Had a busy day? No time to cook or you just want something quick, nourishing and tasty? Then this Kadhi recipe will only take 20 to 30 minutes to make and you will end up with a delicious concoction of spiced yogurt and gram flour.
Kadhi is a light Indian comfort-food dish with many regional variations. However, the core ingredients in a Kadhi recipe are Gram flour, yogurt and tempered spices.
It is pronounced Ka-Rhi, but should not confused with curry. It is not a curry!
This version is quick and easy and you can utilise those spare vegetables you have in the fridge.
Traditionally it is accompanied with rice, but you can also enjoy on its own.
Jump to:
Jump to:
Recipe Notes
Gram flour is also known as besan and is made from a milled yellow split peas. Consequently, it is a naturally gluten-free core ingredient. Make it a stock item for your cupboards because it is very versatile and a good go-to for a variety of quick meals.
A note about the asafoetida used in the recipe. If you are aiming for a completely gluten-free dish, then make sure you purchase asafoetida made with rice flour, not wheat flour. Asafoetida is a spice made from the gum resin of a variety of fennel. It adds properties to a dish similar to onion and garlic and is often used as a substitute in Indian cooking.
I have tested this Kadhi recipe with oat, coconut and soya yoghurt and all worked well.
This version is not the Kadhi I grew up with. The Punjabi Kadhi I enjoyed as a child was similar but contained different spices and Pakora (spiced fritters). However, when I moved to the UK, I wanted a version that I could make quickly and easily. So my mother kindly taught me this one, replacing the Pakoras with spinach for a healthy twist. Although, if spinach is not your thing, don't be afraid to replace it with other vegetables. I'm a keen forager so I used some wild greens: wild nettle, wild garlic and garlic mustard.
My home region of India is Bengal and a traditional spice mix from this region that has made its way into this version of Kadhi is Panch phoran (literally, "five-spices.") Panch phoran consists of Fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds and fennel seeds in equal proportion. In Panch phoran, the seeds are used whole, not ground down. They are tempered in hot oil. Check out my Instagram tutorial video.
📖 Recipe
Kadhi Recipe
Equipment
- Whisk
- Weighing scales
- Sieve
Ingredients
- 85 g Gram Flour
- 170 g Yoghurt
- 200 ml Water
- 0.5 teaspoon Turmeric
- 5 g Mustard oil Olive / Sunflower oil ok too
- 1 teaspoon Panchphoran
- 0.5 teaspoon Asafoetida
- 55 g Spinach I used wild picked Nettle / Wild Garlic / Garlic Mustard
- 0.25 teaspoon Chilli powder ( optional ) or to taste
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the yoghurt and gram flour together and whisk into a smooth batter.
- Add the water and whisk together. If lumps form at this stage, pass through a sieve
- Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and temper the panch phoran and asafoetida (see notes for an explaination of tempering). Be careful not to burn the spices.
- Add the gram flour batter, tumeric, chilli powder and stir until it thickens a little. Add a little water if it becomes too thick. Look at the video for the consistency to aim for. Constant stiring is important to ensure no lumps form and it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Add your greens and cook for a few more minutes. If you are using spinach you will see it wilt in a couple of minutes
- Serve with rice or roti (flat bread)
How-To Video
Here is my Youtube video tutorial for making this Kadhi:
Ingredient Substitutions
Yoghurt: For a non-vegan version of this Kadhi recipe, replace with dairy yoghurt. You could even give your gut a boost with some probiotic yoghurt.
Greens: Not keen on your greens? Replace with a variety of different vegetables. Try cauliflower, carrot or broccoli. Make sure you blanch (see explanation below) these vegetables to partially cook them before you finish them off in the Kadhi.
Cooking Tips and Kitchen Education
While cooking, the Kadhi will thicken so just add water if you wish to reach your desired consistency. It may thicken as it cools too. Again, just add water to reach your desired consistency.
What does it mean to blanch vegetables? Blanching is the scalding of vegetables in boiling water for a short time, then immersing them in cold water. This stops them from losing flavour and texture. If you are substituting the greens in this recipe with harder vegetables, this gives them a head start with their cooking before going into the Kadhi mix.
What is tempering of spices? Tempering of spices is the process of blooming spices to release their flavour, this is achieved by adding spices to hot oil.
Storage
Kadhi can be stored in the fridge for upto three days.
It can also be frozen. Defrost it in the fridge overnight and bring it back to the boil again before eating. Again adjust the consistency with water if required.
Leave a Reply