Recipe- Make Your Dinner Special With Paneer Kadhi

Kadhi is one of India’s most popular ‘comfort food’. It is a blend of yogurt and gram/chickpea flour, which is called besan in Hindi. It’s light, healthy and extremely tasty and in this recipe I upped it’s nutrition value by adding spinach to it.

States in India have their own way of making Kadhi. In Punjab and North India, it is usually accompanied with pakora (fritters) which are deep fried and then added to the kadhi whereas in Gujarat it’s served as it is without any fritters. Also the Punjabi kadhi has a lot more besan in it compared to Gujrati kadhi which is high on yogurt and sugar. Growing up in Delhi, I am obviously used to having kadhi with pakoras but somehow I always liked kadhi as it is for it’s taste and simplicity.

Ingredients

1 cup yogurt
2/3 cup chickpea flour besan
100 grams spinach to be pureed
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
4 cups water
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
6-7 curry leaves
1 inch ginger finely chopped
2 cups spinach leaves finely chopped
2 teaspoon oil
2-3 cups water
1 tablespoon ghee or oil
3 whole dried red chilies
1 onion small finely chopped
paprika powder optional

Method

* Wash 100 gm spinach leaves and put them in a wok (kadhai), add 1-2 tbsp of water. In 3-4 minutes the leaves will shrink in size, switch off the flame and put the leaves in cold water. Puree the spinach and set aside.

* In a bowl whisk together chickpea flour (besan) and yogurt.
* Add water gradually and mix to make sure there are no lumps.

* Also add turmeric powder and red chilli powder.

* Add the pureed spinach, water and mix. The batter will be very thin.

* In a pan heat 2 tsp of oil and add cumin and fenugreek seeds.

* Once the seeds crackle add curry leaves and then add ginger.
* Saute for a minute till the ginger turns light golden brown in color.

* Add the yogurt-spinach-gram flour batter into the pan and mix.

* Stir continuously till the kadhi comes to a boil. Once the kadhi has come to a boil add 2-3 cups of water.

* Cover and let it cook for around 20 minutes on medium-low flame.

* After 20 mins, add the finely chopped spinach leaves and salt into the kadhi and mix.

* Cook for another 15- 20 minutes on low flame and then switch off the flame.

* Heat 1 tbsp of ghee or oil a pan.

* Once hot, add whole dried chillies and saute for a minute.

* Add chopped onions and fry till they are translucent.

* Add the onions and chillies to the kadhi and mix.

* Garnish with paprika powder and coriander leaves.

* Serve hot with steamed white rice.