Panjabi Kadhi Pakoda

Ingredients:-

For Kadhi:

• Besan - 1 cup
• Plain yogurt  - 2 cup
•  Red chili powder - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp
•  Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
•  Water - 6 cup
•  Oil - 2 tbsp
•  Methi seeds fenu greek seeds - 1 tbsp
•  Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbsp
•  Asafoetida(Hing) - 1/4 tbsp
•  Red onion sliced thin - 1 big sized
• Green chili chopped - 2 nobs
• Chopped ginger - 2 tbsp
• Chopped garlic - 2 tbsp
•  Salt as per taste
• Chopped Coriander leaves  - 2 tbsp

For the pakora

•  Besan - 1 cup
• Thinly sliced onion from - 1 large red onion
• Green chili chopped - 1 nob
•  Chopped coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tbsp
•  Red chili powder - 1 tbsp
•  Ajwain - 1/4 tbsp
•  Salt as per taste
•  Water as needed
• Baking soda - 2 pinch
• oil for frying

For Tadka

• Ghee or use oil - 2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/4 tbsp
• Hing  a pinch
• Whole dried red chilies - 2 nobs
•  Kashmir red chili powder - 1 tbsp
•  Green chili sliced - 1 nob

Method :-

Make the kadi

• To a large bowl, add 1/2 cup besan  and 2 cups yogurt. Make sure the yogurt is at room temperature.
• Whisk until besan and yogurt are well combined.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon coriander powder and whisk until you have a lump free mixture.
• Add 6 cups water (around 1.4 liters of water) and mix until it's all mixed together. Set aside.
• In a large and deep pan, add 2 tablespoons of  oil on medium-high heat.
• Once the oil is hot , add the methi seeds and cumin seeds. Let them splutter and then add hing.
• Add the sliced onion along with chopped green chili and cook for 2 minutes.
• Then add the chopped ginger and garlic and cook for another 1 minute or so until the ginger and garlic start changing color.
• Add the prepared besan-yogurt mixture into the pan. Now with heat on medium-high, stir continuously until the kadi comes to a boil.
• Stir continuously until the kadi comes to a boil, then lower the heat to low-medium and let it cook for around 30 minutes. Keep stirring it in between.
• Add salt after the kadi has been cooking for 15 minutes or so. While the kadhi is cooking, make the pakora.

Make the Pakora

• To a large bowl, add 1 cup besan , along with 1 cup sliced onion, 1 chopped green chili, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, 1/8 teaspoon red chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, 1/4 teaspoon ajwain and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Add 2 tablespoons yogurt and mix.
• It should not be very runny but not super thick either. I added around 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons water.
• Add 2 pinch of baking soda and mix the batter for a minute using your hands. This will make the pakoras nice and soft.
• Meanwhile heat oil (around 2 cups) in a kadai on medium heat to fry the pakoras.
• Once the oil is hot, mix the batter again for a minute using your hands and then start dropping the batter into the hot oil.
• I take handful of batter using my thumb and four fingers and drop is straight into hot oil, you may use a spoon.
• Let it cook and turn golden brown from one side and then flip and cook the other side. Make sure to cook on medium-low heat so that the pakoras cook nicely from inside too.
• Cook until pakoras are golden brown from both sides. Drain on a paper towel.
• After 30 minutes or so, kadhi would have considerably thickened and completely cooked. Add cilantro. You can little extra water here if kadhi looks too thick to you.
• Add the pakora and transfer kadhi into a serving pan.

Make the Tadka:

• Heat ghee in a small pan on medium heat. Once ghee is hot, add 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds and generous pinch of ajwain. Add 2-3 dried red chilies and sliced green chili.
• Once seeds crackle, add 1/2 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder and turn off the heat immediately.
• Pour tadka over kadhi, garnish with more coriender leaves and serve punjabi kadhi pakora with plain white  rice!