Punjabi Kadhi Pakodi

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!

Khichadi-Kadhi : The ultimate comfort food

This ones a classic combination as far as comfort foods go. Of course a lot of broth preparations go quite well with Khichadi such as Tomato-Saar, Rasam, Amsul-Saar etc but there is something about this combination which makes even the otherwise supposedly bland Khichadi a welcome dish.

As much as I love this, I can not come to terms with the fact that this can be regarded as a festive dish as well! Now theres a little story behind this. When we were looking around for a marriage hall for my wedding & looked at the menu options available, almost all of them in Pune, listed Khichadi-Kadhi as one of the items. Now, Khichadi has a reputation for being something very bland & simple, fit for the sick and to put all this in a very pleasant manner at the most a comfort food. I could never imagine having Khichadi on the day of my wedding! I had rejected the menu outright without even looking at the other items. I was completely adamant that come what may I will not have Khichadi for lunch on my wedding day and everyone had to finally decided on (they did agree with me on this point) Masala Bhat.

I said supposedly bland because there are so many variations possible and I bet each household has its own version of Khichadi. To give you an example my mom made it totally different than what my MIL makes and I must add here that her version is a bit different from my FIL’s. Yes! my FIL makes the best Khichadi I have tasted so far and also the Kadhi to go with it.

My version takes a bit of each of the above mentioned and tastes very different from theirs! I have taken whatever I like in each of the above and added some of my own to get to this. Again its not necessary that I will make it exactly this way everytime. I might do something different, increase one thing, reduce another, skip something or add according to my mood that day. What I giving here is the basic Khichadi recipe that I use.

Khichadi

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup rice (I used Sona Masoori)
• 3/4 cup Split yellow Moong dal
• 1 tblsp Ghee (Clarified Butter) or oil
• 1.5 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 6-8 Curry Leaves
• 1/2 tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
• 2 cloves
• 6-7 Peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• Salt

Method:

Wash the rice & dal and keep aside.

Heat the ghee/oil in a deep pan/kadai. Once hot, add the cumin seeds. Once they sizzle & change colour add the curry leaves and the Asafoetida.

Add the cloves & peppercorns and fry for a minute or two. You could coarsely crush the cloves & peppercorns before adding them. Next, add the turmeric powder and mix.

Add the rice & dal and mix well. Season with salt and let it roast for 2-3 minutes.

Now add double the amount of water than that of the rice and Dal, mix well and bring to a boil.

Reduce the flame, cover & cook till the rice & dal are completely cooked. The consistency for the khichadi is usually mushy.

I use a pressure pan to speed up the process. I do the tempering & roasting of the rice & dal, add water & then cover & pressure cook it for 6 whistles. If you don't have a pressure pan, you can do the tempering & roasting in a pan & then transfer the contents into a vessel that will fit into your pressure cooker & cook it for approx 4-5 whistles depending upon the type of cooker.

Serve hot with ghee poured on it, along with Kadhi, roasted papad & some pickle.

My Notes: The quantity of water has to be adjusted to get that mushy consistency for the khichadi.

For variations I sometimes,

• add one chopped green chilli to the tempering.
• use green split moong dal i.e. split moong dal with the skin. This brings a nice change in the taste.
• add 1.5 tsp of Coriander-Cumin powder to make it a little more spicier.
• add chopped fresh coriander leaves once the khichadi is cooked.

As for the Kadhi, I completely go by my FIL’s recipe, its really the best & the simplest. But I do like garlic in my Kadhi (my mom used to add this in hers!), so I just add a bit of crushed garlic.

Kadhi

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup curd
• 2 tblsp Besan (Chickpea flour)
• 1/2 tblsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
• 4-6 curry leaves
• 2 pinches of Hing (Asafoetida)
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1/2 an onion, chopped
• 1-2 cloves of Garlic, coarsely crushed
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• 1-2 tsp Sugar
• Salt

Method:

Make buttermilk (Chaas) of medium consistency using the curd and water. Add salt to this and mix well and keep aside until required.

Make paste of the chickpea flour with some water & keep aside.

heat the oil in a deep pan. Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds & as they start spluttering add the Cumin seeds, curry leaves, Asafoetida and the turmeric powder.

Next, add the crushed garlic & onion and fry till the onion starts softening. Add the chopped chilli and mix.

Reduce the heat and add the earlier prepared buttermilk and stir well on medium-low flame.

Once the it is heated through, add the chickpea flour paste and sugar and continue to heat.

The Kadhi should not be allowed to boil too much. Just heated enough till the consistency goes from watery to glossy (the besan being cooked).

Adjust the salt & sugar according to your taste after switching off the flame.

My Notes: You could add any of the vegetables such as Okra, White Pumpkin, Snake gourd etc to get an additional boost in the taste.

Serve hot with Khichadi for that classic combination or with plain rice, or even along with Chapati-Bhaji. I like to have it plain & straight just like a soup too :)

Here’s another look at the dish again,

This plate makes for a great meal for the kids, my daughter S loves Khichadi. So it is on its way to Trupti’s Recipe Center, for the Cooking For Kids:Rice event, started originally by Sharmi of Neivedyam.

Palak ki Kadhi

Kadhi is a curd based preparation generally made as an accompaniment for Rice dishes such as Pulao, Khichdi or even plain steamed rice. A Kadhi has two components namely the curd based gravy and the additional component which enhances the taste by imparting its own flavour. The famous Punjabi Kadhi has gramflour dumplings called Pakodi while down south it is called Mor Kolumbu and the Pakodi is replaced by a variety of vegetables such as White Pumpkin, Radish, Okra, Snake gourd etc.

