In The Kitchen With Dawn

After two consecutive hot and dry months, we gladly take precipitation in any form. The clouds opened up yesterday to shower us with rain and by the time I arrived at my friend Dawn's house in Boulder, the tiny hail bouncing off my car quickly turned into a snow shower.

Snow in May, not unusual. And we like it!

There was no better day to fry some pakodas, soak them in steaming hot kadhi and warm our insides as we watched the snow come down steadily for a couple of hours. The snow did not stick — which is a good thing — as the parched ground, too, got its fix.

chopped ginger and serranos

My friend, Dawn, learned this kadhi from her husband, who in turn was trained by his mother. Her in-laws hail from a small village called Shergarh in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.


Homemade yogurt is key, as I found out from discerning tastebuds. But, store-bought yogurt like Wallaby comes pretty close to the homemade yogurt that is perfect for kadhi. There are at least two desi yogurt brands in the market now, Gopi and Desi Dahi, that work rather well, too.

straining for a smoother texture

Dawn strains her yogurt, giving her kadhi a consistent smooth texture. I also liked that she used whey to help push the yogurt through the strainer. In addition to yogurt, Dawn uses a half pint of cultured low-fat buttermilk. This adds a level of tartness that is often missing in store-bought yogurt. Or in winter, when no matter what you do, the yogurt will not become tart. This is Dawn's twist to the recipe. She noticed that some people use tart homemade yogurt while others used buttermilk; so she decided to combine the two!

Dawn has learned from the best and like most Indian homecooks, she cooks by look, feel and smell. She adds just enough besan to change the whiteness of yogurt into a pale manila color. She uses as much ginger as chopped serranos. Cooking is, indeed, an art as well as a science.

fixings for the pakodas

While the kadhi was simmering on the stove-top, she quickly grated a zucchini for pakodas. You could use yellow squash, spinach, methi leaves or a combination of these in the pakodas.

dropping pakoda batter into hot oil

Dawn drops her pakoda batter into hot oil the Indian way, by hand. You could aim for pakodas that are more rounded but the shape really does not matter. Out of habit, I made slightly bigger pakodas but the ones Dawn made were much smaller. This meant that there were leftover pakodas to snack on immediately. There are rewards for making kadhi with pakodas!

delightful zucchini pakodas

I could not wait to for the pakodas to absorb the spicy goodness of the kadhi. Like most Indian dishes, this kadhi is given a final garnish of chopped cilantro. The aromas in Dawn's carefully designed hi-tech kitchen were pretty amazing by this time.

cilantro-lovers delight

Now tell me, isn't this the prettiest looking kadhi you have ever seen?! It is Medha's favorite kadhi. More dear than the regular kadhi I make. Dawn does not always make pakodas to add to this kadhi. It depends on how much time she has on hand. Quite honestly, this kadhi is great by itself, too.

pakode-wali kadhi

When I got home, I made Dawn's kadhi, following her exact steps and measures. It was close but not the same. There were a couple of things that made a difference: store-bought yogurt and the cook. I told Medha that Dawn made the kadhi and I only made the pakodas that were floating in it. She said it was pretty tasty but that it fell a little short of the usual kadhi. These were the discerning taste-buds that I referred to at the beginning of this post. I strongly believe that there is a lot to be said for the cook. That the magic lies in the hands of the person who touches the ingredients to build a dish with layered flavors and multiple textures.

Yes, indeed, Dawn remains the Queen of Kadhi!

Thanks, Dawn, for sharing the recipe for Medha's favorite kadhi

Pakode-wali kadhi

For the kadhi:

• 3 cups yogurt with whey, strained (preferably homemade)
• 1/2 pint cultured low-fat buttermilk
• 4 tsp besan
• 1/8 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp red chile powder (optional)
• 3 tsp oil
• 3/4 tsp black mustard seeds
• pinch asafetida
• 3/4 tsp methi seeds
• 1 serrano chile, chopped
• 2 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1-2 cup of water, as needed
• chopped cilantro for garnish

For the pakodas:

• 1 medium zucchini, unpeeled and grated
• 1/8 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp red chile powder
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 4-8 tbsp besan
• Oil for frying pakodas

To make the kadhi

1. Whisk besan into strained yogurt until all the lumps disappear. Add only as much besan as needed to change the color of the yogurt to a pale manila color.
2. Add turmeric powder, red chile powder and salt to this yogurt mixture and whisk until mixed.
3. Heat oil on medium-high in a medium pot and when it shimmers, add a pinch of hing. When that sizzles, add mustard seeds.
4. When the mustard seeds pop, add methi seeds and turn down the heat immediately. If necessary, take the pot off the stove. Gently swirl the oil around, cooling the pot, so that the methi seeds do not burn. They should take on a toasty golden color.
5. Add ginger and the chopped serrano to the oil.
6. Put the pot back on the stove and add the whisked yogurt mixture.
7. Add buttermilk to the mixing bowl that held the whisked yogurt and only then add to the pot. This is a very Indian way of doing things. It ensures that all spices are transferred to the cooking pot and there is next to no waste!
8. Add as much water as you like to thin out the kadhi, keeping in mind that it will thicken as the besan cooks.
9. Turn the heat back up to medium-high and bring this mixture to a boil.
10. Set the timer for 15 minutes, turn to low and simmer until done.
11. If you're not making pakodas, garnish with chopped cilantro serve this over hot steamed rice.

To make the pakodas

1. Heat oil for frying.
2. Mix all ingredients for pakodas in a medium bowl.
3. Add 4 tbsp besan and mix into the vegetables.
4. Depending on how juicy the zucchini is, add as much more besan as is required to make a batter that is thicker than pancake batter.
5. Drop teaspoonfuls of batter into the hot oil or do it the Indian way, by hand, and fry the pakodas until golden-brown in color.
6. Drain on paper-towels.

Final assembly

1. Add more water to the kadhi as required to bring it to a consistency that you like. It should not be too thick at this point. 
2. Add about 14-15 small pakodas.
3. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
4. Put the pot back on the stove and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve hot over steamed rice.

We are in love with this kadhi! The kadhi itself comes together very quickly and the pakodas are an added bonus.

Notes
Use a bigger fine mesh strainer to strain the yogurt quickly.
Substitute serrano with dried red chiles, for a slight change in flavor.
To change it around some more, add asafetida when the kadhi is simmering instead of adding it to the hot oil at the beginning.

Oh yeah! She's very happy!