Kadhi Pakoda

Kadhi pakoda extremly  popular indian dish specially in north India. It is often refer as kadhi chawal as usually it is served with plain rice or jeera rice.There are to many way to make it, depends on region to region even family to family.

 

Typically Kadhi  is a dish made with yogurt and besan (gram flour) .Now the health benefits of kadhi is that, it is loaded with guts friendly bacteria. So it helps in nutrient absorption which further helps in digestion.

Besides Kadhi is rich in protein, calcium and phosphorous. It is also rich in complex carbohydrates, folate and has a low glycemic index.

It is well known fact that curd / yogurt  helps in losing weight, building your immunity, and is also good for the heart.

Expert often said that consume a bowl of kadhi regularly can be beneficial for your skin and hair, as gram flour boosts collagen formation and has anti-inflammatory properties. Be it acne, dark spots or any skin issue.

Besides the health befefits, Kadhi needs very basic ingredients for making, so surely  you can make it in this lockdown days. I am sure that this Kadhi recipe will brings new taste to your quarantine life.

 

Here I am sharing my way of cooking Kadhi Pakoda.

Ingredients

 

For Pakoda	For Kadhi
·        1 cup besan, 110 grams ·        1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder ·        1/8 teaspoon red chili powder ·        1/4 teaspoon ajwain ·        1/2 teaspoon salt ·        2 tablespoons plain yogurt ·        1/4 cup water, as needed ·        2 pinch baking soda ·        oil, for frying	·        1/2 cup besan,also known as gram flour. ·        1.5 cups plain yogurt, (home made sour curd is preferable) ·        1/2 teaspoon red chili powder ·        1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder ·        1 teaspoon coriander powder ·        6 cups water, ·        2 tablespoons oil, (mustard oil recomended) ·        1/2 teaspoon fenugreek i.e methi seeds, ·        1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds ·        1/4 teaspoon hing i.e. asafoetida ·        1 green chili, chopped ·        1 teaspoon chopped ginger ·        salt, to taste
For Tadka ·        2  tablespoons ghee ·        ¼  teaspoon black mustard seeds ·        1- 2 whole dried red chilies ·        ¼  teaspoon kashmiri red chillie powder ·        ½  teaspoon garam masala powder (optional) ·        Handful of chopped  coriander leaves

 

How to make Pakoda

• Add all the ingredients for pakora(Except oil) in a bowl and mix well.
•  adding water, little by little to form a thick batter. It should not be very runny but not super thick either.
• Heat oil for frying
• Take a scoop of pakora mix and add to oil.
• Fry them again for crispy pakora's till golden in color. Make sure to cook on medium-low heat so that the pakoras cook nicely from inside too.
• Drain on a paper towel. And keep aside.
  

How to make kadhi

• To a large bowl, add 1/2 cup besan  and 1.5 cups  yogurt. Make sure the yogurt is at room temperature.
• Whisk the curd and gram flour in a bowl with hand whisker or blender.
• Add 1½ cups water,  Add 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon coriander powder and whisk it  thoroughly Ensure that there are no lumps.
  
• Add 6 cups water or around 1.5 liters of water and mix until it’s all mixed together. Set aside.
•  
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium size deep pan over medium flame. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds fenugreek seeds. Let them splutter and then add hing  and grated ginger; saute for 20-30 seconds.
  
• Add the prepared besan-yogurt mixture into the pan. Now with heat on medium-high, stir continuously until the kadhi comes to a boil. 
  
• Make sure that at this time your gas  is in low flame. 
• Stir continuously until the kadhi comes to a boil, then lower the heat to low-medium and let it cook for around 30 minutes. Keep stirring it in between. Stir occasionally in between to prevent sticking. If mixture becomes very thick, add ½  cup more water and cook more for 3-4 minutes. It should have pouring consistency. 
• Add salt after the kadhi has been cooking for 15 minutes or so.
  
• After 30 minutes or so, kadhi would have considerably thickened and completely cooked. Add chopped  coriander leaves ,You can little extra water here if kadhi looks too thick to you.
• Now add the pakoda in the kadhi. Stir gently.
  
• Cover with a lid and let the pakoras be soaked in the kadhi for 8 to 10 minutes
• Lastly sprinkle some garam masala powder and chopped  coriander leaves
•  and on the  kadhi.

For Tadka

• Heat ghee in a small pan on medium heat. Once ghee is hot, add ½ teaspoon black mustard . Add 1-2 dried red chilies ( break the chilie for extra heat).
• Once seeds crackle, add ½  teaspoon garam mashala powder add ½  teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder and turn off the heat immediately  and turn off the heat immediately.
  

Pour tadka over kadhi, garnish with more chopped coriander leaves and serve kadhi pakoda with white  rice or even with brown rice.