Kadhi Pakora is the quintessential Punjabi food. Served with jeera rice, it is one of the most comforting Indian food. Yes, making the pakoras and the kadhi takes a bit of time, but it is so worth it. For me, a meal of pakora kadhi, aloo gobhi, roti, and jeera rice is the ultimate comfort food.
With this recipe, you essentially get 2 recipes – a recipe for vegetable pakora and a recipe for Punjabi kadhi. The vegetable pakoras with spinach and onion would make a great appetizer on its own, served with some chutney. If you are short on time, you can just make the recipe of Punjabi kadhi for a meal (minus the pakoras), still so delicious.
So, let’s get started.
What is Kadhi?
Kadhi is a popular dish in Indian cuisine that consists of a spiced yogurt-based gravy, typically thickened with gram flour (besan), and often includes fried pakoras or vegetables. It is typically served with rice or roti (Indian bread) and is a popular comfort food in many regions of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Kadhi has many regional variations and can be made with different combinations of spices and ingredients. In some regions, it is made sour, while in others, it is made with the addition of jaggery or sugar. Some regions also add vegetables such as okra, eggplant, or spinach to the kadhi.
What is Pakora?
Pakora (also known as pakoda) is a popular deep-fried fritter-type snack in South Asian cuisine. It is made by dipping vegetables in a spiced batter made of gram flour (besan), rice flour, or corn flour, and then deep-frying until crispy and golden brown.
Pakoras can be made with a variety of vegetables such as onion, potato, cauliflower, eggplant, and spinach, and can also include paneer (Indian cottage cheese) as well. The batter is typically seasoned with a variety of spices such as cumin, coriander, turmeric, red chili powder, and salt, to create a flavorful and crispy coating.
Pakoras are often served as a snack or appetizer and can be enjoyed on their own or with a variety of dipping sauces such as chutney, yogurt, or ketchup.
Ingredients used to make Kadhi Pakora
Ingredients for Pakoras
- 1 cup besan/gram flour
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- 1 cup finely chopped spinach
- ½ teaspoon ajwain/ carom seeds
- 2 small green chilies finely chopped (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dhaniya/coriander powder
- Salt
- Oil to fry the pakoras
Ingredients for Kadhi
- 1 cup yogurt
- ¼ cup besan/gram flour
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ¼ teaspoon hing
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon dhaniya powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
Ingredients for Tadka
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- 2 whole Kashmiri red chilies
How to make Kadhi Pakora: Follow these steps
How to make vegetable pakoras
- In a large mixing bowl add all the ingredients except the oil to fry the pakoras.
- Start by adding ¼ cup water. Mix to combine the batter. The batter should be of thick pouring consistency. Add more water as required.
- Heat oil for frying in a deep pan. Test a little batter to see if the oil is ready to fry. If the batter floats up immediately the oil is at the right temperature.
- Carefully put spoonfuls of the pakora batter in the oil. Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to do it in 2 batches.
- Fry the pakoras on medium heat, turning often.
- Strain and remove from oil when golden brown.
- Set aside to dip in hot kadhi when ready.
How to make Punjabi Kadhi
- In a large bowl whisk yogurt and besan/gram flour till no lumps remain. Add turmeric and water and mix well.
- In a large saucepan heat oil. When heated add cumin seeds and hing. Cook till cumin seeds change color.
- Add onions and ginger paste. Cook on medium heat for 4-5 minutes till the onions change color. Add coriander powder and red chili powder and mix to combine.
- Slowly add the yogurt/besan mix to the onions. Increase the heat to medium/high and keep stirring constantly till it comes to the first boil.
- Now lower the heat to medium and add salt to the kadhi. Keep cooking, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes.
- Drop the pakoras in the boiling kadhi and cook for 3-4 more minutes. Add chopped cilantro.
- To prepare the tadka, heat ghee in a very small pan. Once heated add the whole Kashmiri red chilies. Turn off the heat and add the Kashmiri red chili powder. Immediately pour the tadka over the hot pakora kadhi.
- Serve pakora kadhi with jeera rice or with roti sabji.
Recipe tips for Punjabi style Kadhi Pakora
- Use 2-3 days-old sour yogurt to make authentic Punjabi Kadhi. This is important if you like tanginess in kadhi.
- The recipe calls for 1 cup of homemade yogurt. If you are using store-bought yogurt which is a bit thicker, use ¾ cup of yogurt for the kadhi recipe.
- My mom adds spinach to the pakoras and it gives a nice green color but you can skip it if you do not have it on hand.
- Pakoras can be made a couple of hours before you make the kadhi. After the kadhi is ready, float the pakoras in hot kadhi and cook for a few minutes.
- If you want to avoid the fried pakoras, you can skip the pakoras and just make the Punjabi kadhi recipe. Increase the amount of onions to 1 cup for the recipe without pakoras.
- The longer the kadhi boils the better. The recipe calls for 10 minutes of cooking after the kadhi comes to the first boil. If you boil it for longer than 10 minutes, you will have to adjust the quantity of water in the recipe.
- To make a Jain version of the Pakora Kadhi, you can skip the onions in the recipe and it will still be delicious.
