Monday, November 13, 2006

Kadhi

Hey, today its kadhi time on my blog....people also call it buttermilk soup. "Kadhi" the name speaks for itself, it means something which is simmered for hours and hours together. A fine tasting kadhi will be the one that has been cooked for at least 3-6 hours on a low flame. For me its my favourite food when I don't want to cook anything or I am being lazy.

In India, right in front of my home, there is a Lord Rama, Shiva and Krishana Temple. Even though its a small one, but Janmashtami (birth day of Lord Krishana) is celebrated on a very large scale. After 5 days of the birth of Lord Krishana, on the 6th day again there is a celebration which is called "CHATHI" and every year on this day my grandmom makes this Kadhi and rice in a large quantity, to be distributed as Prasaad (Holy Food) to everyone who so ever comes to the temple. Before marriage I use to help her in cooking it and thats how I learned it. So lets start cooking this wonderful Kadhi....which simple to make and authentic in taste..


Makes 4-5 Servings

Ingredients:
Buttermilk (3 Cups)
Besan (3 Tbsp)
Turmeric Powder (1 Tsp)
Salt (To taste)
Water (2 Cups)

Spices:
Cumin Seeds (1 Tsp)
Methi Seeds (1 Tsp)
Corriander Powder (1 Tsp)
Hing (a pinch)
Curry Leaves (8-10)
Oil (2 Tsp)

For Tadka:
Ghee (1 Tsp)
Red chilli Powder (1/2 Tsp)
Cumin Seeds (1/4 Tsp)
Hing (a pinch)

Method:

  1. Mix Besan, turmeric powder and salt, keep aside. Also mix butter milk and water.
  2. Slowly pour buttermilk and water mixter into besan mixture and keep stirring with help of a spatula. Be careful, no lumps should be formed.
  3. Heat oil in a large pan and cracle cumin seeds, methi seeds, hing, curry leaves and corriander powder.
  4. Now slowly pour the buttermilk and besan mixture into the pan and keep on stirring it till comes to a boil, otherwise it will burn immediately.
  5. Now, on a low flame, let it cook for 4-5 hours.
For Tadka:
  1. Heat Ghee in a very small pan and put all the spices. Let the roast for 1 min.
  2. Garnish the prepared kadhi with red chilli powder tadka
  3. Serve hot with chapatis and jeera (cumin) rice.

Tips:

  1. If lumps are formed in the buttermilk and besan mixture, seieve it while pouring it in the pan.
  2. People gererally add besan pakoras in it, which is very tasty but, since the pakoras are deep fried, its not a healthy alternative. If you really want that pakora kind of a taste, add boondi to it and it will be as good.
  3. To enhance it nutritional value, add baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped, at the time of cooking.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had no idea that kadhi took so long. I have never tried this before. Your presentation is great!

Anonymous said...

Kadhi looks great, I love it with khichdi, which is such a typical gujarati dish. I have always had a problem with kadhi. I need to practice and practice and practice....~smile~

Jayashree said...

4-5 hours??? Wow....that must take some patience, but Iam sure the end result makes it absolutely worth it.

TNL said...

Wow,Nidhi, nice to read about your traditions back in India....and thanks so much for the recipe of Kadhi...and yes, the longer we boil it, the better it tastes! Thanks for visiting my page too!!

Seema Bhat said...

nidhi this is called my luck i so much wanted to make kadhi tonight and here i go wow wow wow thats called luck...lucky me that u posted a lovely looking kadhi recipe ... i will definately give it a try and let you know
-
Seema

FH said...

I just made Kadhi too for dinner!:D It's Kadhi day for everybody!Good write up.

Looks great!!Colorful and yummy.My Kadhi took abt half an hour and will post next month:)

Have a great day, Nidhi!

Meena Kandlakuti said...

Hey nidhi..even I learned Kahdi recently from one of my friends..she is punjabi...I was planning to blog it..You blogged it already:-)..The dish looks great..I will blog when I make next time.And all your photos are real good..equally recipes too:-))Thank you!

Prema Sundar said...

I have heard about Kadhi but have never tried it or tasted it.. thanks for the recipe, it looks lovely.

Sia said...

hi nidhi,
never knew that u have to cook khadi for 4-5 hrs... mmm... it must be really delicious
cheers
supriya

Anonymous said...

wow...... now that is such a typical guju dish...... I usually boil mine only for about half an hour.... must try boiling it more next time. :)

Pooja said...

hi,
your kadhi looks yummy, I also had it in my mennu before few days :).
i make it many different ways .
pictures of this blog are great.
Thanks.
-Pooja

Manjusha Nimbalkar said...

Hey Nidhi,

That yellow colo of kadhi looks really cool.
Nice post

Mythreyee said...

good recipe and looks delicious too. will give it a shot sometime this week. thanks for the recipe.

Lakshmi said...

i like kadhi, so simple and tasty.

Nidhi said...

Thanks Gini...it really cooks for that long, please do try it.

Thanks Dilip...it is a typical gujrati dish. Try it till u succeed, I m sure you can do it.

Thanks Jayashree...yes, the end result is really worth for that kind of an effort. Please do try it.

Thanks Trupti....I m happy to know that you liked it.

Thanks Seema for visiting my blog. Please do try it and let me know how was the taste. Do you have a blog too??

Thanks so much, Asha!

Thanks Meena...I m glad to know that you liked my pictures.

Thanks Prema...Please try it at home.

Thanks Sia! Yes you have to cook kadhi for that long for the best taste.

Thanks Rooma, please do boil it for that long and you will taste the difference.

Thanks Pooja, Good to know that you liked my pictures....I also make kadhi in different ways. :-)

Thanks Manjusha...Keep visiting!

Thanks Mythreyee....Please do try it and keep visiting!

Thanks Lakshmi....good to have you here.

Anonymous said...

I'm a guy and love cooking. This is great stuff, thanks!

Chef.Novice said...

This is awesome Nidhi, do keep them coming...

Nidhi said...

Thanks Avik and Chef.novice...Good to know that you liked it.

Thanks for visiting and do keep coming for more.

Nidhi.

Sumit said...

Hey! I have a few questions. 1. Why cooking longer makes the kadhi tastier? What happens to it actually? Can we expedite the process (i never have this much time). 2. When I tried making kadhi, after heating for 15 mins, I saw besan precipitating at the bottom of the pan. Is it normal?

Unknown said...

thanks a lot nidhi! I am a big kadhi fan and today i learnt how to make it also.keep posting more reciepes that u know.