One such dish which defines best the north Indian cuisine is the kadhi. This is a mildly spiced dish with sour buttermilk as a base in which chickpea flour or basen is added and then to cook together with several veggies or veg pakoras/fritters. Finally, a tadka/tempering is poured over it to make more flavourful
Each state has its own variation to cook. Punjabi kadhi is the most popular and relished by a large number of people. Kadhi’s Gujarati and Sindhi versions are also very popular. In both the versions, several seasonal veggies are added to the kadhi
I occasionally cook kadhi pakora in my kitchen but this time I have changed the recipe a little bit. Instead of adding pakoras to the kadhi, I have added spinach/palak to it. And to my pleasure, it was the right decision, the kadhi was outstanding All types of kadhis go very well with steamed rice
Course – Main Course
Cuisine – Indian
Prep Time – 10 Min
Cook Time – 25 Min
Total Time – 35 Min
Yield – 4 Servings
Author – Bharti Dhawan
Ingredients
1- Washed and finely chopped spinach – 2 cups
2- Sour buttermilk/chaas – 5 cups or 1 lt
3- Chickpea flour/besan – 3 tbsp
4- Finely chopped onion – 1/2 cup
5- Finely chopped ginger – 1 tsp
6- Finely chopped garlic – 1 tsp
7- Salt – 3 tsp or to taste
8- Turmeric/haldi powder – 2 tsp
9- Red chilly powder – 2 tsp or to taste
10- Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
11- Roasted cumin powder – 2 tsp
12- Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
13- Oil – 1 tbsp
Ingredients for tadka/tempering
1- Oil – 1 tbsp
2- Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
3- Carom/ajwain seeds – 1 tsp
4- Heeng/asafoetida powder – 1 tsp
5- Whole red chilly – 2 nos
6- Green chilly – 1 no (chopped)
7- Red chilly powder – 1 tsp
Instructions
1- Add besan/chickpea flour to buttermilk/chaas and mix well so that there are no lumps
2- Heat oil in a big kadahi and add cumin seeds followed by ginger, garlic and green chilly. Stir them for a minute
3- Add chopped onions and saute. When the colour changes a little, add salt and all the powdered spices and mix.
4- Time to add chopped spinach and cook for 2 minutes stirring continuously
5- Finally, add chaas/buttermilk mix and bring to 1 boil at high flame
6- When boiled slow down the flame and cook kadhi for 15-20 minutes
Steps for Tadka/Tempering
1- Heat oil in a tadka pan and add cumin seeds and carom seeds/ajwain followed by 2- heeng/asafoetida powder
3- Add whole red chilly, curry leaves, and chopped green chillies
4- Add red chilly powder and stir
5- Pour this tadka over cooked kadhi and serve with steamed rice
