Veg Indian Recipes

A 'Kadhi' is basically a bland Indian curry or gravy primarily consisting of a yoghurt and water base thickened with gram flour. Various herbs and spices are added to the 'Kadhi' to give it a very distinct flavour.

Almost all regions in India have their own variant of the 'Kadhi'. In North India, the 'Kadhi' has gram flour ' onion pakodas' (onion fritters or dumplings) added to make a more hearty kadhi. The 'Sindhi'community has their own version of the kadhi which does not have yoghurt at all, but uses tamarind pulp to give the kadhi a sour taste. Gujarat is a state in West India where kadhi is an important part of the everyday meal. The 'Gujarati Kadhi' has a little sweet and sour taste and is very simple to make. It goes great served piping hot over plain boiled rice.

Gujarati Kadhi

Ingredients:

2 cups Youghurt (preferably a little sour)
5 cups water
2 teaspoons Gram flour (Besan)
1 teaspoon Ginger-Chilli paste (can be made at home; pound together 1 inch piece of ginger with 2 green chillies)
5-8 Curry leaves (or 1 stalk)
1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds (Rye - Indian)
1/2 teaspoon Fenugreek seeds (Methi Daana)
1/4 teaspoon Asafoetida (Heeng)
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder (Haldi)
2 teaspoon Salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon Sugar (or to taste)
1 tablespoon chopped Coriander leaves
1 tablespoon Oil or Clarified Butter(Ghee - for tempering)

Method:

In a pot, beat together the yoghurt, gram flour and water to form a smooth gravy. Take care to see that no lumps are formed. To this mixture add the ginger-chilli paste.

Now heat the oil in a pot. Add the fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they start to sputter, add the curry leaves and asafoetida. Pour this tempering over the yoghurt -gram flour curry (kadhi). Bring the kadhi to boil, stirring continously so that it does not boil over. Add salt and sugar to taste. Boil the kadhi for 3-4 minutes so that the gram flour in the kadhi is cooked and does not have a raw taste. The kadhi should have the consistency of a thick soup. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot over plain boiled rice or with Roti or Chapati (Indian Bread). Can also be had by itself as a hot soup.