The Kadhi that we prepare, can be considered as being the intermediate between the North and the South. While it does not have Pakodi in it, it is sometimes made with vegetables and sometimes had plain, without anything added to it and called Palade in kannada. The most common vegetable used is the Snake gourd.

Although it would seem that the taste of the curd will not change too much with the added component, in reality the taste changes drastically with each of these additions.

Here I am presenting a Palak (Spinach) based Kadhi, the recipe for which was tweaked from the Bawarchi website and was recommended by dear N!

Palak Ki Kadhi

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped spinach leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-3 dry Red Chillies (or as per taste)
• 1-2 pinches of Asafoetida (Its 2 for me, I like the flavour a lot!)
• 1/2 tsp Haldi (Turmeric Powder)
• 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 cups curd
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tblsp Besan (Chickpea flour)
• Salt
• Oil

Method:

Whisk together the curd, water, salt and Besan to form a mixture without any lumps and keep aside.

Heat oil in a deep vessel and splutter the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add the garlic, Asafoetida, dry red chillies, Haldi one by one and fry for a min or two.

Add the chopped spinach leaves and saute for about 3-4 min.

Add in the curd mixture and mix properly. Heat on medium.

Once the Kadhi starts to boil, stir and switch off the flame after 2-3 min. It has to be boiled only to let the Besan be cooked. If boiled for a longer time, the curd starts getting separated.

To enjoy it to the fullest serve hot with plain Rice and some roasted Papad!

This Kadhi is on its way to Tongue Ticklers for the FIC-Yellow event. Looks like there's really going to be a lot of sunshine this month!

Hot & Fiery Jhunka

There can be no other adjective to describe this one. In my opinion if the Jhunka is not hot (spicy), then it is not the real thing. Pair it up with Jwarichi Bhaakri (Jollad Rotti), place some Lassun (Garlic) chutney and sliced raw onion and you have a delicious rustic meal ready for you.

But there was a time that I searched for excuses to avoid eating this one.  My all time favourite and successful excuse was that it gives me stomachache since it has so much of Besan (chickpea flour) in it. Others included that the Jhunka was too dry or too hot and so on. Funnily enough these are the very reasons, I like Jhunka so much now!

Mom made this on days that we would run out of fresh vegetables or simply as a change from the routine Chapati Bhaji meal. I didn't have the nerve to ask her for the recipe when I was making it, because I knew that I would be definitely taunted about it.....What? You want the recipe for Jhunka? What's wrong with you? Wasn't that supposed to be bad for your stomach? and so on. So I made it as per my recollection of seeing her make it and some guess work on my part. It turned out to be good, exactly the way I like it.

The other version is the Pithla which is gravy like and goes well with rice. In fact Pithla-Bhaat comes a close second as the ultimate comfort food after Varan-Bhaat for many of us.

Although the basic ingredient, Besan, remains the same there are mainly two ways to prepare each one of these. The major difference being the use of either red chilli powder or green chillies. Just altering this one item brings a lot of change to the way Jhunka tastes and looks.

Jhunka

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup Besan (Chickpea flour)
• 1 tblsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 4-6 curry leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp Haldi (Turmeric powder)
• 2 tsp red chilli powder (adjust according to taste & the type of chilli powder, the one I have used is fairly hot)
• salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the curry leaves and garlic and fry them.

Add the chopped onion and saute until they turn translucent. Add the Haldi and mix. Cook for a minute.

Add the salt and the red chilli powder and mix well. Let this roast for half a minute.

Add 2-3 tblsp of water and bring to a boil. Now add the besan, spoon by spoon while stirring vigorously. Keep mashing with the back of the spoon so that there are no lumps remaining.

Cook the Jhunka on medium-low heat till the besan is properly cooked (it will let out a nice aroma) and keep stirring in between.

As mentioned earlier this is best served with Jwarichi Bhaakri (Sorghum flatbread). But I didn't have the flour on hand to make them, so we made do with Phulkas instead. As mentioned earlier, a lot of guesswork went into this, so I had this Batata Ras Bhaji as a backup, but as it turned out, it wasn't really necessary!

And don't skip the raw onions even if you are averse to them. Apart from enhancing the taste, they also serve the purpose of adding that much needed 'juice' with this 'dry' preparation. And there's always the mint or if you are like me and not too fond of mint, have some saunf (fennel seeds) later on :)

Some variations to the above recipe

• If you want to make the green chilli version, add 2-3 chopped green chillies before adding the chopped onion to the tempering. Adjust the quantity of green chilies according to the spice level & your taste. Proceed as usual and skip the red chilli powder in the next step.
• To make Pithla (Gravy like) increase the amount of water to 1 cup and cook on low flame, stirring in between. When its finally done, it should have a paste like consistency. Pithla is generally made with green chillies but you can always try the red chilli powder version as well.
• Adding chopped fresh coriander leaves takes the Jhunka/Pithla to an altogether different level.

This goes to Sometime Foodie for JFI-Chickpeas, an even initiated by Indira of Mahanandi.

PS: I am of course going to tell Mom that I made this & it turned out well & we finished. or rather scraped it out of the bowl and that I will be making this very frequently, even when the refrigerator is full of vegetables!