Punjabi Kadhi Pakora is a recipe with onion fritters immersed in spicy curd sauce. It is an Indian dish which originated in Punjab. It is a simple, quick winter meal which is considered a light food. It is a spicy dish whose thick gravy is based on chickpea flour and contains vegetable fritters called "Pakoras", to which sour curd is added to give it little sour taste. It is often eaten with boiled rice or roti.
Kadhi has another variation in Rajasthan, Sindh and Gujarat. In Rajasthan and Gujarat, it is usually served with khichdi, roti, parantha and rice. It is considered a light food. Rajasthani and Gujarati kadhi differs from the Uttar Pradesh variety. In the northern parts, this dish is also known as "Dapka Kadhi". It is called as "Pareh" in Jharkhand. In Southern states, it is seasoned with sauteed asafoetida, mustard seeds, cumin and fenugreek. It is called "Majjiga Pulusu" in Telugu and "Mor Kulumbu" in Tamil.
Ingredients:
For Besan Pakora
•1/2 cup Besan
•1/2 cup finely chopped Onion
•1 Green Chilli, seeded and finely chopped
•A small pinch of Baking Soda
•1/3 cup + 1 tbsp Water
•Salt to taste
•Oil for deep frying
For Batter
•1 cup sour Curd
•1/4 cup Besan
•1½ cups Water
•1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
•Salt to taste
For Tempering
•2 tbsp Oil
•1/4 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
•1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
•1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds
•1/2 tsp grated Ginger
•1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
•1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
•2 Dry Red Kashmiri Chillies
Method for Pakora:
•Mix gram flour, chopped onion, chopped green chilli, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
•Add water in small quantities and make very thick batter.
•Heat oil in a frying pan on medium flame. Take spoonful of batter and drop it in oil. Drop 5-6 pakoras in single batch.
•Deep fry them until medium brown and crispy.
•Drain and transfer on plate having kitchen paper napkin on it and keep aside.
Method for Kadhi:
•Beat curd and gram flour in a bowl with hand beater or blender.
•Add 1½ cups water, turmeric powder and salt. Blend all ingredients using hand blender until smooth batter. Ensure that there are no lumps.
•Heat 1 tbsp oil in a medium size deep pan over medium flame. Add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. When they begin to crackle add cumin seeds and grated ginger; saute for 20-30 seconds.
•Add prepared curd-flour batter and mix well.
•Cook on medium flame until raw smell of gram flour goes away. Stir occasionally in between to prevent sticking. It should have pouring consistency.
•Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a small tempering pan on low flame. When oil is medium hot enough, remove tempering pan from flame and add dry red chilli and red chilli powder. Immediately pour it over prepared kadhi.
•Add deep fried pakoras, mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn off the flame and garnish it with coriander leaves.
Tip:
Cook and immediately serve as the pakoras can become soggy if immersed for too long in the kadhi. People want the pakoras to be bit crunchy. Even only kadhi without pakoras tastes nice.
