Kadhi – Spiced Yogurt Soup
When the snow falls softly outside, and the temperature drops beyond the expected, heart craves nothing but a cozy corner all tucked up and some warm soup. To wrap the ice cold fingers around the bowl, slightly tilt the head towards the rising smoke of the soup to inhale the aroma and finally sip, slurp and savor it all in – is bliss.
It has been pretty cold around here; I like the white powdery thing that falls on us, but I simply cannot stand the cold. It makes me want to stay inside and bake or just sit and read by myself. But my life revolves far beyond the couch and the kitchen. Most of the day is spent on the driver’s seat of my little car, driving around the 2 princesses to their scheduled destinations. On cold, icy days, this is the last thing I want to do. I really should not be whining. I do not have to do more than help my kids play in the snow, accessorize the snow man, take photographs and yes drive around.
This is a yogurt soup, flavored with a few fresh herbs and spices. The soup is light, healthy, has a hint of tang and sweet, and a spiced aroma just right for the kind of weather we are having now. This recipe has certain variations; sometimes dumplings of onions are simmered in this base soup – and then it is called Kadhi Pakodi – the soups transforms into a side dish.
But for now it is just a comforting soup to be enjoyed on the couch corner. (Different regions in India use different spices to temper and flavor this recipe. This one is closer to the Gujarati Kadhi – from the western regions of India; light, thin and a tiny bit sweet.)
Kadhi – Spiced Yogurt Soup
Ingredients: (serves 2)
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1 1/4 tablespoon (heaped) chickpea flour/besan – add a little bit more if you want a thicker soup
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon oil
- a big pinch of hing/asafoetida
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
- 8-10 / a pinch of fenugreek/methi seeds
- 1 scant teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 hot green chile pepper, crushed and made into a paste
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 10 fresh curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro/coriander
for tempering:
- a pinch of mustard seeds
- 1 whole red dry chile pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red chile powder or smoked paprika
- 4-5 curry leaves
- 2 teaspoons ghee
Preparation:
Whisk, yogurt, water, chickpea flour, turmeric, till it is smooth and there are no lumps of flour left.
Heat the 1 teaspoon oil, and add the hing/asafoetida, cumin, fenugreek/methi seeds. When they sizzle add the curry leaves; beware, the water in the fresh leaves will make it splutter. Keep it covered for safety if you want.
After 30 seconds, gradually and carefully pour in the yogurt water mix in to the pan. Add the ginger paste and the crushed chile pepper/pepper paste. Keep stirring and simmer it at medium to high heat for 8-10 minutes. It will boil and puff up, so make sure you keep stirring the mix. Add the salt and the sugar, simmer for a couple of more minutes and switch off the heat.
For the temper:
Prepare the tempering by heating the ghee; add the red dried whole chile pepper and mustard seeds. Switch off the heat when they start to splutter. Add the curry leaves to the hot oil.
Drizzle the chile powder/paprika on the kadhi/soup. Pour in the hot tempered spices on the soup right away. Stir it in or serve as is.
Sprinkle coriander,(if you want) on top and serve hot.
Good and satisfying…
Related Posts:
Dal Palak/Spinach and Lentil Soup
Roasted Vegetable Stew with Coconut Milk
soup looks so delicious…we sometimes prepare this soup to have with rice
Satya
Super Yummy Recipes
So yummy looking! I’ve never had such a soup, but would love to try it… Yogurt is so versatile and delicious, especially when used in Indian cuisine.
Cheers,
Rosa
Kadi with hot rice is one of my fave. meals. Do the same way, except the green chilles crushed and added in your Kadi recipe. Would try it the next time for a change.
Yum yum Yummy!. It is only 8:45 am here and am already craving for lunch. 🙂
Siri
Wow this post reminds me of MIL’s cooking. This is her favourite dish to make for us. We eat this with khichri and some fried fish….yummy!
I feel like having it. Warm and sweet and tangy. Our Gujrati neighbors used to make something similar, with no pakodi in it.
I was going to say, after reading the recipe, that this is a very Gujju-looking kadhi, but then I read your post, and you seem to know what you’re doing… 😀 Haven’t had this type in YEARS!!! It looks marvelous plus I want that pretty plate! 😉
Your words capture perfectly the beauty of soup. That moment when you raise a steaming hot bowl of soup to your lips is like you’ve said – bliss!
Kadhi is one of my favorites, we make is almost every other day! Lovely presentation
One of my favourite dishes of all time…mmmm. Must make some soon! I use buttermilk instead of water and it comes out creamy good.
The Kadhi looks absolutely wonderful … its my first visit at ur space , truly enjoyed going thru ur wonderful recipes & gorgeous clicks .. Really I was wondering how come I didnt spot Ecurry till today 🙂 🙂
slurp,thanks for the virtual treat
One of my fav one.. the shots are absolutely lovely Soma.. Love the bg of oil bottle and sprig of curry leaves..love this kinda of pictures.. Absolutely love it.
this is defenitely new to me Soma! I love the styling in these shots as well!
Yummy soup! I have never heard of this one! but looks mouthwatering! love the tempering of mustard seeds & curry leaves!
I never had yogurt and besan warm soup, and it looks delicious! With your beautiful pictures, is a very, very tempting soup!!
Delicious – my favourite winter dish!!
I love kadhi pakora, which I first tried a few years ago. Then I discovered a restaurant that would deliver Gujarati-style kadhi with pieces of flatbread boiled in it to my office. Those dinners along with Undhiyo (spelling?) definitely made many of my late nights bearable. You can bet I’m gonna try making this at home!
Sounds like a comforting winter soup. All the spices sound delicious. Still wishing I could find fresh curry leaves here!
A curry that will undoubtedly satiate the taste buds. I like the way it is presented and how your camera has caught the ethnicity of this dish
Linked this to my latest post…
what delicious recipe !! It is cold here too….and I am just going to make it today !!!
Hi again Soma! I just made this and while it ended up very tasty, I noticed that (1) there doesn’t seem to be a measurement for the turmeric that you say to mix together in the directions and (2) the green chilies and ginger in the ingredients list are never mentioned in the directions that I can find. I ended up just guessing for both of these, but I thought you might want to know in order to correct the recipe for other readers. Thanks for a yummy dish!
Thanks a lot for pointing it out Xiaolu! I am so sorry. Careless me. i have corrected and updated. The turmeric is optional, just adds a little bit of color.
today I am making this 🙂 with besan vada .. that’s what he likes !
Hi! The photos of the soup are gorgeous. 🙂 I wish I could do food photography half as well! I look forward to making kadhi this week. Just wanted to mention–for American readers, chile/chili powder is actually a spice blend that includes herbs like oregano and garlic. I’m assuming that’s not what should go into the kadhi; is cayenne pepper fine?
Oh! i was not aware.. I assumed Chili Powder is powdered chili pepper.. Does it refer to the spice mix for the Mexican Chili? yes cayenne or paprika will do just fine. Thank you for that bit of information. Really appreciate.
Sorry for the late response! Yes, it’s the spice mix for Mexican chili–I imagine this would turn out very differently with those flavors. 🙂 It’s funny how even simple phrases can mean such wildly different things to different people, hahaha! Thank you for the clarification as well. I went ahead and made it with cayenne and this was delicious. My fiance really enjoyed it as well. 🙂