Kadhi Pakora

The kadhi pakora is a creamy, tangy, and savory dish made with buttermilk, pakora, and spices. The buttermilk slurry, with spices, simmers till it thickens and becomes saucy, and adding pakora makes this dish super delicious. It’s a popular North Indian dish, but it holds a place in every Indian’s heart. Let’s try this kadhi pakora at your home by yourself!

About Kadhi Pakora

Kadhi is a combined word for buttermilk, gram flour, and spices, all cooked and simmered until a saucy consistency is achieved. Pakora are gram flour and spices fritters that are fried in oil and are lastly added to the kadhi. This is what the kadhi pakora is.

This kadhi pakora is popular in many states of India, like Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. It is also known by several names: Punjabi kadhi, Gujarati kadhi, and Sindhi kadhi. This is usually offered with rice, naan, and simple roti. One thing that never beats its sour and creamy taste.

This dish has been seen during my childhood till now. Our Sunday feels incomplete without this. By profession, my mother is a teacher, so she used to make it on Sunday in a relaxed mood. When I saw my mother, I felt how hard to prepare this, but now I feel it’s not too hard nor too easy. Today I enjoy it very much when I am preparing this.

What is Kadhi Pakora

Kadhi Pakora is usually prepared with a buttermilk mix of all spices, then cooked till it thickens, and then gram flour pakora is added to it. It is sour and tangy in taste, and the texture is saucy.

The kadhi is made with both buttermilk and yogurt. In both ways, the taste is the same. I feel no difference. I always prepare it with buttermilk because we received the homemade buttermilk from our neighbourhood, and it tastes better. If you use yogurt, whisk it with some water and make a slurry.

The key ingredient of this recipe is gram flour, which is made from splitting black chickpeas. Adding gram flour to the buttermilk helps to give the colour and consistency. Adding more gram flour, which turns more creamy and thick in consistency. If you add less than it turns into a thin consistency and sour in taste. It’s your choice how you want your kadhi.

Most people do not like to add pakoras to their kadhi. But I feel that without pakora, it doesn’t taste good. Different types of pakoras, aloo pakora, onion pakora, gram flour pakora, are added to kadhi according to own preferences.

I like to add gram flour pakora to my kadhi, which is made very simply. Take gram flour, add some spices, mix it, and make a smooth batter. Then make small fritters of it by frying in oil. After that, I soak them in warm water for 10 minutes. This helps to make them softer. Then I add them to my kadhi.

Ingredients

• Buttermilk- I used homemade buttermilk here. Store-bought can also be used.

• Gram flour- I used Rajdhani’s gram flour here.

• Spices- All basic spices are used here: coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida, and garam masala.

• Tempering- I used fenugreek seeds and dried red chilies for sauteing, but you can add some cumin seeds too. I skip it here.

• Oil- I used mustard oil.

How to make Kadhi Pakora

Prepare batter

1.Take one cup of gram flour in a mixing bowl for pakora.

2. Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1/4 red chili powder, 1/4 garam masala, and 1 tsp coriander powder.

3. Pour 1/2 cup of water into it.

4. Mix all the ingredients well and make a smooth batter. If the batter feels thick, add some water and mix. Rest the batter for up to 10 minutes. Mix the batter in the same direction for more softer texture.

Make buttermilk slurry

5. Take buttermilk in a big bowl.

6. Add 1 cup of gram flour, 1 tsp of turmeric, 2 tsp of coriander powder, 1/2 tsp of red chili powder, and 1/4 tsp of asafoetida.

7. Mix all the ingredients well with the whisk or a spoon. The buttermilk slurry is ready.

Make Pakora

8. Heat oil in a kadai on high heat.

9. When the oil is heated, add the gram flour batter one by one in a round shape with your fingertips or a spoon.

10. Flip them from another side with a spatula and fry until they reach a light golden texture.

11. When the fritters are golden in color, remove them to a plate and keep them aside.

Make Kadhi

12. Now in the same kadai. Add 1 tsp (methi) fenugreek seeds and 4 dried red chilies. Let them split. I removed extra oil from it and left only 1 tbsp of oil.

13. Add chopped onions and garlic to it. Sauté them.

14. When they are golden, it means they are sauteed.

15. Add buttermilk slurry to it and cook it on medium to high heat by stirring it until it comes to a boil.

16. Stir it well continuously.

17. When it comes to a boil, turn the flame low. It takes 15-18 minutes to come to a boil. Now cook it on low heat and stir at intervals.

18. Now take some warm water in a bowl and soak the fried gram flour fritters in it for 10 minutes. This helps to achieve more softer texture.

Pov- This step is optional; you can add directly fry pakora to the kadhi.

19. After 10 minutes, remove them from the water by squeezing out extra water with the help of your palms.

20. When it reaches the thick, creamy, and saucy texture, it means it has cooked properly. It takes approximately 20-25 minutes on low heat.

21. Now add the soaked fritters to it and cook them till they are coated well with a kadhi.

22. After that, add 1/2 tsp of garam masala to it. Mix very well.

23. Turn the flame off, and the kadhi pakora is ready.

Serve this kadhi pakora hot in a lunch or a dinner with the basmati rice, jeera rice, naan, and simple chapati.

Tips

• I used 2 cups of buttermilk to make this kadhi pakora. But if you want to use yogurt, 1 cup is enough, and 1 cup of water to make a good slurry.

• You can make this kadhi without pakora, but adding them gives you an extra flavor.

• I used a 2:1 ratio of buttermilk and gram flour: 2 cups of buttermilk and 1 cup of gram flour. If you want a more sour and tangy flavour, then reduce the amount of gram flour.

Frequently Asked Questions