Punjabi Kadhi or Karhi the flavourful and tangy vegetarian curry

Introduction

Punjabi Kadhi, also known as karhi or kadi, is a popular yogurt-based curry dish in Pakistani and Indian cuisine. For me it is quite an unique curry as it’s essentially made from yoghurt and gram flour. The cooking process thickens the yoghurt, throw in your spices and you have this amazing flavourful, tangy gravy.

To add to the texture of the dish, vegetable pakoras go hand in hand with this curry. I have to eat karhi with vegetable pakoras, otherwise I just feel there is something missing from the enjoyment of the dish. Kadhi is usually served with rice or chapatis. Personally, I love my kadhi with white rice, I love seeing the white rice absorb this gorgeous curry. There are even times when I simply eat kadhi in a bowl with just a spoon!

My take on Punjabi Kadhi

I grew up calling this dish karhi, which as a child, sounded to me like “curry”. Now I couldn’t quite understand why this dish was called “curry” opposed to all the other curries my mum used to make. Obviously as I grew up, the penny dropped! I realised that curry’s meant everyday salan’s with chicken and lamb. Karhi was something quite different. I always loved karhi, even as a child. The crispy pakoras and the creamy gravy were divine.

I love that this dish is so simple to make. There are no onions to peel and chop (always a major plus in my book), it really is minimum effort you let the simmering do all the work. The use of the a food processor means you can blitz the tomatoes and green chillies in seconds. I whisk by hand the yoghurt mixture, again this is easily done.

This means the preparation for this dish is literally a couple of minutes. The tomatoes in Karhi gives it that Punjabi tanginess which I love. Whilst the karhi is simmering on low heat for an hour, this is the time to make the pakoras. You know the karhi is cooked when you see the oil separate from the yoghurt mixture. The whole mixture will have also thickened.

Serving Tips

When making the pakoras, do not add them to the karhi too soon. The longer they sit in the karhi, the softer/soggier they become. Therefore, just before I am due to serve, I add in a few pakoras into the gravy and stir through. I also leave some additional pakoras on a serving dish for people to add to their plates.

The karhi thickens as it cools down. So if you are eating this later in the day, or even the next day, add a bit of water when reheating. This humble yoghurt vegetarian curry really feels luxurious to eat.

See my video on Youtube, Instagram or TikTok to see how to make Punjabi kadhi!

INGREDIENTS  

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tsp curry leaves fresh curry leaves are optimum, but dried curry leaves will also work
• 2 tomatoes, blitz into a paste with food processor It needs to be like puree, so the kadhi isn’t lumpy
• 2 green chillies, finely cut I put these with the tomatoes in the mini food processor and blitz
• 1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 500 grams natural yoghurt, full fat
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 pinch of cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp gram flour (besan) sieve the flour to ensure smooth kadhi
• 4 cups water (1200ml)
• 3 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped for garnishing

INSTRUCTIONS 

• In a bowl, add the yoghurt, turmeric, garam masala, pinch of cumin seeds, gram flour and water. Whisk together until smooth.

• Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan. Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves, salt and garlic ginger. Stir through
• Next add the blended tomatoes and green chillies to the pan, and stir through. Let this simmer for 20 minutes on low heat. You will need to add splashes of water as the masala dries out.
• Then add the yoghurt mixture and stir through. Allow this to simmer on very low heat for an hour or until the karhi has thickened. You will know it is done when you see the oil separate from the yoghurt mixture.

• Garnish with the fresh coriander and then serve with plain white basmati rice or chapattis and vegetable pakoras.