fingers. its sooooo good. this recipe is again from mom in law’s fab collection.

coming to punjabi recipes, there are a few much loved vegetarian recipes, that i must post like sarson da saag and makke ki roti, missi roti, aloo mutter, mutter paneer, aloo tikki and so many… out of all these i am just not able to post sarson da saag and makke ki roti… why??? simply because i can no way get the fresh mustard greens and maize flour in coastal goa…

the punjabi kadhi is different from the gujarat kadhi… the punjabi kadhi is thicker and creamier and the gujarati kadhi is a little thinner. the ingredients used to make the kadhi in both the versions is more or less the same.

anyways, now for the recipe of punjabi kadhi… a few suggestions and tips:

• use sour curd. if the curd is not sour, then the kadhi will not be sour, but still tastes good. to make the curd sour, you could add amchur powder whilst cooking the kadhi.
• use mustard oil if possible to fry the onion pakoras and for tempering. mustard oil leds a pungent sharp taste and flavor to the curry.
• you could also bake the pakoras instead of frying them.
• don’t skip on curry leaves, as you will know that something is missing from the kadhi.
• use good quality gram flour/besan
• the onion pakoras can be prepared before hand and kept aside.
• use a large bottomed pot for cooking the kadhi. the curd mixture froths whilst cooking and can spill if you use a small pot.
• to make softer pakoras, add  2 or 3 tbsp more water than mentioned in the recipe below. in this case, add the pakoras to the kadhi, just before serving.
• some folks do not like the mushy and soft pakoras in the kadhi. in this case the pakoras can be a little hard. add little or no water to the batter. the onion liquids does the job of moistening the batter.
• in this recipe i have not made the pakoras soft. just added enough water to make the batter smooth but not liquidy. in this scenario, you could well add the pakoras just after the kadhi is ready. the pakoras won’t break when the kadhi is served later.

this is again one of my those posts, where there are maximum pics. since i am presenting a step by step recipe detail for the punjabi kadhi, i will first start with the onion pakoras and then with the making of the kadhi.

so lets begin with preparing the onion pakoras:

take the gram flour/besan in a bowl and add ajwain/carom seeds, red chili powder, garam masala powder and salt.

add sliced onions to the bowl and pour a little water. we don’t want to add too much water as the onions will release water later.

mix the  onions, besan et all very well and keep aside for some 20-30 minutes. if you look at the below pic, the batter looks a little dry.

not to worry, as after 20-30 minutes, the onions would have released enough water to make the batter smooth and liquidy. if the batter still feels dry, then you add some water to it. check the salt and spices and add more if required.

now you can shallow fry or deep fry the pakoras. drop spoonfuls of the pakora batter in a moderately hot oil.

you see i am shallow frying the pakoras. the taste remains the same whether you shallow fry or deep fry.

fry the pakoras till they crisp and browned.

keep the pakoras aside. don’t have a pic of this one as i forgot to take it.

now we begin making the curd/yogurt kadhi:

in a big bowl or pan, take the curd. whip it well to make it smooth and add the spice powders – turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder and salt.

mix the spice powders with the curd.

now add the gram flour/besan to our spiced curd.

pour water and mix the contents well.

make sure there are no lumps. can you see the flour lump in the pic below. that means i have to dissolve the lumps well.

use a wooden spoon or spatula to dissolve the lumps into the curd. 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  and i have done that. nooooo… not butter… i mean i have blended the whole mixture well. the photo below is the proof.

now in a large deep pot, heat mustard oil or ghee or any vegetable oil. add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. then add chopped garlic, ginger, green chili and methi seeds.

also add curry leaves and dry red chili. fry till the raw smell of the garlic – ginger disappears.

now pour our curd and besan mixture.