The most amazing Gujarati Kadhi you will ever have! This is the yogurt-based gravy from Gujarat, a state of India. It has a combination of a sweet and sour taste.
This is an easy 20 minutes recipe. Never suffer through separated (curdled) yogurt in your kadhi again - This recipe is a Keeper!
(Video) Watch How To Make It
This is the favorite dish of my childhood. Whenever mom makes it, I drink a small bowl by itself and then I take my meal a little late. Those were amazing moments of life.
Kadhis are usually made during the summer as yogurt is very cooling to the body. But I make kadhi once a week no matter its summer or not.
What could be more comforting than a bowl of warm Gujarati kadhi mixed with rice? Adding any legume dish on the side is like a cherry on the cake. Simple recipe, simple ingredients, and lots of flavors!
You’ll need
Here’s what you need to make the Gujarati kadhi base. There are not many.
Here are the few notes regarding the ingredients used
-- Yogurt: For making Gujarati Kadhi, yogurt has to be sour. Always use sour yogurt to make this kadhi delicious. How to make yogurt sour? just keep it on the countertop for few hours. For example, if you are making kadhi for dinner then take out your yogurt from a fridge in the morning and keep it outside till you make kadhi.
Full fat vs low fat/nonfat yogurt: To get the best, rich, creamy texture, I would use the full fat.
Because of hubby’s health issue, recently he eliminated full-fat dairy. So for the past year, I am making kadhi with nonfat yogurt. Here’s the one change needed in the recipe if using low-fat or nonfat yogurt. Increase the amount of besan (chickpea flour) to get a creamy consistency. *see the exact amount details in the notes section below in the recipe card.
-- Green chilies: This is the only ingredient that will provide the spicy taste and heat to the dish. Adjust the amount as per your preference. Don’t want to bite into chili pieces then slit the chilies into half and add, discard at the time of eating.
-- Turmeric powder: traditionally turmeric is not added and the color of the dish os ivory (off-white). But I have seen my mom adding it, so I am adding it. No other reason.
-- Sugar: Yes, it is necessary. You won’t have a sweet taste like dessert. It balances the sourness from the yogurt. You can use jaggery (or brown sugar) instead, it tastes good too.
You’ll need to make tadka (tempering)
Here are the ingredients to make tempering. It makes kadhi more flavorful and aromatic.
Few notes on tadka ingredients:
-- Ghee: Adds such a nice flavor to the dish. You can use the combination of ghee and oil. Or only oil. But I highly recommend using ghee.
-- Dry red chilies: Remove the stem and add whole. If broken, remove the seeds from the center. Seeds and stem of the chilies are not good for your body.
How to make Gujarati Kadhi?
1) Take yogurt in a pan in which you are going to make kadhi. Add besan, ginger paste, green chilies, turmeric powder, sugar, and salt. NOTE: I have used different bowl just for the photo purpose, for day to day cooking I mix everything the pan in which I am making kadhi.
2) Whisk it well so there are no lumps. You can use hand blender too.
3) Then add water. And mix it very well and make a lump-free batter.
4) Put it on medium heat to boil with stirring continuously. Don’t forget to stir otherwise yogurt will curdle and kadhi will overflow while cooking. When it comes to a boil lower the heat to simmer and prepare the tempering.
5) Heat the ghee or oil in a small pan. Once hot add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them sizzle.
6) Then add dry red chili, cinnamon stick, cloves. After a few seconds, you will get a nice fragrance from whole spices. Add curry leaves and asafoetida.
7) Add this seasoning to the kadhi. Stir well. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes so raw taste and smell of besan goes away.
8) Finally, add chopped cilantro.
Make it in your kitchen and let me know how you like it in the comments below. Happy cooking!!
Serving suggestion:
- It is mostly served with plain rice. Also, serve bean curry on side e.g. Chawli recipe, kala chana curry or sookhi moong dal. Believe me, try once kadhi-rice-bean curry combination as a meal, you will love it.
- This can be served with moong dal khichdi or vegetable khichdi. (as shown in below pic). Khichdi-kadhi is the best combo. It is a very light dinner. In Gujarat, almost every household makes this khichadi-kadhi at least once a week. This combo is more famous in villages.
- It can be served with pulao as well.
Check out other kadhi recipes
Palak kadhi // Bhindi kadhi // Suva bhaji kadhi // Fajeto (Mango kadhi)
Gujarati Kadhi Recipe
Ingredients
For Gujarati kadhi recipe:
- 1 ½ cups Plain yogurt (dahi or curd) Note 1
- 2 tablespoons Besan (gram flour) or chickpea flour, Note 2
- ½ teaspoon Ginger paste or freshly grated or crushed
- 3 Green chilies chopped finely
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 3 teaspoons Sugar Note 3
- Salt to taste
- 3 cups Water
- 1 tablespoon Cilantro or coriander leaves for garnishing
For tempering:
- 2 teaspoons Ghee (Clarified butter)
- ½ teaspoons Mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoons Cumin seeds
- 2 Dried red chilies
- 1 inch Cinnamon stick
- 4 Cloves
- a pinch Hing (Asafoetida)
- 8-10 Curry leaves
Instructions
- Take yogurt in a pan in which you are going to make kadhi.
- Add besan, ginger paste, green chilies, turmeric powder, sugar, and salt.
- Whisk it well so there are no lumps. You can use a hand blender instead.
- Then add water. And mix it very well and make a lump-free, thin batter.
- Put it on medium heat to boil with stirring continuously. You must stir constantly to avoid curdling and separating yogurt.
- When it comes to a boil lower the heat to simmer and prepare the tempering. Don’t forget to lower the heat otherwise, kadhi might get overflow from the saucepan.
- Heat the ghee or oil in a small pan. Once hot add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them sizzle.
- Then add dry red chili, cinnamon stick, cloves. After a few seconds, you will get a nice fragrance from whole spices.
- Add curry leaves and asafoetida. Add this seasoning to the kadhi. Stir well.
- Let it simmer for another 5 minutes so raw taste and smell of besan goes away.
- Finally, add chopped cilantro and mix.
- Turn off the stove.
Notes
- If using full-fat yogurt - use 2 tablespoons
- If using low-fat yogurt - use 3 tablespoons
- If using nonfat yogurt - use 3 ½ to 4 tablespoons
This was one of the best kadhis that I have tried.a perfect recipe with detailed instructions and tips.loved it.
Very glad to know that you enjoyed this kadhi recipe.
Thank you for the feedback Winnie.
Do you think this recipe would halve well if I only want to make 2 servings?
yes it works perfectly fine.
Thank you
I have been looking for a perfect reci6 and I have found it here. Will be following this each time for the best kadhi.
Thanks once again.
Very glad to know that you liked
How can you make a dairy free version?
never tried myself
But you can try with vegan yogurt like coconut yogurt or cashew yogurt or soy yogurt. If you try do let me know how it turns out
To accommodate a milk allergy in my household, I’ve often made kadhi with So Delicious brand unsweetened coconut milk yogurt and it tastes almost exactly like regular kadhi. For vegans, substitute your favorite neutral oil in place of the ghee.
Thank you SJ detailed response. This will sure help others.