Punjabi Kadhi

The cuisine of Punjab is famous for its richness and diversity. It is rich in fat as Ghee (clarified butter) is added to many dishes even after the preparation. Dollops of the butter are placed on the leavened bread. The cuisine developed for the hard working people who do manual work in the fields. As everyone in the world knows that Punjab is a food basket of India. Everywhere there are lush green crops all the year round with one harvest yielding way to another in tandem.

There is a one very popular preparation called Kadhi which is prepared all over Punjab. It is a thick yellow concoction in contrast to its variants in Gujarat and some other states of India. It is eaten with rice and becomes even more tastier when stored and eaten later. All the ingredients used in the preparation are easily available in the grocery shops.

It consists of two different preparations which are as follows:

1. The basic Kadhi

2. Pakoras to be dipped in it.

Although basic Kadhi is a preparation in itself, the Pakoras add more taste to it.

The ingredients are roughly given below:

1. Basic Kadhi

a. 1 cup yogurt. Generally buttermilk is used in villages, but Yogurt is more handy. Yogurt should be tangy in taste.

b. 1/4 cup Gram flour

c. 1 Onion chopped into long pieces.

d. 5 pieces of garlic chopped into 3 pieces each.

c. 2 no. Dry red chili whole

d. 1 tsp Turmeric powder.

e. A pinch Asafetida

f.  1 tsp Fenugreek seeds.

g. 2 tbsp Oil.

h . Salt As per taste

Preparation Method

Whisk the Yogurt and add gram flour slowly with continuous stirring taking care that no lumps of flour are formed. Thorough mixing to obtain a uniform consistency is very importance. Take a thick bottomed Kadai (Pan), Warm the oil in it. When hot add Asafetida and Fenugreek seeds. Fry gently. The fenugreek seeds will crackle and Asafetida will emit a strong aroma. Add the onion and garlic and stir and fry them till golden brown. Add the mixture of gram flour and yogurt into the pan and add turmeric powder and salt. Add 3 cups (same size as used for yogurt) of water.   Stir slowly under full flame. Soon the contents will start boiling. Once this happened, there is no need to stir. Decrease the flame to low and let the contents continue to slowly boil and thicken. Since it is going to take at least half an hour, you can side by side prepare the Pakoras.

2. Pakora Preparation

Ingredients:

a.  1 cup Gram flour
b . 1/4 cup Chopped onion
c.  1/4 cup Chopped potato
d.  1 tsp Ajwain.
e. 1 tsp Red chili powder.
f.  1 tsp Chopped ginger.
g. 1/2 tsp Baking powder.
h. Oil for deep frying
i. Salt As per taste
1 cup Kadhi Curd (yogurt)
1/4 cup Gram flour

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients outlined above except oil using about 1/2 cup of water. Divide into small balls. Heat the oil in a Kadhai and when very hot, add the balls into it carefully taking care not to drop from height because hot oil can spill out as the water inside the balls will expand due to sudden heat. Slowly flip the balls when one side becomes golden brown and let the other side also become golden brown. Remove the balls on a tissue paper so that excess oil is absorbed by the paper.

By now the Kadhi is done and thick. Add the Pakoras in the Kadhi. Continue for 5 minutes more and Kadhi is ready. Serve it with the rice.