This is one of those dishes I miss the most when I go away on holiday. It was a regular feature on the menu when I lived with my parents and the dish I would request the most when I used to come home from University. Needless to say I’m a fan.
Let me warn you though not all Kadhi is the same. In some regions they add a lot more sugar and chickpea flour making it thicker and sweeter. This is not how I like mine. The Kadhi I grew up eating was a combination of tangy, spicy with a touch of sweetness. It is one dish I try to make at least every two weeks. Be sure to use a ‘sour’ yogurt and also make sure you don’t omit the white turmeric or the yellow turmeric – it’s a must!
This dish acts as a side dish and works best with rice and a veg curry. Spinach curry , Potato Curry or a Mung Bean curry work particularly well with this recipe and is often eaten as ‘bowl food’ in our house.
- 1 x cup Longley Farm Natural yogurt (it is great for Indian cooking as it has more of a sour taste than other yogurts)
- 2 x cups water
- ¼ cup of frozen garden peas
- 40g Ginger
- 5g Turmeric (Haldi)
- 15g White Turmeric (Amba Haldi)
- 1tsp Pink Salt
- 1 tsp. Sugar
- 1 tbsp. Chickpea Flour (Besan or Gram Flour)
- 10g Fresh Coriander
- 5g Fresh Dill (optional)
- 2-3 green chillies (optional)
- TEMPERING
- 1tsp Oil (or Ghee)
- 7-8 Curry Leaves
- 1 tsp. Cumin Seeds (Jiru)
- 1 Dry Chilli (Optional)
- Peel and blitz your spices (ginger, turmeric and white turmeric and chillies if using).
- Add your peas to this and a little water and blitz again until you have a thick green paste.
- Into a large pan add all your ingredients, including the spice paste.
- Using a hand blender mix all ingredients (including coriander and dill) together. You will have a thin, light green soup like liquid.
- Taste your sauce and adjust spices and seasoning if required.
- Have your yogurt sauce and pot lid nearby when you temper your spices.
- Now to move onto the tempering, have all tempering ingredients out and ready.
- In a small pot or a tempering spoon (vagar vadki) add your oil or ghee.
- Once the oil or ghee is warm add your cumin seeds. These will sizzle and turn a darker brown.
- At this point add your dry chilli and curry leaves and as soon as these turn a little brown and the sizzling stops you are done.
- Add your temper to your Spicy Yogurt Kadhi and pop the pot lid back on quickly (this allows the smoky flavour from the tempered spices to infuse your yogurt sauce.
- I like my Kadhi cold with hot rice however if you like yours heated then warm slowly and gently and keep stirring. If you leave it on for too long or at a high heat it will split and curdle.
- Make sure you keep an eye on your Kadhi when you heat it to avoid it splitting. Keep stirring if you are heating your Kadhi.
- Serve with rice, ghee, Spinach Curry and Pompadom. Yummy
Once you have added your tempered spices the oil will float to the top. This is normal. The smell from the curry leaves will be amazing. Use a small pan or a Vagar Spoon to temper your spices.
A NOTE TO MY GIRLS: To my eldest you pretend not to like this dish but you love it and every time I make it your plate it spotless! To my youngest this is one of your favourite dishes however you prefer it with ‘White Rice – not Yellow Rice’. Also remember that the spices in Kadhi are really good for helping get over colds, I think it must be the use of ginger and two different types of turmeric. Make sure you heat it and drink it ‘neat’ if you have a cold – you will feel better in no time.