Dahi in Hindi/Urdu, Zamut do’dh in Kashmiri, Thayir in Tamil, Doi in Bengali, Perugu in Telugu and yogurt in English. Yogurt is an important part of the Indian food culture across the nation. And it was an important part of the meal at home. It was served with every meal. As a lassi – watered down with an addition of mint and spices or just as is. It is my grandmother’s favorite food. On most days she adds in yogurt to her rice, with a pinch of salt and some mint – walnut chutney and her lunch is done. And she ensures that we all have a glass of lassi or some home made yogurt at each meal.
Have I ever mentioned that I lived in Hyderabad for a while? I am sure I have because that is one place that felt like home to me at first bite. Yes it was all about food. One of the reasons was that each meal in Hyderabad ended with a curd rice – a simple concoction of plain boiled rice with yogurt and spices. Simple ? Yes! Heavenly ? Oh YES! And made me feel right at home in a new city.
It is Power Foods Friday and I am so happy that it is about Yogurt. It is a well deserved place for it, for it is a storehouse of nutritional benefits for us.
Yogurt is a good source of calcium, which we know is needed for maintaining healthy bones. It’s protein packed, hence really important in a vegetarian diet and on days you choose to eat vegetarian. The protein in yogurt is great for muscle repair and growth and it fills you up. Grab those smoothies now. And we all know how great it is for our little tummies, don’t we? And if you are trying to loose weight, go heavy on fat free yogurt and watch the pounds drop off .
So here is a delicious Kadhi recipe that you can use as a soup. Kadhi Pakoda – Yogurt & Chickpea Flour Soup with Baked Fenugreek Fritters, is gluten free, full of goodness of protein. And here are some more juicy details about yogurt from my blogger friends – Jeanette at jeanetteshealthyliving ; Martha at Simply Nourished Living ; Mireya at Myhealthyeatinghabits ; Alyce at More time at the table ; Minnie at thelady8home.com ; Casey at Sweetsav .
Kadhi Pakode – Yogurt & Chickpea Flour Soup with Baked Fenugreek Fritters
Ingredients
For Kadhi (yogurt soup)
- 2 C Greek yogurt at Room temperature 3 C if using home made yogurt
- 5 C water 4 C if using home made yogurt
- 1/3 C chickpea flour
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
For Pakode (fritters)
- 1 C fenugreek leaves chopped
- ½ C chickpea flour
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- salt to taste
- ¼ c Water
- 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
- 1 thai green chilli finely chopped
For Tadka ( the tempering)
- 1 Tbs ghee
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds rai
- 1 tsp coriander seeds – slightly crushed
- ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tbs chopped ginger
- 1 tbs chopped garlic
- 3- 4 dry chillies
- 1 sprig curry leaves
Instructions
Lets start with the Kadhi:-
- Sift the chickpea flour into the bowl and turmeric powder add in the water and the yogurt and whisk it all together.
- Take a dutch oven or a heavy bottomed pot ( at least a 3.5 qt) and pour the yogurt mix into it. Cook on high heat and keep stirring constantly until it comes to a rolling boil. Then reduce heat, simmer for about 30 minutes. Do not cover the pot and do remember to stir it every now and then.
Now let's work on the fritters ( traditionally they are supposed to be fried)
- Heat the oven to 500* F. Mix all the ingredients for the fritters except water. Once mixed in, add in water a little at a time. You are looking to make a loose dough. Not a batter, but not quiet dough. Something like a chocolate chip cookie dough that you can scoop with a spoon. You may or may not need all the water.
- Once this dough is ready, spoon out the mixture, a Tbs at a time and place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Yes! Just like you would for drop cookies.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes on one side, Turn them over bake again for 8 minutes.
- They may not be as crunchy as the fried ones, but they are equally delicious.
Bring it all together
- By now your Kadhi would have cooked and the pakode must be tempting you to try them out.
- Put the pakode in the pot in which Kadhi is simmering. Allow it to simmer while you make the Tadka
- Heat ghee in a small pan, add in the mustard seeds and wait for them to crackle. Add in coriander, red chilli and fenugreek seeds in that order. And then add the ginger and garlic and cook till garlic turns a slight shade of light brown.
- Place the sprig of the curry leaves in the pan and add on Tadka ( the ghee concoction you just made)
Recipe Notes
I eat it just as is for a delicious dinner, but traditionally Kadhi is served with Rice.