- The tadka of ghee and kashmiri chili powder (not too spicy) on top of the kadhi gives a nice color and looks good when presenting, so definitely do not skip that part.
FAQs- Pakora Kadhi recipe
There are 2 things that you can do to prevent the kadhi from splitting. First, stir the kadhi mixture continuously till it comes to the first boil. After that, you can lower the flame and stir occasionally till fully cooked. Second, you can add the salt after the kadhi comes to the first boil. Sometimes adding salt earlier in the cooking process can split the kadhi.
I have not tried it personally but I am confident that using nut/plant-based vegan yogurt will work well for the Punjabi Kadhi recipe.
The best would be if you could store the cooked pakoras and kadhi separately in containers in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. When ready to serve, bring the kadhi to a boil on the stovetop (you may need to thin it out a bit) and add pakoras when it comes to a boil.
If the pakoras are already mixed in with the kadhi, you can store them together in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Heat it on the stovetop using a little water if necessary to thin out, just know that the pakoras may be a bit softer.
Sometimes when I don’t want to fry I make pakoras in the appe pan. I have seen recipes to air fry pakoras but I prefer the appe pan method. Appe pan gives the pakoras a nice round shape and it cooks evenly without the use of much oil. To cook the pakoras in the appe pan, pour the batter in the cavity using a spoon. Cover the pan and let it cook for a few minutes till fully cooked on one side. Using a small spoon flip the pakoras to the other side and cook some more. Use a bit of oil to grease the pan before you start cooking. See the picture below for reference.
Other Vegetarian Punjabi dishes to try
Recipe Card: Kadhi Pakora
Kadhi Pakora – Punjabi Style
Classic Punjabi comfort food – chickpea and yogurt soup with fried onion fritters
6
servings30
minutes30
minutesIngredients
- Ingredients for Pakoras
1 cup besan/gram flour
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped spinach
1/2 teaspoon ajwain/carom seeds
2 small green chilies, finely chopped (optional)
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dhaniya/coriander powder
salt
oil (to fry the pakoras)
- Ingredients for Kadhi
1 cup Plain yogurt
1/4 cup besan/gram flour
1/2 teaspoon haldi/turmeric
4 cups water
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon hing/asafetida
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
2 teaspoons dhaniya/coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
- Ingredients for Tadka
1 tablespoon ghee
1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
2 whole red kashmiri chilies
Chopped cilantro, garnish
Method
- To Make Pakoras
- In a large mixing bowl add all the ingredients except the oil to fry the pakoras. Start by adding ¼ cup water. Mix to combine the batter. The batter should be of thick pouring consistency. Add more water as required.
- Heat oil for frying in a deep pan. Test a little batter to see if the oil is ready to fry. If the batter floats up immediately the oil is at the right temperature.
- Carefully put spoonfuls of the pakora batter in the oil. Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to do it in 2 batches.
- Fry the pakoras on medium heat, turning often. Strain and remove from oil when golden brown. Set aside to dip in hot kadhi when ready.
- To make Punjabi Kadhi
- In a large bowl whisk yogurt and besan/gram flour till no lumps remain. Add turmeric and water and mix well.
- In a large saucepan heat oil. When heated add cumin seeds and hing. Cook till cumin seeds change color.
- Add onions and ginger paste. Cook on medium heat for 4-5 minutes till the onions change color. Add coriander powder and red chili powder and mix to combine.
- Slowly add the yogurt/besan mix to the onions. Increase the heat to medium/high and keep stirring constantly till it comes to the first boil.
- Now lower the heat to medium and add salt to the kadhi. Keep cooking, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes.
- Combining Pakoras with Kadhi
- Drop the pakoras in the boiling kadhi and cook for 3-4 more minutes. Add chopped cilantro.
- To prepare the tadka, heat ghee in a very small pan. Once heated add the whole Kashmiri red chilies. Turn off the heat and add the Kashmiri red chili powder. Immediately pour the tadka over the hot pakora kadhi. Serve pakora kadhi with jeera rice or with roti sabji.
Recipe Video
Tips
- Use 2-3 days-old sour yogurt to make authentic Punjabi Kadhi. This is important if you like tanginess in Kadhi.
- The recipe calls for 1 cup of homemade yogurt. If you are using store-bought yogurt which is a bit thicker, use ¾ cup of yogurt for the kadhi recipe.
- My mom adds spinach to the pakoras and it gives a nice green color but you can skip it if you do not have it on hand.
- Pakoras can be made a couple of hours before you make the kadhi. After the kadhi is ready, float the pakoras in hot kadhi and cook for a few minutes.
- If you want to avoid the fried pakoras, you can skip the pakoras and just make the Punjabi kadhi recipe. Increase the amount of onions to 1 cup for the recipe without pakoras.
- The longer the kadhi boils the better. The recipe calls for 10 minutes of cooking after the kadhi comes to the first boil. If you boil it for longer than 10 minutes, you will have to adjust the quantity of water in the recipe.
- To make a Jain version of the Pakora Kadhi, you can skip the onions in the recipe and it will still be delicious.
- The tadka of ghee and kashmiri chili powder (not too spicy) on top of the kadhi gives a nice color and looks good when presenting, so definitely do not skip that part.
