This month’s Indian Cooking Challenge had us making a Punjabi Kadhi with the Pakodis (fritters). My association with Punjabi food has been a long one, as I have mentioned numerous times on this blog. Kadhi Pakodi is very special for me since it reminds me of my days in Delhi, which is where I was exposed to it for the first time as part of one of my classmate’s lunch box. Ever since it has stayed with me and whenever I crave for something homely at the same time delicious, I make Kadhi-Pakodi.
From the time I started cooking, I have made a lot of trials and errors to arrive at what I felt was the perfect recipe for Kadhi-Pakodi and have been making it regularly. As is true with any classic recipe, many people have their own version and I found that the recipe given for the challenge was slightly different from how I make it. Nevertheless I followed the recipe, originally by Simran of Bombay Foodie, since I wanted to try out a different option.
Punjabi Kadhi-Pakodi
Ingredients
For the Pakodi
- 1 cup Besan (Chickpea flour)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
- Salt
- Oil for deep frying
For the Kadhi
- 1 Cup set yogurt (Dahi)
- 1/3 cup Besan (Chickpea flour)
- 1 tblsp oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp Ajwain (Carom seeds)
- 1/2 tsp Methi (Fenugreek)
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 Medium sized onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
- Salt
Method:
To make the Pakodis, Mix together all the ingredients except for the oil. Using a little water , mix them all into a thick paste. Heat the oil and then drop spoonfuls of the mixture and fry them till brown and crisp. Drain on to a kitchen towel and keep aside.
To make the kadhi, mix together the yogurt and besan. Add approx 3-4 cups of water and whisk well. the final consistency should be a little thinner than the thick punjabi lassi but not too thin at the same time.
Add the oil in a deep pan and add the nustard, cumin, fenugreek and carom seeds. As they start spluttering, add the onion and fry for some time. Then pour the Besan-Yogurt mixture and also add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt and mix well.
Bring this to boil and then simmer for about 20-30 minutes till the Besan is cooked and the Kadhi thickens. Now add the Pakodis and bring to boil again. Add the Garam Masala and Amchoor, mix well, heat through and then swicth off the heat.
Serve hot, ideally with rice but Rotis will do nicely.
My Notes: The Kadhi was absolutely delicious, a bit different from what I make but a good change nevertheless. The only problem for me was that I found the quantity of Besan in the Kadhi to be a little too much. I might try reducing it next time.
To make a variation on the above or in other words to make my version of the Kadhi, make the following changes.
- Use 3-4 tblsp of Besan instead of 1/3 cup for the Kadhi
- Replace the cumin seeds with Fennel seeds
- Add 1-2 dry red chillies to the hot oil when making Kadhi and skip the red chilli powder
PS: I know it might seem as if I am not on talking terms with any one here, what with the ‘to the point’ posts and that too only for the regular events, but I will be back to post regularly very soon, I promise!
