Kadhi Pakodi/Pakora(Baked Gram flour dumplings in Yogurt Sauce)

Kadhi Pakodi or pakora whatever name you call, is an Indian side dish made with tangy yogurt and besan(split chick pea) flour with spices and fried besan and onion dumplings and normally served with steaming hot rice and clarified butter(ghee).  Believe me they taste so good by itself or with hot cooked quinoa mixed with some ghee or even finger millet flat breads. What ever the main dish is this side dish is heavenly.  I love fried food but I  make fried snacks very rarely and try to bake or use the Aebleskiver Pan as the alternate method of cooking. Believe me the dumplings after they are soaked in the Kadhi, you cannot make out if it is fried or baked.

Now coming to the recipe, I used to have a Nanny couple of years back when I used to work full time. She is a Gujarati and was from Mumbai and  used to run a Catering business before she moved here with her Daughter. She was so  well versed in different Indian regional  dishes and I surely learned a lot of cooking from her. This is one of her recipe. Thank you Nirupama Ben if you happen to read this post.

Preparation Time – 10 Minutes

Cooking Time – 30 Minutes

Serves – 4

Ingredients

For Pakora

Onion - 1 Big
Red Chili powder 1/2 tsp or to taste
Salt - 1/3 Tsp or to taste
Besan - 1 Cup
Water - About 3/4 th Cup
Oil - 1 Tbsp

Kadhi

Sour Yogurt - 1 Cup
Besan - 1/3 Cup
Turmeric powdder - 1 Tsp
Salt - 1 Tsp
Red Chili powder - 1 Tsp
Garam Masala powder - 3/4 Tsp
Ghee - 1 Tsp
curry leaves - few
Mustard seeds - 1/2 Tsp
Methi seeds - 1/2 Tsp
Asafoetida - 1/4 Tsp
Water - 3 Cups

Tempering

Ghee - 1 Tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 Tsp
Red chili - 2
Red chili powder - 1/2 Tsp

Method

1) Preheat baking oven to 400 Degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Mix the onion, salt, red chili powder and besan and grease your hands with the oil and pour the
rest of the oil in the flour mixture.

2) Take small balls of the mixture and place it in the baking tray and bake for 15 Minutes each side, by turning in between.

3) While the pakoras are baking let us get the kadhi prepared. Mix besan, red chili powder, asafoetida powder, turmeric powder, salt and make a smooth lump free paste. Using a whisk mix this mixture and then add the water and keep this mixture ready.

4) Heat a pan, add 1 Tsp of ghee and once it is hot add the mustard seeds, after they stop crackling
add the methi seeds and after they slightly brown add the curry leaves.

5) Now pour the besan mixture and slightly simmer in low to medium heat till the besan is well cooked and
the kadhi comes to a boiling point, now add the garam masala and the dumplings and simmer it for 4-5 minutes.

6) Heat a tsp of ghee once it is hot add the cumin seeds, red chili and red chili powder and pour on top of the kadhi and serve hot.

Note - You can add bay leaves, thinly sliced onions and garlic in step 4. But for some reason, I prefer it this way.

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