Buttermilk Kadhi

Name: Buttermilk Kadhi
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 2 L Buttermilk (Sour); 1 cup Gram Flour (Besan); 1 cup Water; 0.5 tsp Red Chilli Powder; 1 tbsp Coriander Powder (coarsely groud); 0.75 tbsp Turmeric; 1 tsp Ginger (finely chopped); 2 Green Chillies (finely chopped); 1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds (Methrae); 1 tbsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kasuri Methi); 0.75 tbsp Salt; 1 tbsp Oil; 0.75 cup Gram Flour (Besan); 3 Onions (finely sliced or chopped); 1 Potato (finely chopped); 0.25 tsp Turmeric; 0.25 tsp Coriander Seeds (coarsely ground); 0.5 tsp Red Chilli Powder; 0.25 tsp Salt; 0.25 cup Water; Mustard/Refined Cooking Oil (for frying); 2 tbsp Cooking Oil; 0.125 tsp Asafoetida (Hing); 0.5 tsp Black Mustard Seeds/Cumin Seeds; 3 Dry Red Chillies; 12 Curry Leaves; 1 tbsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder; 0.5 tsp Garam Masala; 1 tbsp Green Coriander (finely chopped)

by Leena Kohli (@leenakohli)

5.0

From 2 ratings

Prep Time

30min

Cook Time

40min

Total Time

1hr 10min

Indian Lunch Vegetarian

Being a Sikh, Buttermilk Kadhi is one of our favourite dishes in Punjab, cherished and enjoyed by all in our family. In Kadhi, the fritters (pakora) can be made with gram flour mixed with spices, as my grandmother used to make or with onions. I prefer to make pakora with...

Ingredients

4 Servings

For Kadhi

2L
Buttermilk (Sour)
1cup
Gram Flour (Besan)
1cup
Water
1/2tsp
Red Chilli Powder
1tbsp
Coriander Powder (coarsely groud)
3/4tbsp
Turmeric
1tsp
Ginger (finely chopped)
2
Green Chillies (finely chopped)
1tsp
Fenugreek Seeds (Methrae)
1tbsp
Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kasuri Methi)
3/4tbsp
Salt
1tbsp
Oil

For Pakora (Fritters)

3/4cup
Gram Flour (Besan)
3
Onions (finely sliced or chopped)
1
Potato (finely chopped)
1/4tsp
Turmeric
1/4tsp
Coriander Seeds (coarsely ground)
1/2tsp
Red Chilli Powder
1/4tsp
Salt
1/4cup
Water
Mustard/Refined Cooking Oil (for frying)

For Tempering

2tbsp
Cooking Oil
1/8tsp
Asafoetida (Hing)
1/2tsp
Black Mustard Seeds/Cumin Seeds
3
Dry Red Chillies
12
Curry Leaves
1tbsp
Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
1/2tsp
Garam Masala
1tbsp
Green Coriander (finely chopped)

How to make Buttermilk Kadhi

For Kadhi

Pour buttermilk in a deep and heavy-bottomed utensil. Add gram flour, red chilli powder, turmeric, salt, coriander powder, ginger, green chillies, fenugreek seeds and dried fenugreek leaves. Mix well with a hand mixer. There should be no lumps.
Add 1.5 cups of water and 1tbsp oil and mix well.
Place the utensil on high flame. Constantly stir the mixture till it starts boiling.
Reduce the flame to low-medium heat and allow the kadhi mixture to simmer for atleast 30-40 minutes. Keep stirring at regular intervals. After atleast 40 minutes, turn off the flame. The longer the kadhi is cooked, the better it tastes.

For Pakoras

Mix chopped onions, potato, salt, red chilli powder, coriander seeds and gram flour in a mixing bowl.
Add water gradually to bind the mixture and form a thick batter.
Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed deep pan or kadhai on medium heat. To check if the oil is ready for frying, put a small portion of the batter in it. It should immediately come to the surface.
Take small portions of the fritter mixture and shape it into lemon-sized balls.
Carefully place the balls into the oil and let them fry for a minute. Then turn them with a slotted spatula or a metal sieve and fry the balls until golden from all sides. When done, take them out and put them in the Kadhi.

For Tempering

Heat oil in a small pan on medium heat. Add asafoetida and mustard or cumin seeds. Let them splutter.
Then add the curry leaves and dry red chillies. Stir for a few seconds.
Turn off the flame and add Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder and mix well.
Add the tempering into the Kadhi. Add garam masala powder and check the seasoning and adjust to taste. Add more salt or red chilli powder if required. Stir and cook the kadhi for 5-10 minutes on medium flame.
Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve hot with tandoori roti, paratha, or rice.

Tips & Tricks

Kadhi should not be too liquidy or too thick.
The buttermilk used for Kadhi should be sour for better taste.
You can replace buttermilk with sour curd. If sour curd is not available, keep normal curd at room temperature for a few hours.
Kadhi has a signature tangy and sour taste. To make the Kadhi sourer, add some lemon juice once cooked.
For pakoras, you can omit the thinly sliced onions and potatoes and only make the fritters with gram-flour and spice mix.
Pakoras can be made beforehand (upto a day in advance).
For tempering, you can also use mustard oil or ghee.