Gujarati Kadhi is a traditional yogurt-based curry that is spicy, sweet, and tangy in taste. Make it using my easy recipe in under 30 minutes and serve with steamed rice for a comforting meal (vegetarian, can be easily made gluten-free).
Here are some more kadhi recipes that you may like – Sindhi Kadhi, Gujarati Mango Kadhi, Raw Mango Kadhi, and Vegetable Kadhi.
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About Gujarati Kadhi
Gujarati Kadhi is a traditional Gujarati yogurt-based curry that has a spicy, sweet, and tangy taste.
Kadhi is basically a chickpea flour yogurt soup (curry) and is made differently in different parts of India. There is a Punjabi version, Maharashtrian Kadhi, and this Gujarati-style Kadhi.
Made using simple ingredients, Gujarati kadhi, and steamed rice is comfort food for many Gujaratis.
This dish is considered great for summer, as the yogurt in it works as a cooling agent for the body, but I also love it in winter with rice or khichdi.
Normally, vegetables are not added to this dish but feel free to add veggies of your choice like carrots, french beans, cauliflower, etc, and make it more wholesome. You can also add pakoras, wadi, or even boondi to it.
Greens like methi, spinach, or kale can be added too.
Unlike the Punjabi kadhi or Rajasthani kadhi, Gujju style kadhi is mostly white as no turmeric powder is added to it, but you can always add some turmeric and make it yellow. It is also thinner than the Punjabi kadhi.
You can easily double or triple this quick, fuss-free, and comforting Gujarati kadhi recipe if making it for a crowd.
This recipe is vegetarian and can be easily made gluten-free.
Here are a few other Gujarati recipes that you must try – Gujarati Dal, Dhebra, Methi Thepla, and Khandvi.
Ingredients
Yogurt (Dahi, Curd) – It makes the base of the kadhi. Ideally, homemade yogurt that has turned slightly sour (tangy) is best to make this dish but if you don’t have access to it, then feel free to use regular plain yogurt.
You can also keep the plain yogurt in a warm place for 3-4 hours. It will turn sour.
You can use low-fat or full-fat yogurt. I personally like to use full-fat yogurt as it makes the kadhi very creamy and delicious.
If you are using low-fat yogurt, increase the amount of besan by 1 tsp. This will make sure your kadhi is still very creamy.
Besan (Chickpea Flour, Gram Flour) – It makes the kadhi creamy and also prevents the yogurt from curdling while cooking.
Sugar – Gujarati Kadhi is slightly sweet in taste, unlike the other version of kadhies. Traditionally white sugar is added to sweeten it, but you can also use jaggery or brown sugar.
Tempering Ingredients – Gujarati Kadhi is tempered with cumin seeds, whole spices like cloves (laung) and cinnamon stick (dalchini), mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds (methi seeds), curry leaves, asafetida (hing), and dry red chilies.
You can use oil or ghee for tempering.
Others – You will also need fresh ginger, green chillies, and salt.
Adjust the green chilies as per your taste.
Skip adding ginger for a Jain-friendly kadhi.
How To Make Gujarati Kadhi
Make The Batter
In a large mixing bowl, mix together
- 1 cup slightly sour yogurt
- 3 tablespoon chickpea flour
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped green chilies
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
to make a lump-free mixture.
You can use a hand blender or a wire whisk to mix the ingredients.
Add 3 cups of water and mix well.
Make The Kadhi
Heat 2 tablespoon vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat.
Once the oil is hot, add
- 2 cloves
- 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 15-20 curry leaves
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida
- 2-3 dry red chilies
and let them crackle for 5-6 seconds.
Now add the yogurt and chickpea flour mixture to the pan and mix well.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Stir frequently to prevent the kadhi from sticking at the bottom of the pan or spilling over.
Once the kadhi comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low.
Cook for 12-15 minutes until the besan is cooked well and the kadhi thickens, stirring frequently.
If there is raw taste of the besan, then cook the kadhi for another 2-3 minutes.
