Gujarati Kadhi is a dish made with chickpea flour (besan) and yogurt(dahi). It has a balance of sour and sweet taste and is also a little spicy.
Kadhi is prepared in various regions of India. The taste and method of making differ from place to place. We have Punjabi Kadhi, Maharashtrian kadhi, Kathiyawadi kadhi, and Sindhi kadhi.
Gujarati kadhi is thin and sweet compared to Punjabi kadhi which is thick and sour. Pakoras or fritters are added to Punjabi Kadhi but sugar is not added.
Some people prefer adding turmeric to Gujarati kadhi to give it a nice lemon yellow colour. My mother prepares kadhi with turmeric in it. My mother in law does not use turmeric while making kadhi.
Kadhi is very quick and can be made within 20 minutes. It does not require any process of soaking, grinding, fermenting. Mix yogurt and chickpea flour and make a liquid mixture by adding buttermilk to it. Prepare the tempering with ghee and spices such as cinnamon, cloves, peppercorn, methi seeds, bay leaf, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chili, curry leaves and hing. Add the liquid mixture and simmer until it gets little thicker and the chickpea flour is cooked. The kadhi comes out perfect if the tempering of spices is done properly. The spices, curry leaves, hing release a very tempting aroma while they are being roasted in ghee during the tempering process. Some people prefer to pour the tempering in the end, after the yogurt and chickpea flour mixture is simmered. I first make the tempering and then cook the liquid mixture in it. The house is full of aroma when the kadhi is being cooked.
The older generation had a thumb rule to check whether the kadhi is cooked properly. The kadhi is considered cooked perfectly if cooked for 6-7 boils!! I follow the same thumb rule.
Gujarati Kadhi is very light and goes well with moong dal khichdi, plain rice, vegetable pulao, chapati.
At our place, my mother in law serves it with “moong ni chhuti dal” or “val ni dal”, and rice.
Both my mother and mother in law also serve it with puran poli. Puran poli is sweet, so the taste is balanced with this sour, sweet and spicy kadhi. They make a good combination. We prefer making kadhi at least once a week.
I still remember and always tell my son how my father would drink 2-3 katori(small bowls) of kadhi before lunch when my mother made it as if it were soup. He tells that kadhi has the flavors of cinnamon, ginger, peppercorn, and cloves. They get boiled and their flavors get infused in the kadhi. This kadhi is good to drink hot when one has cough and cold. My father would thus like it to drink hot kadhi in winters.
Gujarati Kadhi
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup yogurt curd/dahi
- 2 tbsp chick pea flour besan
- 1.5 cup water
- 1/2 inch ginger grated
- 1 green chili crushed, or more as per spice required
- 1 tbsp sugar or as per your taste
- 1 tbsp clarified butter ghee
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 10 curry leaves
- 2 whole red dry chili
- 1/2 tsp cumin seed
- 1/2 tsp mustard seed
- 1/4 tsp methi seed
- 3 cloves
- 5 pepper corn
- 1/2 tsp asafoetida hing
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Take yogurt, chick pea flour (besan) and water.
- Mix them well in a bowl. Add ginger chilli paste, sugar and salt. Mix well.
- Blend it with hand blender or a hand whisk. See that not lumps are left.
- In a pot, heat ghee. Add cinnamon stick, cloves, pepper corns, methi seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, bay leaf, dry red chili, curry leaves and asafoetida. Let them crackle.
- Add the yogurt chickpea mixture. Mix well and simmer. Avoid cooking on high heat to prevent the yogurt from curdling.
- Let it cook for 7-8 boil. Add chopped coriander and simmer for 5 minutes.
- The gujarati kadhi is ready to serve. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve it hot with moong khichdi, rice with moong ni chuti dal or val ni dal, puran poli, pulav with papad and pickle.
The kadhi looks lovely. Nice video with clear instructions.
Tried this recipe, came out delicious. Def a winner!
Thank you so much!!
U missed Jaggery/Sugar
Hi
I have mentioned sugar in the recipe. You can however add as per the amount of sweetness you desire. Thank you so much.
ginger garlic paste can be used?
Yes definitely ginger garlic paste can be used.