Punjabi Kadhi Pakora

4.8/5 - (18 votes)

Punjabi Kadhi Pakora is a popular North Indian dish, made with besan and yogurt as main ingredients along with various spices with gram flour pakoras dipped in it. A popular lunch recipe across Indian homes. In my childhood days I still remember when my Mom used to make Pakora khadhi on weekends and the entire family sit together and enjoy this simple and flavourful dish with plain rice.

There are several variations to this simple kadhi recipe with each state of india having its own flavour. The most famous one are punjabi kadhi, gujarati kadhi, sindhi kadhi, maharashtrian kadhi and kadhi pakora from north india. Kadhi is best served along with cooked rice.

Preparation Time: 10mins ∏ Cooking Time: 50-55mins ∏ Servings: 2-3person

Level: Intermediate(Medium) ∏ Measurement: 1 Cup ≡ 250 ml ≡ 250gm

Ingredients:

For Kadhi

3 teaspoon Besan(chickpea flour)
2 teaspoon ghee
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek(methi) seed
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon kashmiri red chilly powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger(finely chopped)
3-4 curry leaves
2 green chilly (slit in half)
1/2 cup curd (sour preferred)
3 cup(750ml) water
Salt as per taste

For Pakora

3/4 cup besan(chickpea flour)
1/4 cup finely chopped methi (fenugreek) leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped palak (spinach) leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
1 small onion finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ginger(finely chopped)
1/2 teaspoon ajwain (carom seed)
1-2 green chilly finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon kashmiri red chilly powder
1/2 teaspoon Kasoori methi
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2-3 teaspoon curd
Oil for deep frying
Salt as per taste

For Final Tadka

1 teapoon ghee (or oil)
2-3 whole red chilly
1/4 teaspoon Asafoetida(Heeng)
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon kashmiri red chilly powder

How to make Punjabi Kadhi Pakora:

Step1: Firstly in a large bowl mix chickpea flour, red chilly powder, coriander powder along with curd, whisk it thoroughly to remove any lumps and make a smooth paste. Now add 3 cup of water to the paste and mix everything well and keep it aside. Alternatively to save some time and effort you may add everything a big grinder jar and pulse it for 30 secs, you will get a smooth liquid.

Step2: For tempering add 1-2 teaspoon ghee/oil in a large heated pan, then add methi and mustard seed and let them crackle. Now add finely chopped ginger and saute it for a while. Then add slit green chilly and curry leaves and roast it for a minute.

Step3: Reduce the flame to low and add turmeric powder, mix everthing well and slowly add prepared curd besan mixture on tempered spices and stir well. Now increase the flame to medium-high and let the kadhi get cooked till it gets boiled once. To avoid the kadhi from disintegrating/separating stir it continuously till it get boiled once.

Step4: Once it is getting boiled add salt as per your taste. Now let the kadhi get simmer for 40-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. The more it get cooked the better it tastes. You can adjust water as per your requirement, if you feel you can add some water. (Khadhi gets thicker when it cools down so keep that in mind.)

For Making pakora:-

Step1: While the Kadhi is getting simmer, Lets prepare the crispy pakoras. In a large bowl add, all the ingredients mentioned in the pakora section such: 1/4 cup finely chopped methi (fenugreek) leaves, 1/4 cup finely chopped palak (spinach) leaves, 1/4 cup finely chopped coriander leaves, 1 small onion finely chopped, 1/2 teaspoon ginger(finely chopped), 1/2 teaspoon ajwain (carom seed), 1-2 green chilly finely chopped, 1/2 teaspoon Kasoori methi.

Step2: Now add 2-3 teaspoon curd, 1/2 teaspoon kashmiri red chilly powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder and salt as per taste.

Step3: At last add 3/4 cup besan(chickpea flour)

Step4: Then accordingly add water as required to make a thick batter. I added 1-2 teaspoon water. You can also skip adding water if the mixture is too moist.

Step5: Heat oil for deep frying in a pan or kadai, with a spoon or with your hands drop the pakora batter in the oil.

Step6: When the pakoras are partly cooked, then turn over and fry the other side.

Step7: Fry till the pakoras are crisp and golden. This will take around 5-7 mins

Step8: Remove the crispy fried pakoras and place them on a kitchen paper towel so that extra oil is absorbed. Fry the pakoras in batches this way. When done keep all of them aside.

Assembling Punjabi Kadhi Pakora

Step1: After simmering for around 40-45 mins the kadhi will look bit thick. You may turn off the flame when your desired consistency is reached. Now add the fried pakoras, Cover the kadhi with a lid and let the onion pakoras be soaked in the kadhi for 8 to 10 minutes. In the mean while let’s prepare the final tadka for our spicy pakora kadhi.

Step2: Heat a tadka pan, add 1-2 teaspoon ghee. Then add mustard seed, cumin seed, asafoetida(heeng) along with dry red chilly.

Step3: Turn off the flame and add red chilly powder, mix everything and quickly put the tadka into the prepared kadhi pakora and cover the pan for 5 mins.

Garnish with coriander leaves & serve Punjabi Kadhi Pakora hot with steamed rice or jeera rice.Enjoy

Tips:

Use sour yogurt if possible. Usually, I prefer using old yogurt for my kadhi. The one that isn’t freshly made and is tasting little sour.
Whisk the besan curd mixture properly to avoid lumps in the kadhi
While making pakora don’t add more water as the green leafs and onion releases water after adding salt.
Do not add salt in the beginning, Once kadhi gets boiled then add salt this will avoid the kadhi from disintegrating/separating.
Use ghee instead of oil and Don’t forget the final tadka
Using kashmiri red chili powder gives it a beautiful color on top.
Add more water, the kadhi has to simmer for a long time in order for it to develop flavors and become thick and creamy and for that you need to start with a lot of water.