Kadhi Pakora & Chawal is one of the sought-after comfort foods from North Indian cuisine. Yogurt mixed with besan (chickpea flour) is simmered with aromatic spices and the onion pakoras are dunked in the yogurt curry for a delicious wholesome comfort meal.
I love to serve this velvety smooth, creamy yogurt kadhi with steamed rice or Jeera Rice. More serving suggestions & recipe variations can be found below.
Ingredients
There are quite a few standard Indian spices used in the recipe. These are very basic used ones used in a lot of Indian dishes. If you want to know more about these spices, read up on basic spices.
Yogurt (See recipe variations)
Onion
Besan
Fenugreek/Methi Seeds
Garam Masala
Red Chilli Powder
Turmeric
Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Fennel Seeds/Saunf
Coriander Powder
Salt
Ginger
Garlic
Oil
Equipment Needed
- Large bowls
- Kadhai/Wok for deep frying
- Saucepan
- Cooking spoons
- Measuring cups/spoons
- serving dishes
- Paper towels
- whisk/electric blender
step by step instructions
Full recipe + measurements + video can be found in the recipe card below.
Step 1 - Make Pakoras
Thinly sliced onions are mixed with besan(chickpea flour), salt, red chilli powder, and turmeric. Make a thick-ish batter. Deep fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towel until ready to use.
Step 2 - Make Kadhi
Mix yogurt, water, and besan to make a smooth mixture. You can either use a whisk or blend in an electric blender.
Heat oil, roast the spices, and onion until aromatic. Pour the yogurt mixture and cook on low heat. Remove from heat.
Step - 3 Assemble
Soak the pakoras in the kadhi for a little while so that the pakoras can soak up all the goodness. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro. Serve.
P.S. I make the pakoras before I make the Kadhi. The pakoras have to soak up the yogurt curry for about 20-25 minutes. If you have the pakoras ready by the time kadi gets ready, you can let them soak up the kadhi immediately.
Can You Use Kefir To Make Kadhi Pakora?
YES! And is one of my favorite ways to use the wonderful probiotic in our diet on a regular basis.
If you are looking to introduce or use Kefir in your diet, this recipe is a wonderful way to do it.
Use about 750 ML of Kefir instead of yogurt. Add about ¼ cup of water to dilute if required.
The rest of the ingredients and steps remain the same.
Kefir kadhi is amazing!
Is This Recipe Gluten-Free?
Yes! This recipe is gluten-free in that it does not use any gluten-based ingredients. But some of the ingredients may be processed in facilities where they process other gluten-based products. So read the labels before you proceed.
If you are following any particular diet, read the ingredient labels, to ensure that they adhere to your particular diet.
Kadhi Without Pakoras?
Of course! Are you in the mood for some delicious Kadhi Chawal, (Kadhi & steamed rice), but don't want to go the extra mile to make the pakoras?
Go ahead!
You can definitely skip making the pakoras and enjoy the dahi kadhi as such. This Kadhi is nice and flavorful and can stand on its own. 🙂
Serving suggestions?
Serving suggestions for this amazing Kadhi pakora:
- Simple steamed basmati rice or sona masoori rice - Kadhi Chawal is one of the most sought-after comfort foods.
-I love to serve Kadhi with a Karnataka Style Tomato Bath (will share the recipe soon)
Along with the above, you can prepare either a simple potato fry or smashed potatoes and make it a wholesome meal if time permits.
The Khatta-Meeta (sweet 'n' sour) taste of this instant granny smith apple pickle is amazing as well.
Do you like Brussels Sprouts? These oven-roasted Brussels sprouts with Indian spices would be a nice side dish to your Kadhi Chawal.
Serve some papad (look for the Lijjat Papad brand at your local Indian grocer) and make it a wholesome meal.
How To Adjust Consistency?
The yogurt/dahi kadhi is not supposed to be very runny, nor too thick. The idea of the consistency that you like kinda comes with practice. The quantity of water mentioned in the recipe usually works and most of the yogurt brands (store-bought) or homemade yogurt.
The Kadhi thickens on cooling. So, even if it is slightly runny while cooking, it should be ok.
If you notice that the dahi kadhi is runny, cook it on low heat for a little more time. It will thicken up.
If you notice that kadhi is thick especially after cooling, add a little water (2-3 tablespoons) and reheat.
How To Use Up Leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Usually, when reheating dishes with yogurt, there is a chance that the yogurt turns grainy. But here to make this besan kadhi, we have use besan along with the yogurt and this acts as a stabilizer preventing the yogurt from turning grainy.
You can either reheat in the microwave using a microwave-safe bowl or reheat on the stovetop. Add a little water to adjust the consistency if the Kadhi has thickened on cooling.
Recipe Variations
This is one of the most common day-to-day food from Indian cuisine. Every household has its own traditional way of making this. Below are a few variations that you can try.
- Use Kefir instead of yogurt.
- Use your favorite non-dairy yogurt to make a vegan version.
- You can definitely serve this kadhi with no onion pakoras if you wish.
