Punjabi kadhi pakora

Ingredients:

For pakora:

Besan-1 cup
Water-3/4 cup
Salt-to taste
Chilly powder-1/2 tsp
Ajwain-1/2 tsp
Baking soda-1/2 tsp

For kadhi:

Sour Yogurt-3 cups
Besan-6 tbsp
Salt-to taste

For tempering:

Ghee-1 tbsp
Curry leaves-20
Hing-pinch
Dry red chillies-4 big
Ginger-2 in piece
Cumin seeds-2 tsp
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
Turmeric-1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds-1/8 tsp

Corriander-to garnish

Method:

For pakora:

1. Take besan in a bowl and mix by adding water slowly. Make sure there are no lumps.
2. Add salt, chilly powder, baking soda and ajwain. Mix well. Keep it aside.
3. Heat oil in a kadai on a medium flame. Test the temperature of the oil by adding little bit of batter. If the batter floats to the top of oil immediately, then the oil is ready.
4. Now make pakoras by adding spoonful of batter into oil. I use hand to do that.
5. Fry till pakora gets brown on both sides. Keep them aside on a blotting paper.

For kadhi:

1. Take yogurt in a bowl and mix it up till smooth. Add besan (remove clumps before for ease) to yogurt and mix it well. Keep it aside.
2. Heat ghee in a big kadai.
3. Add everything listed under tempering and fry till ginger is cooked.
4. Now transfer the yogurt besan mixture to the kadai. Add around 5 cups of water till you get desired consistency. Note that kadhi will get thickened as it heats up. So make it a little diluted than desired.
5. Add salt, red chilly flakes (if kadhi is not spicy enough) and let kadhi reach to boil.
6. Turn off the stove, add corriander leaves and pakora. Let it sit for 30 min for pakora to soak up some liquid. The kadhi become more thick after this. So adjust the consistency before adding pakora.
7. If you dont like soft pakora, you can add them before serving for crunchiness.
8. Enjoy delicious kadhi with rice or roti.