Gujarati Kadhi

Recipe for Gujarati Kadhi / Yogurt curry

Gujarati Kadhi is a light soup made using buttermilk or thinned yogurt. Khichdi (a rice and lentils one pot dish) and kadhi is one of the most popular meals in Gujarati cuisine. Easy to prepare even on a weeknight and light on the stomach, this is one of my favourite meals too!

I’ll tell you how kadhi fits perfectly into my busy life. I work from home, and you might think I’m an organised person. How I wish I were one! Some days, it’s 1 PM and I’m scrambling around madly in the kitchen, famished, and not knowing what to have for lunch. At such times, rice in the small pressure cooker and a super quick kadhi, like the recipe I’ve shared below, are ready in under 15-20 minutes. Roasted papad and sliced cucumber on the side, it makes a perfectly decent meal.

Kadhi is also the perfect solution to that small pot of yogurt lying in the corner of the refrigerator shelf, getting sourer (is that even a word!) by the day. Sour yogurt works better for kadhi, than fresh yogurt.

Tip: If the yogurt you are using is very sour, then dilute with some more water, add a bit of extra chickpea flour and a teaspoon of sugar to balance out the sourness.

You might wonder what’s the difference between a Gujarati Kadhi and a Punjabi Kadhi. Kadhi-Chawal is a very popular preparation in Punjabi homes. Punjabi kadhi is thicker with more besan added to it, often with the addition of pakoras to make Pakora Kadhi. It also has more deeper yellow from the generous use of turmeric. The tadka in a Punjabi kadhi consists of sliced onions and fenugreek seeds, and a final garnish of coriander.

Gujarati kadhi is much thinner with cloves and curry leaves in the tempering, very faintly yellow or cream coloured from a touch of turmeric or omitted entirely. Addition of jaggery or sugar balances out the sourness of the yogurt.

In my recipe for Gujarati kadhi, I have omitted sugar entirely and added more than a touch of turmeric because I like the golden colour it imparts.

Gujarati Kadhi

Recipe for Gujarati Kadhi - A yogurt based soup, thickened with besan (chickpea flour) and flavoured with a select few spices, best had with Khichdi, Pulao or Steamed Rice.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 4 serving

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup Yogurt Sour
• 2.5 cups Water
• 1.5 - 2 tbsps Besan Chickpea flour /
• 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp Garam masala powder
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 2 tsps Vegetable oil ghee /
• pinch Asafoetida a
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 sprigs Curry leaves
• 3 - 4 Cloves
• 2 - 3 chillies Dried red
• a few Coriander leaves

Method

 

1. In a bowl, whisk 2 tbsp yogurt with the chickpea flour, until there are no lumps. Mix in the remaining yogurt, water, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and whisk well until everything is combined well.
2. In a heavy bottomed pan, add the above mixture.
3. Season with salt and allow this to come to a simmer on a medium-low flame. Keep a watch on this and it needs constant stirring to prevent the yogurt from splitting. The kadhi will get thicker as it simmers for 3-4 minutes and the chickpea flour cooks through.
4. Prepare the tempering / tadka. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the asafoetida, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once the seeds pop, add curry leaves, dried chillies and cloves. Stir for 30 seconds or so.
5. Transfer this over the kadhi and simmer on low flame for another 1-2 minutes.
6. Remove from flame and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve with steamed rice, pulao or jeera rice.

Notes

Check out the recipe for a Healthy Pakora Kadhi, Punjabi style

Recipe for Healthy Kadhi Pakodi

Punjabi style Pakora Kadhi made healthier by preparing the onion pakodas in an appam pan. Enjoy this reduced calorie and easier to prepare version of Kadhi Pakodi.
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