I made Kadi Pakora quite a few weeks ago and it came out so well, that i decided to share the pic on facebook and pinterest. Friends requested for the recipe and here it is :
Most Indians are aware of Kadi Pakora and most people love it. Kadi is basically a yogurt(curd) based gravy made with gram flour( besan) and is cooked in different ways throughout northern and western parts of India with slight differences. So kadi from the hindi belt of U.P and Rajasthan has plain pakoras made from just besan, while in Punjabi kadi, pakoras have onions and potatoes. Gujarati kadi is usually without turmeric(haldi) and a little sweet with no pakoras. Maharashtrian kadi too is made without pakoras. Sindhi kadi has lots of veggies in it. Palak kadi has spinach added to basic kadi. Infact I have had a South Indian gravy from a friend's lunchbox, which is very similar to kadi and has bhindi(okra) in it. I think it is called Mor kolumbu. My apologies if this is incorrect, but it was delicious and very similar to kadi.
Kadi is usually served with plain steamed rice and kadi-chawal is the ultimate comfort food. It is good to have sour curd so that kadi turns out khatti. Here, I give my recipe which is a mixture of many styles.
Besan(gram flour) - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Chilli powder (optional) to taste
Water to make batter - 3/4 cup
Oil to deep fry pakoras
Water - 1 big bowl full
For Kadi
Besan - 1/2 cup
Curd - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large -chopped into slices
Fenugreek(methi) seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds( rai dana) - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder (haldi)- 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Asafeteda (hing) - 1 pinch
Curry leaves - 8-10 leaves
Dry red chillies - 2-3
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder (optional)
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp chopped
Water - 5-6 cups
For kadi we make plain pakoras.
Most Indians are aware of Kadi Pakora and most people love it. Kadi is basically a yogurt(curd) based gravy made with gram flour( besan) and is cooked in different ways throughout northern and western parts of India with slight differences. So kadi from the hindi belt of U.P and Rajasthan has plain pakoras made from just besan, while in Punjabi kadi, pakoras have onions and potatoes. Gujarati kadi is usually without turmeric(haldi) and a little sweet with no pakoras. Maharashtrian kadi too is made without pakoras. Sindhi kadi has lots of veggies in it. Palak kadi has spinach added to basic kadi. Infact I have had a South Indian gravy from a friend's lunchbox, which is very similar to kadi and has bhindi(okra) in it. I think it is called Mor kolumbu. My apologies if this is incorrect, but it was delicious and very similar to kadi.
Kadi is usually served with plain steamed rice and kadi-chawal is the ultimate comfort food. It is good to have sour curd so that kadi turns out khatti. Here, I give my recipe which is a mixture of many styles.
Ingredients
For PakorasBesan(gram flour) - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Chilli powder (optional) to taste
Water to make batter - 3/4 cup
Oil to deep fry pakoras
Water - 1 big bowl full
For Kadi
Besan - 1/2 cup
Curd - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large -chopped into slices
Fenugreek(methi) seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds( rai dana) - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder (haldi)- 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Asafeteda (hing) - 1 pinch
Curry leaves - 8-10 leaves
Dry red chillies - 2-3
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder (optional)
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp chopped
Water - 5-6 cups
Recipe
PakorasFor kadi we make plain pakoras.
- In a big bowl, add besan. You may want to sieve besan to ensure there are no lumps.
- Add salt and chilli powder to it, according to your taste. Add a little first. You can always adjust later.
- Make a thick batter by adding water gradually and keep whisking to make sure no lumps are formed. This batter should be thicker than regular pakora batter.
- Taste a little to check salt and chilli. Add more if needed.
- Whisk well to make batter light and fluffy.
- Heat oil in a frying pan or kadhai.
- Once the oil is hot, drop small portions of batter to make pakoras using your hand or a spoon.
- Fry till golden brown on medium flame.
- Take out pakoras using a slotted spoon and put in big bowl filled with water at room temperature.
- This last step make the pakoras soft and removes excess oil too. Leave the pakoras in water for 5-6 minutes and then squeeze the water gently and transfer to a plate.
- Take a large bowl and sieve besan into it to remove any lumps.
- Add salt to taste.
- In a separate bowl, beat the curd well to a smooth consistency.
- Add curd to besan and add turmeric (haldi). Beat well till smooth.
- Add 5 cups of water little by little to make a smooth and thin batter and keep aside.
- In a large kadhai, heat oil.
- Add asafetida, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds till it crackles.
- Once aroma starts coming, add dry red chillies and curry leaves.
- After a few seconds, add the besan-yogurt mixture.
- Keep stirring till kadi comes to a boil.
- Lower the heat to low and let kadi cook for 30 minutes. keep stirring occasionally.
- If kadi gets thick, you can add some more water.
- Finally add pakoras to kadi and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice.
