Kadi Pakoda Recipe – Gram Flour Curry With Pakoda [Pics]

Kadi pakoda is one of the favorite main-course dish of north Indians. It is primarily part of Punjabi Cuisine and is a lot different than the other ‘curry’ that you may have heard about.

Normally, the gravy in any of the non-dry vegetable dish is called a ‘Curry’ and is made with Tomato, Onion and other ingredients.
This one is actually made with Gram-Flour (called Besan in Hindi) and Sour Curd.
Some people also like to use Onion and Garlic in kadi pakoda but we have avoided them here. If you want you can add them as per your taste and choice.

We also have shared the other version of this Kadi (read curry) which we made by using Potatoes instead of pakodas and we named it Imli Aloo Kadi. This was a new taste all together as we used tamarind for a different flavor.

Kadi Pakoda has three main components i.e. (a) The Kadi (b) The Pakoda (c) and the Spicy Tadka.
We will share the recipe of each component here.

Kadi Pakoda Recipe In Words

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 Hour 30 min
Total time: 1 hour 40 min
Yield: 1 Big Bowl of Kadi Pakoda (Serves: 6 People)

Ingredients For Kadi:

1. 1 Cup (Our 1 Cup = 240 ML) Gram Flour (Besan)
2. 2 Liter Water
3. 2” Inch Grated Ginger
4. 2 Dry Red Chilies
5. 1.5 Tsp Salt
6. 1/2 Tsp Turmeric Powder
7. 1/2 Tsp Red Chili Powder
8. 1/4 Tsp Garam Masala
9. 1.5 Tsp Coriander Powder
10. 1/4 Tsp Asafoetida (Hing)
11. 1/4 Tsp Fenugreek Seeds (Methi Dana)
12. 1/4 Tsp Cumin Seeds
13. 1/2 Tbsp Mustard Oil (Or Olive oil – Your choice)
14. 3 Tsp Curry Leaves
15. 1.5 Cup (Our 1 Cup = 240 ML) Sour Curd/Yogurt (Non-sweet Dahi) – If the curd you have is not sour, then you can keep it outside refrigerator for about 8 hours to make it sour. Sourness of curd is important for making good kadi.

Ingredients For Pakodas of Kadi:

1. 3/4 Cup (Our 1 Cup = 240 ML) Gram Flour (Besan)
2. 1/2 Cup (Our 1 Cup = 240 ML) Water
3. 1/4 Tsp Salt
4. 1/4 Tsp Mango Powder (Amchoor)
5. 1/4 Tsp Red Chili Powder
6. 2 Pinch Baking Soda
7. 1/4 Tsp Coriander Powder
8. 1/4 Tsp Carom Seeds (Ajwain)
9. Sufficient Mustard Oil (or Olive Oil for frying)

Ingredients For Spicy Tadka:

1. 3 Tsp Desi Ghee/Pure Ghee
2. 1/2 Tsp Red Chili Powder

Method:

We will start the process by making Kadi first. Add Curd, Salt, Turmeric Powder, Red Chili Powder, Coriander Powder along with Gram Flour (Besan) in a big bowl.
Now add 2 liter of Water gradually and mix well. This is your Curd-Besan paste. Keep it aside as we will use it later.
Heat Mustard Oil in a big pan on medium flame. Add Asafoetida and fry for 10 seconds. Keep the stove on medium flame.
After 10 Seconds, add Cumin Seeds, Fenugreek Seeds, Curry leaves and Dry Red Chilies. Mix well and cook until cumin gets light golden in color.
Add the Curd-Besan paste that we prepared in first two steps above.
Keep the stove on high flame and let it make 1 boil. Just after 1 boil, turn the stove on low flame and let Kadi cook for at-least 60 minutes. Stir the Kadi occassionally to avoid burns.
So, we have kept the kadi on stove and it will take its time to cook. In the mean time, we will prepare the pakodas.Add Gram Flour, Salt, Coriander Powder, Red Chili Powder, Mango Powder, Baking Soda and Carom Seeds in a bowl. Mix well and make a smooth paste by adding water gradually.
This is what it would look like after mixing up completely. The paste should be not too thin or too thick. It should have a dropping consistency.
Heat Mustard Oil (or Olive oil) in a pan on high flame for frying Pakodas. Once you see smoke coming out of it, turn the stove on medium flame. Use your hands to pick a small amount of Pakoda mixture and drop it in hot oil. It won’t necessarily take a round shape, so don’t worry. Hot oil will automatically give it a shape! Pick and drop multiple times to make multiple Pakodas in a similar fashion.
Fry them on medium flame until they turn golden brown in color from all sides. Take them out once they are ready and switch off the stove. You can keep them on tissue paper to drain excess oil.
After an hour (60 min.) of Kadi cooking, add the prepared Pakodas in kadi along with Garam Masala. Mix well and let it cook on low flame for another 15 minutes. After 15 min., switch off the stove and your kadi pakoda is ready.
Its time to add the final punch by adding the spicy tadka. Use the ingredients mentioned above for making tadka. You need to add this just before serving, so you can also delay it if you are not serving the kadi pakoda right away.
Add Desi Ghee/Pure Ghee in a small frying pan or preferably a big tablespoon. Heat on medium flame. Once it is hot (in approx 30 seconds), add Red Chili Powder and switch off the stove. Mix the Red Chili Powder in ghee properly.
Immediately add this tadka to your Kadi pakoda and mix well.
Your delicious Kadi Pakoda is ready to enjoy with Rice or with Naan/Chapati/Paratha. Hope you will enjoy this recipe. Happy Cooking!!!!

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