The most amazing Gujarati Kadhi you will ever have! This is the yogurt-based gravy from Gujarat, a state of India. This is an easy 20 minutes recipe. Never suffer through separated (curdled) yogurt in your kadhi again - This recipe is a Keeper!
❤️About This Recipe
Simple recipe, simple ingredients, and lots of flavors!
Gujarati kadhi has a combination of a sweet and sour taste.
It’s comfort food when served a bowl of warm kadhi mixed with rice. Adding any legume dish on the side is like a cherry on the cake.
Kadhis are usually made during the summer as yogurt is very cooling to the body. But I make Gujarati kadhi once a week no matter it's summer or not.
🧾Ingredient Notes
You’ll need very few ingredients to make kadhi base. Plus, a tempering (tadka) is added at end of the cooking process. This tempering makes kadhi more flavorful and aromatic.
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 until 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 or Tips section.
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 in half and add, discard at the time of eating.
Turmeric powder: traditionally turmeric is not added and the color of the dish is 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 of the yogurt. You can use jaggery (or brown sugar) instead, it tastes good too.
Ghee: Adds such a nice flavor to the dish. You can use a 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. The seeds and stems of the chilies are not good for your body.
🎥Watch The Recipe Video
👩🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions
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 a bowl just for photo purposes, for day-to-day cooking, I mix everything in 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.
💭Expert Tips
Besan amount as per fat content of yogurt.
- 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
In short, more the watery yogurt you have, you will need to increase the amount of besan.
Must use sour yogurt to make Gujarati kadhi.
How to make regular yogurt sour? Remove it from the refrigerator, let it sit on the countertop for 6-8 hours depending on the temperature of the kitchen. If it’s hot summer then 3-4 hours are enough (not enough if you have central AC on). During the winter, I keep a minimum of 8 hours outside.
Avoid curdled or separated Gujarati kadhi:
- Add salt before you turn on the heat.
- Keep the gas heat medium and heat the yogurt mixture gradually. Don’t shock the mixture by keeping the heat high.
- Start with room temperature yogurt. If using chilled/refrigerated yogurt then it gets temperature shock as soon as you start heating on the stove. This shock will result in curdled yogurt.
- As soon as you turn on the heat, keep stirring constantly until it starts simmering. Once it starts simmering, you can stir it occasionally instead of constantly.
🍽 Serving Ideas
- Gujarati kadhi is mostly served with plain rice. Also, serve bean curry on the 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. 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)
PS Tried this Gujarati kadhi recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback! Plus, Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest updates.
📋 Recipe Card
Gujarati Kadhi
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
- Add salt before you turn on the heat.
- Keep the gas heat medium and heat the yogurt mixture gradually. Don’t shock the mixture by keeping the heat high.
- Start with room temperature yogurt. If using chilled/refrigerated yogurt then it gets temperature shock as soon as you start heating on the stove. This shock will result in curdled yogurt.
- As soon as you turn on the heat, keep stirring constantly until it starts simmering. Once it starts simmering, you can stir it occasionally instead of constantly.
Very yummy! I added some palak to it and next time might add bundi for a fusion version 🙂
That's a great idea.
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.