Check for salt and add more if needed.
Serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both Gujarati and Punjabi kadhi are made with yogurt and gram flour as their base but they are very different from each other.
To make the Gujarati version, use very slightly sour yogurt while for the Punjabi version, you should use yogurt which is quite sour.
The Gujarati version has sugar added to it and is slightly sweet in taste, while Punjabi-style kadhi is spicy and tangy.
The consistency of Gujarati kadhi is thinner than Punjabi kadhi.
In Punjabi kadhi, pakoras are added while Gujarati kadhi is mostly served plain.
Traditionally, turmeric is not added to Gujarati kadhi while it is added to Punjabi kadhi.
Make the kadhi batter as per the recipe. Press SAUTE button on the instant pot. Add oil and once the oil is hot, add cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, asafetida, and dry red chilies and let them crackle for 5-6 seconds. Add the kadhi batter and mix well. Close the lid of the instant pot and set the valve to the sealing position. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 8 minutes at low pressure. Once the timer goes off, do a 10-minute NPR followed by QPR. Open the lid and serve the kadhi.
To make it vegan, use vegan yogurt like coconut yogurt, soy yogurt, etc in place of dairy yogurt. Make sure to cook the kadhi on low heat as the vegan yogurt might split if cooked on high heat.
Just skip adding asafetida (hing) to the recipe to make it gluten-free.
Since flour is added to the yogurt, it is highly unlikely that it will curdle once cooked. But just to be on the safer side, do not cook it on high heat.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve Gujrati Kadhi with Steamed Basmati Rice or Roti.
Serve it with khichdi like Moong Dal Khichdi, Rajasthani Bajre Ki Khichdi, Moong Dal Daliya Khichdi, and Vegetable Oats Khichdi.
You can also serve it with Jeera Rice, Matar Pulao, Vegetable Pulao, or any other North Indian Pulav.
It can also be served as soup on a cold winter evening.
Storage Suggestions
You can store the leftover kadhi in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Reheat well in a pan over the stovetop or in a microwave before serving. Add a little water if the kadhi has thickened post-refrigerating.
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Recipe Card
Traditional Gujarati Kadhi Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain yogurt (dahi, curd) (see notes)
- 3 tablespoons chickpea flour (besan, gram flour)
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped green chilies
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves (laung)
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick (dalchini)
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds (sarson)
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
- 15-20 curry leaves
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing)
- 2-3 dry red chilies
Instructions
Make The Batter
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together yogurt, chickpea flour, ginger, chilies, salt, and sugar to make a lump-free mixture.
- You can use a hand blender or a wire whisk to mix the ingredients.
- Add water and mix well.
Make The Kadhi
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, asafetida, and dry red chilies, and let them crackle for 5-6 seconds.
- Now add the yogurt and chickpea flour mixture to the pan and mix well.
- Bring the mixture to a boil. Stir frequently to prevent the kadhi from sticking at the bottom of the pan or spilling over.
- Once the kadhi comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low.
- Cook for 12-15 minutes until the besan is cooked well and the kadhi thickens, stirring frequently.
- If there is raw taste of besan, then cook the kadhi for another 2-3 minutes.
- Check for salt and add more if needed.
- Serve hot.
Ethan W.
Good idea to whisk it that way!
msnehamathur
Thnx Ethan
Mrittika Dey
So, easily you have described. I read some Gujarati curry recipes other day, but when I started I found lumps and the texture almost changed to bhurji.
As you mentioned, after whisking well, need to heat it and then boil it. I will follow these steps. And will surely let you know.
Neha Mathur
Thnx. Do let me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Puneet
Came out well. Light and tasty. Thank you.
Neha Mathur
Happy to hear 🙂
Viniscookbook
Thanks so much for sharing this kadhi recipe. This looks so tempting. Definitely going to make this.
Neha Mathur
Do try. It’s a very easy recipe.
akshita
when do you put the sugar in?
its not in the instructions
Neha Mathur
I just updated. Thanks for mentioning.