kadhi pakoras

Kadhi is a very popular dish throughout India. Kadhi is a blend of yogurt and besan (gram flour) with besan pakoras. Kadhi is served with plain white rice.
Serves 2-3.

Ingredients:
Kadhi:

• 1 cup yogurt
• 2/3 cup gram flour (besan)
• 6 cups water
• 2 tablespoons ghee (clear butter)
• Pinch of asafetida (hing)
• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (mathi)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 4 whole red chilies
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of citric acid if needed

Pakoras:

• 3/4 cup besan (Gram flour)
• About 2/3 cup water

Garnish:

• 1 teaspoon of ghee or clear butter
• 1/4 teaspoon of red chili powder or paprika

Method:
Kadhi:

1. Beat the yogurt. Mix in 2/3 cup of gram flour and turmeric. Mix until there are no lumps. Add 3 cups of water slowly and mix well.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil. If the cumin seeds crack right away, the oil is ready.
3. Add the asafetida, fenugreek seeds, and cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds crack, add the bay leaves, whole red chilies, and red chili powder. Stir for a few seconds.
4. Add the yogurt mixture and keep stirring until the kadhi comes to a boil.
5. Add 3 cups of water and let it boil and turn the heat to medium low. Stir occasionally and let the kadhi cook for between 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When the kadhi is cooked, add salt. Adding the salt after the kadhi is cooked will prevent the yogurt from breaking. Tip: You can adjust the thickness of the kadhi to your liking by adding water.

Pakoras:

1. Mix besan with about 2/3 cup of water and mix well until there is smooth.
2. Whip the basen batter using a spoon in a circular motion for about 2-3 minutes. Batter wii become light and fluffy.
3. Heat the oil in a flat pan. The oil should be about 1/2 inch deep.
4. To check if the oil is ready put one drop of batter in oil, the batter should come up but not change color right away,
5. Place about 1 tablespoon of batter into the oil. Batter should not be covered wiyj oil. This will allow the pakoras to expand. The pakoras will be softer if they are shallow fried.
6. Fry the pakoras in small batches. Fry the pakoras until golden-brown.
7. After the pakoras are fried, soak pakoras in room temperature water for about 10 minutes.
8. Next, squeeze the pakoras gently to takeout the water, without breaking the pakoras.
9. Add the pakoras to the hot kadhi and let it boil on low-medium heat for approximately 10 minutes.

Garnish:
Heat the ghee(clear butter) lightly in a small saucepan. Add chili powder and/or paprika (adjust to taste). Pour over the kadhi when ready to serve.
Variations:

1. Add 1 cup of chopped spinach to the kadhi just before adding the pakoras for extra flavor and gives good color.
2. Try adding 1 tablespoon of dry fenugreek leaves (mathis) in the batter for the pakoras