Soft, wheaty pakora swimming in a creamy, spicy, yogurty curry studded with mustard seeds and fresh coriander (cilantro) makes a flavoursome vegetarian delicacy suitable for occasions like Sunday brunches and kitty parties. It consists of little fritters (also called pakora) dipped in creamy, tangy spicy yoghurt sauce in which crunchy gram-flour or chickpea-flour (besan) pakora (dumpling) are added.
A less popular variant of the creamy main dish is prepared with multiple combinations of vegetables like carrot, green beans, cauliflower, tomato, onion, gram flour and yoghurt that goes well with tandoori roti, steamed rice, butter naan and Missi roti.
Basic information
Traditionally, North Indian vegetable pakora curry recipe is made into a sour, salty, hot and slight sweet soupy variant made from tantalizingly homemade yoghurt and fritters (fried dumplings of onion and gram flour).
Besan kadhi (powdered gram flour and yoghurt soup) is loaded with herbs, which are considered good for digestion.
The use of homemade yoghurt helps in maintaining gut flora and improves nutrient absorption. In Northern India, pakoras are added to the gram flour gravy and sour yoghurt at the end of preparation at low heat to avoid loss of nutrients caused by overheating.
It is eaten either with boiled rice or jeera rice or roti. In Gujarat and Rajasthan, it is usually served with khichdi, roti(chapatti), paratha or rice. It is considered a light food.
Punjabi kadhi is thicker and creamier than the variants made in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarati or Sindh.
A staple vegetarian dish in Rajasthani cuisine, it is mentioned in the Mewari classics offered at popular upscale Indian Rajasthani restaurants.
Mildly spiced, deep-fried pakora submerged in thick gravy is often served by most of the Punjabi restaurants. The North Indian Punjabi kadhi is different from the regional variations of kadhi.
Restaurants make use of specially prepared curry masala for the Punjabi curry with whole coriander seeds, anise seeds and fenugreek seeds.
The typical besan (gram flour) kadhi is made with homemade yoghurt and gram flour, cooked artistically in a unique combination of aromatic digestive herbs.
Herbs like asafoetida, mustard, cumin seeds (jeera), fenugreek seeds, coriander, cinnamon and curry leaves, chopped onions and ginger-garlic paste are used in the preparation of mildly spiced, deep-fried vegetarian curry having an unparalleled taste, submerged in a thick gravy dish.
Pakora curry is served with jeera rice or roti (flatbread/chapati) in a tiffin meal. It can be eaten with vegetable khichdi to get a truly blissful feel of classic Indian comfort (healthy) food.