Kadhi is a yogurt/curd based dish made using besan(chickpea flour) to thicken it into a gravy like consistency. Besan also prevents yogurt from splitting when it is heated. Yogurt can be sour or sweet, it depends on the type of Kadhi you are making. Yes, there are various types of Kadhi that are made in India. Almost every state has its own type of Kadhi, from the Punjabi version which has pakodis to Rajasthani Kadhi which is not as sweet as Gujarati Kadhi. Then there are more variations from South India like majjige huLi from Mysore/Bangalore, majjige paladya made in North Karnataka, Mor Kulambu from Tamil Nadu. There are so many variations and every version is very comforting.
Gujarati Kadhi is sweet because of the sugar or jaggery. You can make this in a jiffy after a long day and feel comforted on a cold winter night or a hot summer evening. Kadhi has cooling properties, it is known that it prevents formation of phlegm and can be eaten for dinner as the yogurt is cooked.I generally serve this with ‘rotlis’ (rotis with ‘L’ are Gujarati rotis or phulkas smeared with desi ghee) or plain steamed rice.
- 2 Cups sweet or sour yogurt
- 1½ Tbsp besan/chickpea flour/kadale hittu
- 1 Tsp desi ghee
- ½ Tsp rai/mustard seeds
- ½ Tsp jeera/cumin seeds
- ½ broken dried red chilli
- 2 finely chopped green chillies
- 7-8 curry leaves
- 1" finely chopped ginger
- ½ Tsp haldi/turmeric
- ½ Tsp red chilli powder
- ½ Tbsp grated jaggery/palm sugar/unrefined cane sugar(muscavado)/molasses sugar
- ¼ Tsp powdered black peppercorn
- Salt to taste
- ½ Cup water to adjust consistency of kadhi
- Finely chopped coriander leaves to sprinkle on top
- In a small bowl add besan flour, red chilli powder, haldi, add some yogurt to this and mix well
- Whisk the rest of the yogurt in another big bowl till smooth, to this add the besan mixture. Mix and keep aside
- Chop up curry leaves, green chillies, ginger
- In a tadka pan, heat ghee
- Add mustard, jeera. Let them splutter. Add broken red chilli
- Add curry leaves, green chillies, ginger and saute for a minute
- Add jaggery/unrefined cane sugar and salt to the yogurt mixture. Mix well
- Add half a cup of water. Mix well. Adjust water consistency according to thickness of the yogurt you have
- Pour the tadka over yogurt mixture. Mix well
- Add powdered black pepper
- Bring it to light boil on low/medium flame. Turn off heat
- Finish with chopped coriander
- Serve hot with rotlis or phulka or steamed rice
I prefer making kadhi with regular yogurt, while some use sour curds
Add chopped garlic if you like into tadka
Do NOT overheat the kadhi, it will split and whey will separate out, kadhi turns grainy
Add hing/asafoetida for more aroma but kadhi will not be gluten free
Stepwise:
In a small bowl add besan flour, red chilli powder, haldi, add some yogurt to this and mix well
Whisk the rest of the yogurt in another big bowl till smooth, to this add the besan mixture. Mix and keep aside
Chop up curry leaves, green chillies, ginger
In a tadka pan, heat ghee
Add mustard, jeera. Let them splutter. Add broken red chilli
Add curry leaves, green chillies, ginger and saute for a minute
Add jaggery/unrefined cane sugar and salt to the yogurt mixture. Mix well
Add half a cup of water. Mix well. Adjust water consistency according to thickness of the yogurt you have
Pour the tadka over yogurt mixture. Mix well
Add powdered black pepper
Bring it to light boil on low/medium flame. Turn off heat
Finish with chopped coriander
Serve hot with rotlis or phulka or steamed rice
