Khadi Pakora / Kadhi Pakoda Recipe

I like dumplings in gravies. Its nice to have a curry base and have these cute balls floating in it. This goes for anything, actually, and Punjabi Khadi Pakora has been in my head since forever. I had bookmarked the recipe on many sites but finally ended up making an adapted version from Nita Mehta's Punjabi Recipes book, the same one I made the Paneer Peas Curry from.

Since a lot of you may feel this is a bit of work, I took step-by-step pictures. Its not that difficult actually. The recipe has two distinct sections - making the khadi and making the pakoras. Let's make the pakoras first.

Take 1.5 cups of besan in a bowl.

Add 1 finely chopped onion of medium size.

Then add 1 finely chopped potato. I used my chopper that I used in the Gobi Paratha Recipe to chop the onion and potato so fine but you can do it by hand too, just takes longer.

Throw in 1 tsp red chilly powder, 1 tsp jeera, salt and a pinch of hing.

Next comes baking powder. This helps to make the pakoras crisp. You can avoid this but use it if you have it.

Almost done. Add in 1 cup water.

And mix well to get a batter of dropping consistency. Make sure the batter is not too lose.

I used my spanking new paniyaram chatti / aebleskiver pan to fry the pakoras. You can also deep fry them in a kadai by dropping them in using a spoon.

Excuse the super bright pic! Its my kitchen light :D So, the paniyaram chatti is nice to use for mainly two reasons. You use very little oil in the process, especially if the chatti is non stick and also, the pakoras come out very uniformly shaped.

See, nicely browned and very pretty. Set them aside on a kitchen napkin.

Now for the khadi.

Take 2 cups of curd / plain yogurt in a bowl.

Add 1/3 cup besan to the curd.

Throw in 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chilly powder and salt. Mix well.

Add 1 cup water to this mixture.

Mix well and get ready to temper this.

For tempering, heat 2 tsp oil in a kadai. Add 1 tsp jeera and 1 red chilly torn into pieces.

When the jeera splutters and turns brown, lower the fire to sim and add the curd mixture. Mix well for about 5 mins until the khadi thickens. Adjust salt. Set aside.

Add the pakoras to the khadi just before serving. Garnish with coriander leaves and some red chilly powder.

Here's the recipe again, all in one place.

Punjabi Khadi Pakora Recipe

Source: Nita Mehta's Punjabi Recipes

Serves: 4 as a side

Preparation time: 45 mins

For the Khadi:

2 cups curd / plain yogurt
1 cup water
1/3 cup besan / kadala maavu / gram flour
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilly powder

For tempering:
1 red chilly, broken into half
1 tsp jeera
2 tsp oil
Salt

For the Pakoras:

1.5 cups besan / kadala maavu / gram flour
1 onion, finely chopped
1 potato, finaly chopped
1 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp jeera
A pinch of hing
1/2 tsp baking powder
Salt
1 cup water

How I Made It:

1. Mix the ingredients for the pakoras to form a batter. The consistency should be that of bajjis, not too loose.

2. Deep fry the pakoras in hot oil or use a paniyaram chatti / aebleskiver pan. This should help reduce the usage of oil and give you uniformly shaped pakoras.
Set aside.

3. Beat the curd well. Add besan and other ingredients and beat well.

4. Heat oil and add the jeera and halved red chilly. When the jeera splutters and turns brown, lower heat to minimum and add the curd mixture. Bring to boil stirring continuously. After 5 mins, remove from fire.

5. When you are ready to serve the kadhi, add the dumplings, mix once through and serve.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with chapatis / roti.