Punjabi Kadhi Recipe | How to Make Kadhi Pakora

This is a delightful kadhi pakora recipe that tastes absolutely delicious when served with steaming hot basmati rice.

You can deep fry the pakodas or air fry them for a slimmer version.

Kadhi Pakoda or thick luxurious kadhi with crunchy onion pakodas with steaming hot basmati rice takes me back to my childhood home on Sunday afternoons.

This kadhi chawal was staple Sunday fare that we never tired of.

Simple flavours and yet so very satisfying.

Kadhi recipe differs from state to state in India.

I have tasted with amazement spicy Sindhi kadhi in Ajmer, thin sweet Gujarati kadhi with khichdi in Ahmedabad.

South Indian style coconut based kadhi like preparation with petha and of course my favourite Punjabi or UP style kadhi pakora at home.

Each one delicious and wonderful.

On days when I feel very lazy, I skip the pakoda or fritters and just make kadhi with yoghurt- besan (gram flour) mixture.

My cheat kadhi recipe. 🙂

Here is how I made kadhi pakoda:

Instructions

For Onion Fritters or Pakoda

Take besan or gram flour and add carrom seeds, cayenne or chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, coriander powder and salt.

You can add 1 tbsp. rice flour if you want the pakodas to be more crispy.

Add to sliced onion. You can add one finely chopped potato to this.

Keep aside for 15 minutes. Add 2 tbsp. water and form a thick batter.

For deep frying:

Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown.

Keep fritters aside. Detailed onion pakoda recipe here.

For Air frying

Pre heat Air fryer to 180 C or 360 F for 6 minutes.

Brush the basket with oil and make small pakoda dumplings in one layer on the basket or perforated tray.

I sometimes use perforated parchment paper to prevent the pakodas from sticking to the basket.

Air fry for 8-10 minutes. Flip the pakodas once in the middle and if needed brush with oil.

Now Air fry at 200 C or 390 F for 4-5 minutes more to get the lovely brown colour.

Prepare yogurt besan mix

Prepare gram flour - sour yogurt mix by adding gram flour to curd and whisking it well.

Now add salt, chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, coriander powder, turmeric powder to the curd besan mix and mix well.

Add 3 cups of water to this spiced besan curd mix.

To prepare kadhi, heat oil and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chillies, cinnamon, cloves and asafoetida.

Add curry leaves as well.

When everything sputters, add the besan curd mix and cook on low flame for 15 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning.

To serve kadhi pakoda, add fritters and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Your hot kadhi pakoda is ready to serve.

Here's the recipe card:

📖 Recipe Card

Kadhi Recipe | Punjabi Kadhi Pakoda

Rachna Parmar

This is a step-by-step recipe of how to make Punjabi kadhi pakora. This kadhi recipe is perfect for weekend lunch when served with rice. Do try.

5 from 36 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Main Course | Curry

Cuisine Indian, North Indian | Uttar Pradesh | Punjabi

Servings 4 people

Calories 216 kcal

people

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ½ cup besan or gram flour or chickpea flour (about 75 gm.)
• ½ tsp. ajwain or carom seeds
• ½ tsp. cayenne or red chilli powder
• ½ tsp. turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• ½ tsp. garam masala
• 2 onion finely diced
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1.5 tsp. Oil for Air frying and more for deep frying

For Yogurt Mixture

• 1 cup Yogurt or yogurt (about 250 gm.)
• ¼ cup besan or gram flour (20 gm.)
• 1 tsp. cayenne or chilli powder
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. coriander powder
• ½ tsp. turmeric powder
• 3 cups water

For Kadhi tempering

• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• ½ tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• ½ tsp. fenugreek or methi seeds
• 1 pinch heeng or asafetida
• 2 dry red chillies
• 1 piece cinnamon
• 3 cloves
• 1 tsp. oil

Garnish

• 1 tbsp. cilantro chopped coriander leaves

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Instructions

 

To prepare pakoda or fritters

• Mix together onion with besan, spices and salt and keep aside for 10 minutes. Onions will release water. If needed add 2 tbsp. of water to form batter. The batter must be thick.

For Deep frying pakodas

• Now make fritters and deep fry in oil till they are golden brown. Drop fritters when oil is medium hot. Keep stirring constantly and don’t cook on high flame or the fritters will not get cooked inside.
• Always use low to medium flame. It takes about 5 minutes for the fritters to be done. Drain and keep aside.

For Air frying pakodas

• Pre heat Air fryer to 180 C or 360 F for 4 minutes. Brush the basket with oil and make small pakoda dumplings in one layer on the basket or perforated tray.
• I also use perforated parchment paper to prevent the pakoras from sticking to the basket.
• Air fry for 10 minutes. Turn the pakodas once in the middle and if needed brush with oil. Now Air fry at 200 C or 390 F for 4-5 minutes more to get the lovely brown colour.

To prepare yogurt besan mixture:

• Add besan to yogurt and whip together till mixture is smooth. Now add all the spice powders, ginger- garlic paste with salt and mix well. Add 3 cups of water and keep aside.

To make your kadhi pakoda:

• Heat oil in a kadhai or pan. When hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafetida. Wait till mustard and cumin seeds sputter which takes about a minute. Now add in the dry red chillies, curry leaves, cloves, cinnamon and fenugreek seeds and cook for 30 seconds more.
• Add in the prepared curd-besan mixture to this tempering. The mix will splash so lower the flame. Mix well, cover and cook for about 10 minutes till the mixture starts thickening and darkening. Mix well. Uncover and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Taste and adjust seasoning. Once the kadhi base is ready, turn off the heat and add pakoda and mix well. Keep them soaked for about 5 minutes and then serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.
• Your kadhi pakoda is ready to serve. Serve it hot with boiled rice.

Notes

• Always use sour curd or yogurt for making kadhi. In fact, my mum would make kadhi every time the curd got sour especially in summer. If your yogurt is not sour, keep it out in a warm place for an hour.
• If your kadhi seems too thick you can add water. But remember that this kadhi is served thick and not runny.
• I always make an extra batch of pakodas to munch on when I make kadhi.
• If you like your pakodas to stay crunchy and not soggy then add them just before serving to the kadhi.
• You can skip onion from your pakoda and just make pakoda with spiced besan mixture if you so like it.
• Adjust heat or chilli powder as per taste. This recipe is mildly spicy.
• When making air fried pakoras, add a tsp. of oil in the besan batter so that your pakodas taste nicer.

Nutrition

Calories: 216kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 10gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 67mgPotassium: 655mgFiber: 6gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1403IUVitamin C: 38mgCalcium: 180mgIron: 4mg

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