Crispy broccoli pakoras simmered in yoghurt besan gravy. Perfect Comfort food!
Broccoli belongs to the cruciferous vegetable family, which includes kale. They supply loads of nutrients and also good for skin. It aids us to look younger. Who doesn’t appreciate that? :D
Kadhi is yoghurt besan based gravy and pakoras are fritters. It is very quick to make surprisingly. I thought it might take quite a lot time, I tasted this few times in restaurants and wanted to try it. So asked one of my friends who does it well, tried and now I just love it more than the restaurants ;). After having at restaurants, I realized that many states of India have their own version of kadhi like Gujarati kadhi, Maharashtrian kadhi, Punjabi kadhi and so on. And this here is my version ;)! I am sure everyone has their own version with a few tweaks here and there like any other food. Some add veggies to it, but I heard the authentic recipe is just plain pakoras in besan yoghurt gravy. Make sure to simmer the kadhi for 2-3 minutes, so it soaks up some gravy and flavours. I have heard adding ghee making a lot of difference to the gravy and I always love ghee (Indian clarified butter) so I would say yes. Try and let me know! Even oil tasted perfect to me. I had this for my lunch with some parathas, plain hot rice and spicy potato roast.
Vegan note: Replace yoghurt with coconut milk or vegan yoghurt
Other Favorite North Indian curry: Pepper Paneer Do Pyaza, Trevti Dal/Three Lentil Dal, Mushroom Peas Spring Onions masala, Roasted bell pepper gravy, Paneer Makhanwala
- • • For Pakora: (yields 7-8 pakoras)
- • Broccoli Florets - 12
- • Besan flour/ Gram Flour/ Chickpeas flour/ Kadalai maavu – ½ cup
- • Chilli Powder – ¼ tsp
- • Green chilli – 1, chopped finely
- • Ajwain/ Carom seeds – a pinch
- • Cilantro/ Coriander leaves – 2tbsp (finely chopped)
- • Salt – to taste
- • Water – ⅛ - ¼ cup as needed
- • Oil – to deep fry
- For Kadhi:
- • Yoghurt – 1.5 cups (preferably sour)
- • Besan flour – 2-3 tbsp
- • Oil/ghee – 1 tbsp
- • Asafetida - pinch
- • Red Whole dry Chillies - 2
- • Methi seeds – ½ tsp
- • Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
- • Ginger – 1 tsp (finely chopped)
- • Garlic – 2 (finely chopped)
- • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
- • Chilli Powder – ½ tsp
- • Cilantro – 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
- For Pakora/Fritters:
- Mix the chickpea flour, Broccoli Florets, ajwain seeds, chilli powder, green chillies, salt, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Make sure to add right mount fo salt, as it is going to absorb juices and flavour from the kadhi gravy later.
- Add water slowly by whisking the batter, so that there are no lumps in the batter. It should be light, thick and smoother than a pancake batter I would say.
- Heat oil in a pan and drop small portions of the mixture into the hot oil and deep-fry till golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and set aside.
For kadhi: - Take a bowl, whisk together yoghurt and besan flour until its smooth. Authentic kadhi is thick, but if you want to thin it out, add some water and set aside. I added 1 cup of water as I was going to simmer for some time.
- Heat oil in a big wide pan on medium-low heat, add methi seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, ginger, garlic, and asafetida. When the red chilli turns colour, add the besan yoghurt mixture, salt ( as per your taste) and turmeric.
- Turn the heat to low, bring to a boil and cook on low heat for about ten to twelve minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the fried pakora, and continue to simmer for two to three minutes.
- Switch off and garnish with coriander leaves.
