Seems redundant to call it Punjabi Kadhi, given that this is a Punjabi cooking site. It’s like the joke about how in China people just call it food, not Chinese food.
Kadhi – pronounced ka-rdee (yea that’s not an easy sound to make) is not just a weird way of saying curry. Curry means gravy – that is all. So try not to upset your local friendly Punjabi by saying, “OMG I love curry!”. We really do think,”Cool, you like gravy.” Kadhi on the other hand is amazing! It’s rich, creamy, and velvety in texture. A lot of recipes say that cooking it for 30 minutes is good but this is one of those recipes – The longer you let it simmer the more flavorful it gets.
It’s great with plain rice, roti, plain paranthas, or even a slice of bread. And it just gets better over night in the fridge. It was really normal back in Punjab to have kadhi chawal (rice) over the course of a couple days. Or even for it to be made but not eaten until the next day, so it could sit and really soak up all the flavors.
Nothing beat waking up on cold winter mornings and smelling kadhi cooking in the kitchen. Pretty much meant that you hadn’t been an ass the previous day, and that the cook and the family still loved you enough to keep you.
As I mentioned, this dish tastes better the longer you simmer it, partly because the yogurt and the garbanzo bean flour really soak up the flavors as time goes on. It thickens incredibly quickly so make sure to keep a careful watch on it. That said, it’s meant to be a thick chowder, so if it starts to get a bit too thick just add water. I like to store the pakoras and kadhi separately until serving, simply so that it doesn’t all disintegrate into a giant pile of mush. In the same vain of hating soggy pakoras – I don’t make mine before hand, as most recipes suggest. I make them while the kadhi is simmering. That way I have fresh crisp pakoras to drop in.
Love Authentic Punjabi Recipes? Try these:
Kadhi
8
servings20
minutes1
hour10
minutes1
hour30
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
- For Kadhi:
4 cups whole milk yogurt, whisked
2 3/4 cups besan
1 tbsp turmeric powder
3 tsp chili powder
6 tbsp ginger, minced
6 tbsp garlic, minced
12 cups water
1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
3 tbsp cumin seeds
4 dried red chilies
3 tbsp coriander seeds, ground
10 black peppercorns
2 green chilies, minced
Pinch of asafoetida
Salt, to taste
2 medium onions, sliced
- For Pakoras:
Oil, for frying
1 cup besan
2/3 cup water
2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
2 tbsp ginger
4 cloves garlic minced
1 green chili, minced
1 bunch of fresh fenugreek leaves, chopped coarsely
1 onion, chopped coarsely
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped coarsely
Equipment/Specialty Items
BesanBesan
Fenugreek SeedsFenugreek Seeds
Black Mustard SeedsBlack Mustard Seeds- Cumin SeedsCumin Seeds
- Coriander SeedsCoriander Seeds
Directions
- For Kadhi:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk yogurt till smooth.
- Whisk in besan until completely smooth.
- Whisk in turmeric powder, chili powder, 1/2 of the garlic, and 1/2 of the ginger.
- Whisk in all of the water and set aside for 15 minutes.
- In a large pot heat just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pot.
- Add in mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and cumin to oil. Saute over high heat for 2-3 minutes
- Add in dried red chilies, coriander seeds and black peppercorn and saute for 1 minute.
- Add in chili pepper, remaining garlic, remaining ginger, and asafoetida. Saute for 1 minute.
- Add onions and saute till soft and translucent. Approximately 5 minutes.
- Turn heat down to medium low and slowly pour in the yogurt mixture.
- Cook for 30 minutes stirring consistently to keep it from congealing.
- Turn heat to low and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Stirring frequently to make sure it doesn’t congeal or stick to the bottom. Add in additional water if it’s gotten to thick. (The goal is a really thick chowder consistency.)
- For Pakoras:
- In a medium bowl, whisk besan and water till smooth.
- Whisk in cumin, turmeric, coriander seeds, salt, and pepper.
- Whisk in ginger, garlic, and chili pepper.
- Stir in fenugreek, onion, and cilantro.
- Heat oil in a nonstick pot over medium heat. You want about 3 inches of oil in the pot.
- To see if your oil is ready drop in 3 or 4 drops of the batter and see if they rise to the top. If they pop up too fast and turn dark brown your oil is too hot. If the drops of batter stay at the bottom of the pot, the oil is too cold.
- Drop in about a tablespoon of your pakora mix into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Repeat till the batter is finished. Set aside on a paper towel to help drain oil.
- Serving:
- Combine the kadhi and pakoras together and serve hot.
- You can top it with a tadka if you’d like. For the tadka – heat 1/4 cup of oil in a small pan. Add in 2 tbsp whole cumin, 1 dried chili, 2 bay leaves, 1 tbsp red chili flakes, and 1 tsp black mustard seeds. Cook for a few minutes until the spices are crackling. Pour over kadhi.
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Nutrition Facts
8 servings per container
Calories1001
- Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *
- Total Fat
32g
50%
- Saturated Fat 16g 80%
- Cholesterol 131mg 44%
- Sodium 780mg 33%
- Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *
- Potassium 2789mg 80%
- Total Carbohydrate
122.1g
41%
- Dietary Fiber 8.4g 32%
- Sugars 59.7g
- Protein 56.7g 113%
- Calcium 129%
- Iron 37%
- Vitamin D 1%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.