Guest Post: Kadhi Pakora

As I've made well known, I am absolutely in love with Indian food. This love is only surpassed (and just barely at that) by my devotion to the cuisine of my native China. Like most people, I have my favorite dishes that I tend to order from each cuisine. For Indian food this includes aloo gobi (potato with cauliflower) and channa masala (chickpea curry). However, a while ago I decided to take a chance on a new dish consisting of fried chickpea fritters in a flavorful yogurt-based sauce called Kadhi Pakora. Wow was this stuff good and I immediately wanted to make it at home. Luckily I knew exactly who to call on, my friend Prerna of Indian Simmer. Having tried several of her recipes, I knew what I got from her would be fantastic. And having seen her blog posts (such as her recent clicks of India), I knew what I got from her would be beautiful. Of course she's proved me right with this lovely guest post teaching us how to make Kadhi Pakora at home. Now I gladly hand over the reins to you, Prerna!

It has been close to six years since I left homeland and started my own family and a kitchen. There were quite a few initial challenges and kitchen disasters but slowly I think I got a hang of it and started cooking some decent edible food. But there are two things that still make my legs weak when someone asks me to make - Indian pickles or a kadhi. A very close friend of ours is pregnant and the mommy-to-be has been craving kadhi, a lot! Lucky enough for me an Indian restaurant close to our place makes really good kadhi. Every few days I have to make a trip there. But after a few trips I realized I better face this fear and try to perfect the art of making kadhi myself.

There is no right way to make kadhi and you can find tens and hundreds of recipes out there. A Gujarati kadhi (popular in the state of Gujarat), Maharashtrian Kadhi (from the state of Maharshtra), Pujabi kadhi (coming from the state of Punjab), Aunty Sheila’s kadhi, mom’s kadhi and so on… A perfect example of what a traditional Indian food is, everyone has their own version with a few tweaks here and there but fundamentally they are all the same. Simple comfort food that fills up your belly, warms up your heart and you can never have enough of it!

Kadhi is simply a spiced soup that you make with thinning out yogurt with water and cooking it with some chickpea flour. Yes, that is all what kadhi is and then you can add whatever you want to it and make it your own. Some like to make it with some deep fried chickpea fritters, some add veggies or some like my mom make it with tomatoes. Some like to add more water and make it really thin, some don’t and so they add a little more flour to make it denser. Then the use of spices also varies from region to region. In some parts of the country mustard seeds and curry leaves are very important when making kadhi, while in other parts spices like fenugreek seeds and whole red chili pepper are used.

My mom makes it in one way and my mom in law makes it in another so when I try a recipe like this I take the middle route. Some of hers and some of hers! Some might find this recipe a little closer to the Punjabi kadhi and I would say those frequent trips to the Indian restaurant might have to do with that too. For the tempering, I used the spices that my mom uses and for the consistency I went with my mom in law’s style. I made some deep fried chickpea battered fritters and also some with vegetables. I am sharing the recipe with no vegetables here because that is what is commonly used for kadhi. If fritters don’t look perfect or they look sloppy to you then please pardon me. Making gorgeous looking and perfectly shaped bhajia is just not my forte so I say “I kinda like them that way!”

Here’s the recipe for my version of kadhi.

Kadhi (Chickpea Flour Fritters Cooked in Yogurt Soup) Naturally Gluten-free
[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients: Serves 6

For Besan (Chickpea Flour) Fritters:
2 cups besan (chickpea flour)
1/2 tsp ajwain seeds
1 pinch baking soda
Salt
Oil for deep frying

For Kadhi:
3 cups yogurt (I find whole milk yogurt tangier but you can use lowfat too) PLUS 4 cups water
3/4 cup besan
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
1 Tbsp chopped ginger
1 Tbsp curry leaves
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 whole dried red chili
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 pinch asafetida (heeng)
1 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil
Salt

Method:

For Besan (Chickpea Flour) Fritters:
Mix chickpea flour, ajwain seeds and baking powder. Add salt. (besan fritters should be very lightly salted because it will absorb juices and flavor from the kadhi later)

Start adding water while thoroughly whisking so that there are no lumps in the batter. Batter should be light, smooth and thicker than a pancake batter.

Heat oil in a deep fryer and slowly spoon batter into the oil. Fry until the fritters are golden brown. Drain excess oil in paper towels and set the fritters aside.

For Kadhi:
In a whisking bowl whisk together yogurt and besan (chickpea flour) until it’s smooth. Add water to thin it out. Set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or a big wide pan. Add asafetida, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and red chili. When spices start to pop, add chopped ginger, garlic and curry leaves. Cook until it is golden brown.

Add yogurt, water and besan mixture. Add turmeric. Mix everything together well and bring it to a boil. The point when kadhi is starting to boil, it bubbles a lot and fast. From this point, turn the heat to low and continuously stir/whisk the kadhi as now it will begin to thicken.

Add salt and fritters and let it cook for about ten minutes or until fritters are soft absorbing liquid and kadhi is thicker. Some like to garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice.