A bowl of warm kadhi pakora with steamed rice (aka kadhi chawal) is the ultimate comfort food! This Punjabi kadhi recipe is authentic, easy to make and so satisfyingly delicious.
1teaspoonCoriander seeds (sabut dhaniya)Crushed into mortar and pestle
3Dried red chilies
¼teaspoonHing (Asafoetida)
½cupRed onionsliced
1tablespoonGinger garlic pastecrushed or paste (1-inch ginger, 5 cloves garlic)
1 ½teaspoonsCoriander powder
1teaspoonRed chili powder
1teaspoonTurmeric powder
¼cupWaterto add with spices to avoid burning
1 ½teaspoonSalt
1teaspoonKasoori methi (Dried fenugreek leaves)crushed between palms before adding
2tablespoonsCilantro or coriander leavesfinely chopped for garnishing
For Pakora:
1cupBesan (gram flour)
½ - ¾teaspoonSalt
1teaspoonCoriander seeds (sabut dhaniya)Crushed into mortar and pestle
¼teaspoonTurmeric powder
½teaspoonRed chili powder
a pinchBaking soda1/16 teaspoon
15leavesSpinach (Palak)finely chopped
1cupRed onionsliced
½teaspoonGinger garlic pastecrushed or paste
2Green chiliesfinely chopped
½cupWater
Oilfor deep-frying
For Tempering:
2tablespoonsGhee (clarified butter)
½teaspoonKashmiri red chili powder
Instructions
Making Kadhi:
Take yogurt and besan in a large bowl. Whisk it until it is smooth and lump-free.
Add around 2 cups of water and whisk again to mix well. Note: At this moment, if you see it has besan lumps then use a hand blender to make it smooth.
Heat the mustard oil in a heavy bottom pan on medium heat. Once hot add methi seeds and saute for 30-40 seconds or until they get a slight golden color.
Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds and crushed coriander seeds. Mix and saute for 40-50 seconds or until spices are aromatic and get a slight color change.
Add dried red chilies and hing. Mix and saute for 20-30 seconds only.
Add onion and ginger garlic paste. Cook until onions turn light pink or brown in color. By that time, there will be no raw smell of ginger garlic left.
Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, and coriander powder. Mix, add around ¼ cup of water to avoid burning the spices, and saute for 1 minute.
Add the prepared yogurt-besan mixture and stir right away to avoid curdling. Add the remaining 3 cups of water and mix.
Keep stirring to avoid curdling until the mixture comes to a simmer. Once it starts to simmer, no need to stir constantly. Add salt and let it simmer for 30 minutes on medium-low heat. While Punjabi kadhi is simmering, let’s make pakora.
Making Pakora:
Take besan, salt, and spices (crushed coriander seeds, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and baking soda) in a bowl. Mix with a spoon.
Add sliced onion, chopped spinach, ginger garlic paste, and green chili. Mix well so the besan mixture is coated with veggies.
Add little water at a time and keep mixing until you get a super thick mixture. (Notice that thick besan batter is coated with veggies).
Let it rest for 10 minutes. You can see after resting, the onion will leave its water. Mix everything really well and the batter got slightly thinner compared to earlier.
Heat the oil in a kadai for deep-frying on medium heat. Once the oil is hot enough for frying, take around 2 tablespoons of mixture on your four fingers. Slide this mixture from your fingers by pushing it using a thumb gently into the hot oil. You can use two large spoons to drop the batter.
Repeat this until the pan is full. Halfway through flip the pakora for even browning.
Once golden brown from both sides, remove the pakora using a slotted spoon.
Now you have 2 options: Keep this fried pakora on a plate and add to kadhi at the time of serving to keep them crispy. Or Add into the simmering kadhi right away to get soft pakora.
Now kadhi has thickened nicely after simmering for 30 minutes. Crush kasoori methi between your palm and add it to the kadhi. Mix well.
Making Tempering:
Heat the ghee in a small tadka pan on medium heat. Once hot turn off the stove and add red chili powder, mix.
Right away drizzle over kadhi pakora. Don’t wait too long otherwise chili powder in tadka will burn, becomes black and you may start sneezing.
Lastly, garnish it with freshly chopped cilantro and serve. Keep in mind that kadhi will thicken as it cools down.
Notes
Slow simmering the Punjabi kadhi is so crucial to get a deep flavor. Also, the turmeric powder gives a nice, bright yellow color as it cooks. Also, during this simmering time, kadhi will thicken nicely.
If kadhi thickens too much during the simmering process, then add warm water to adjust the consistency.
How make your yogurt sour? Remove the required amount of yogurt in a bowl from the fridge. Leave it on a countertop at room temperature for 4-6 hours. This time may vary depending on the climate where you live. In a warmer climate, it gets sour in a couple of hours. In colder climates, I usually leave it out overnight or bring it out in the morning to make kadhi pakora for dinner.
You need to stir the kadhi mixture constantly until starts simmering to avoid curdling or separating yogurt. Once it starts simmering, you don’t have to stir.
Punjabi Kadhi without pakora: If you’re in a rush or don’t want to make pakora then increase the amount of onion 3 times in the kadhi itself. Then add ready-made boondi instead of pakora.