- Add an additional tadka/tempering of onion before removing from heat - heat oil/ghee in a tadka pan. Add ¼ cup of finely chopped onions, finely chopped garlic, and fry until golden brown. Pour this over the Kadhi Pakora.
- Instead of just onion pakoras, add a handful of chopped spinach along with the onion, to include some greens in your diet.
- You can also make pakoras with methi leaves, kale, chard, beet leaves, etc. This helps to include a wide variety of leafy greens in your diet.
- Want to make the pakoras fluffy? Add a pinch of baking soda while making the pakora batter.
- Want to avoid deep frying? Try making the pakoras in an appe pan or ebelskeiver pan.
More Tips
Use Yogurt at room temperature to prevent curdling.
Lower the temperature to the lowest setting before adding the yogurt mixture.
Cook the Kadhi at the lowest temperature setting.
Cooking at a low temperature while constantly stirring is the key to a wonderful tasting Kadhi.
Give sufficient time for the pakoras to soak up the floor of the kadhi and to soften up before serving.
Make the pakoras small. They puff up when added to the Kadhi.
Time-Saving Tips
1. You can make pakoras ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator. Warm them up in the microwave and add to the kadhi.
2. If you don't want to make pakoras, then you can add some store-bought kara boondi (deep-fried small chickpea flour balls - you will find these at your local Indian grocer] to the kadhi.
3. Prepare rice while waiting for the pakoras to soak up the kadhi to soften up.
Kadhi Pakora
Kadhi Pakora & Chawal is one of the sought-after comfort foods from North Indian cuisine. Yogurt mixed with besan (chickpea flour) is simmered with aromatic spices and the onion pakoras are dunked in the yogurt curry for a delicious wholesome comfort meal.
Ingredients
Pakora
- 75 grams (¾ cup) thinly sliced onion
- 75 grams (¾ cup) besan/chickpea flour
- ½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder; to taste
- ½ tsp salt; to taste
- 4-6 tablespoon water
- Oil; to deep fry
Kadhi
- 400 grams plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoon besan
- 1 tsp salt; to taste
- 1 ½ cups water; see recipe notes
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon jeera
- ¼ teaspoon saunf/fennel seeds; gently crushed
- 4-5 Methi/fenugreek seeds; gently crushed
- 75 grams (¾ cup) finely chopped onion
- 10 grams (1 tablespoon) garlic
- 10 grams (1 tablespoon) ginger
- 1-2 teaspoon minced green chillies; to taste
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder/haldi
garnish
- finely chopped cilantro
Equipment
- Large bowls
- Kadai/Wok for deep frying
- Saucepan
- Cooking spoons
- Measuring cups/spoons
- serving dishes
- Paper towels
- whisk/electric blender
Instructions
how to make kadhi pakora
Pakora
In a medium-sized bowl, mix onion, besan, red chilli powder, salt, and water and make thick-ish batter.
Heat oil in a kadai/wok on medium heat. When the oil is hot, drop spoonfuls of batter and fry until golden brown. Flip to the other side and fry until golden brown. Remove from heat using a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
Kadhi
To a large bowl add yogurt, besan, salt, and water. Mix well with a whisk to make it smooth. [Note: You can use an electric blender to ensure everything is mixed well & you have a smooth texture]
Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Add cumin seeds, saunf, and methi seeds. Fry for 30-45 seconds.
Add chopped onions, ginger, garlic, minced green chilies, and cook until the onion turns translucent and ginger & garlic lose the raw smell.
Add the spice powders - red chilli powder, garam masala, coriander powder, haldi, and cook until they turn aromatic.
Lower the temperature to the lowest setting. Add the yogurt mixture and cook for 20-25 minutes. Keep stirring constantly. The mixture will turn thicker, besan will lose its raw taste and the color would turn bright golden yellow.
Increase the heat slightly. Small bubbles will appear. Turn off the heat.
Assemble
Add the deep-fried pakoras to the kadhi. Let the Kadhi & pakoras rest for 20-25 minutes before serving. This helps the pakoras to soak up the kadhi.
Serve garnished with finely chopped cilantro.
Notes
1 CUP = 250 ML. (US cups are typically 240 ml. You can use US cups with no significant change to the dish).
1 TEASPOON = 5ML; 1 TABLESPOON= 15 ML
Grams to cups measurements – we strive to provide these conversions as accurately as possible. There might be some slight variations depending on the brand, weighing scale, etc.
This serves 3-4. Adjust the serving size to suit your dietary needs.
The trick to a creamy, velvety kadhi is to cook at low temperature and to stir constantly.
Use Yogurt at room temperature to prevent curdling.
Lower the temperature to the lowest setting before adding the yogurt mixture.
Cook the Kadhi at the lowest temperature setting.
Give sufficient time for the pakoras to soak up the floor of the kadhi and to soften up before serving.
Make the pakoras small. They puff up when added to the Kadhi.
Pakoras take about 5-6 minutes to cook per batch. The actual time to prepare the kadhi may vary based on the size of your kadhai/wok.
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