Gujarati Kadhi

This is such a cooling dish for the summer. And for me its also a favourite comfort food especially when paired with khichdi. I used to have bowlfuls of this at my friends' house(I went to school in Sion, Mumbai and had a lot of Gujarati Jain classmates). I liked this dish the best even on our visits to Thakkar's - a small Gujarati thali joint in Girgaum, my dad (the original foodie)used to take us to. The spices and slight sweetness go well together and it's quite addictive.

I learnt from my friend H that the tempering needs to be added to the kadhi after the gram flour yoghurt mixture has been cooked and that's what I do- seems to really keep the flavours of the spices at the surface. The ginger and green chillier though, I add while cooking the kadhi itself so that the flavor is not too raw.

 

Gujarati Kadhi

Yoghurt - 2 cups whipped in 4 cups water
Gram flour (besan) - 2.5 tbsp
Green chillier-2
Grated ginger- about 1" piece

Coriander leaves- chopped 2 tbsp

Tempering

Ghee - 2 tsp
Red chillies - 2
Cinnamon stick-1
Cloves-4
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds-1tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch

1. Whip the thinned yoghurt with the gram flour till no lumps are left behind and add the green chillies and ginger. Season with salt.
2. Bring to a simmer and then a slow boil on a low flame. Continue simmering for about 20-30 minutes till the raw smell goes and its well cooked but remains runny. Add more water and salt if needed.
3. Heat the ghee (or oil) for tempering in a small pan and add the mustard seeds and wait till they pop. Add the rest of the ingredients and saute till they change colour, add to the simmering kadhi and turn off the flame.
4. Garnish with coriander.

Arch reminds me that I forgot to mention the fact that the original recipe always has a tsp of jaggery or sugar to add a lovely hint of sweetness. I keep it really low so that it doesnt become too sweet.