Kadhi

Name: Kadhi
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: South Asia — Muslim traditions
Ingredients: 3 cup slightly soured buttermilk; 2 tbsp gram flour; 1 tsp wheat flour; 0.25 tsp ground cloves; 1 bay leaf; 4 fenugreek leaves; 1 tsp cumin seed; 1 tsp mustard seeds; 1 sprig curry leaves; 2 whole red chili peppers; 0.25 tsp grated ginger; 0.5 red chile; salt; 0.5 tsp sugar; 1 tbsp clarified butter; 2 pinch asafoetida powder; 0.25 tsp turmeric; 2 tbsp chopped coriander

A South Asian side dish of slightly soured buttermilk, coriander and bay leaves, seasoned with fenugreek and cumin and simmered on the stove.

30 min · Serves 4 · Takes some skill

Method

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Time: Prep 15 min · Cook 15 min · 30 min total
Difficulty: hard

1
Mix flour and butter milk well with a hand mixer or whipper. Heat the clarified butter in a saucepan, add cumin and mustard seeds, curry leaves, whole chilli and ginger allow to splutter.
2
Add the buttermilk. Stir continuously adding crushed chilli, salt, sugar, turmeric and asafoetida and the mint/fenugreek leaves.
3
Stir continuously till it reched boiling point. Simmer on low for 10 minutes till the flour cooks, stirring once in a while.
10 min
4
Serve piping hot garnished with coriander. Kadhis have to be stirred continuously, till the curd mixture starts boiling to get a smooth and uncurdled texture.
5
Once boiling starts,then it may be simmered on slow, to extract flavours to full extent, stirring occasionally.
6
Kadhis may be made in advance (a few hours and not days) but do not temper the kadhi, just boil the buttermilk with the flour and the ingredients added after that.
7
Heat the clarified butter and temper just before serving and heat the kadhi through before serving.
8
Try and use the kadhi within a day. If the curds/ buttermilk is not sour enough, then add a few grains of citric acid to get the sour flavour.
9
But do not use overly sour curds (stale), as this will result in the kadhi tasting pungent, not aromatic.