khadhi (spicy gram flour soup/curry)

Khadi is a spiced yoghurt and chickpea sauce. It is often eaten simply with rotlis or over rice and is a daily staple in Gujerati houses. I remember the sour, spicy and pungent smell catching the back of my throat whilst doing home work on the kitchen table as a child. I will often go home and greedily devour a bowl of kadhi like soup if it's on offer. It is also usually found as part of the Gujerati thali and I think it illuminates the genius of vegetarian cooking from this region of India.


What you will need
4 large table spoons of yoghurt
1 large table spoon of gram flour
1/2 tea spoon cumin seeds
1/2 tea spoon mustard seeds
2 cloves
1 pinch asafoetida
5 curry leaves
1/2 tea spoon grated fresh ginger
2-3 finely chopped green chillis
1 crushed garlic clove
1 tea spoon sugar
400ml water


Whisk together the yoghurt and gram flour with 400ml of water, ensuring no lumps.


Heat some oil in a pan and add the cumin, cloves and mustard seeds when hot. Add the asafoetida when the seeds begin to pop, then pour over the yoghurt and gram flour mix.


Finally, stir in the curry leaves, ginger, garlic and green chilli and sugar for a couple of minutes. Season with salt and leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Serve hot. This dish is also fantastic as a rich base for a curry. Watch this space for the sweetcorn kadhi.