dhokli kadhi ... if you are craving for kadhi pakodi and are scared of frying...




Make a kadhi with dhokli . Dhokli is a boiled dumpling made with chickpea flour for this kadhi and makes you free to enjoy kadhi more frequently.

 Kadhi chawal is a comfort food , although i like it more with chapatis .The only concern of kadhi lovers is that the pakodi is invariably drunken on oil . Deep frying is a scary thought for many. This dhokli kadhi comes to the rescue when i don't want frying , i do enjoy my fried stuff occasionally though.

I make many variations of kadhi with steamed or microwave cooked pakode , sometimes using spinach or other vegetables too. But a basic kadhi is always something to look forward to , especially in a North Indian home. That basic flavor of kadhi comes from the ingredients used for  tadka (tempering) while the base of the kadhi is always chick pea flour and buttermilk. The fluffy juicy pakodis (chick pea flour fried fritters) floating into the kadhi make a delicious bite and that is the sinful part of the traditional kadhi.

If the pakodi is replaced with a steamed dumpling or a boiled one , the texture of dumpling changes a bit but the basic taste of the kadhi remains the same. So i make this dhokli kadhi very often to simulate kadhi pakodi...



ingredients for the kadhi base...

(4-5 large servings)
besan(chick pea flour) 1/2 cup
buttermilk 2-3 cups
salt to taste
turmeic powder 1 tsp

procedure...

Mix everything up and whip to make a smooth thin batter . Use more water to make the batter almost watery as it thickens as it cooks.

Pour the thin besan batter into a wide pan and let it boil on high heat while stirring constantly, turn the flame low as soon as the batter starts boiling , now it doesn't need constant stirring. Let it cook for about 5 minutes till you make the paste for dhokli and shape them . Read on...

ingredients for the dumplings (dhokli) ...
besan (chickpea flour) 1/2 cup
ajwain seeds 1/2 tsp
red chilly powder 1/4 tsp(optional)
oil 2 tsp
salt to taste
soda bi carb 1/4 tsp
oil 1 tbsp (sunflower,peanut or sesame oil)

procedure for the dhokli...

Make a medium soft dough using some water with all the ingredients mixed together. Roll the dough in a log tube with oiled hands and cut the tube in 1 cm nuggets. It's almost like making gnocchi , using chick pea flour . Detailed instructions can be seen in a recipe of guar dhokli ki subzi i posted long back , now you know these dumplings can be used in vegetable curries also .


Sometimes i just spoon a little besan dough into the boiling kadhi making them smooth while dropping them in the pan. That is quicker and much more convenient as it doesn't involve your hands doing the rolling and then cutting.

Let the kadhi and dumplings boil on low flame till the kadhi gets thick and reduced to almost 4/5th of the original volume.... stirring the cooking kadhi softly all this while preventing the dumplings from getting smashed.

After cooking the kadhi it's time for a tadka (a spice tempering). Heat ghee in a tadka pan or a wide ladle(as i do) and add the ingredients one after the other in the same succession as they are listed here...

tadka ingredients....
ghee 2-3 tbsp
hing or asafoetida a generous pinch
fenugreek seeds 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
fennel seeds 1/2 tsp
1/2 a flower of star anise
an inch piece of cinnamon broken
cloves 4-5 nos.
black n green cardamom 1 each crushed
red chilly powder 1-2 tsp

You should remove the tadka pan from flame once you have put in all the whole spices and then add the red chilly powder and immediately pour the contents into the cooked kadhi...let it get mixed up and serve hot...
The cooking kadhi pictures are quite old and the plate pictures are recent. This dhokli kadhi is a regular kadhi at my home and as i said in the last post i like it more with chapatis...

This time i made this beans and soy granules stir fry with tender ginger..


This recipe includes three ingredient lists , one for the kadhi , one for the dhokli and another for the tadka . But do not get intimidated by the long list and so many steps to follow....it's a simple recipe although it takes some time to cook but it will be worth it. The taste of a kadhi either with rice or chapati is something you would long to revive again and again.

No worries if it doesn't involve frying.....the flavors of this punjabi/UP kadhi lie in the thickened soup and not in the dumplings , although the dumplings add fun to the soupy bowl of contentment.....

Enjoy....

Comments

  1. it looks so delicious .... so wen u r inviting me for dis..

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  2. Yummmmmmmmmmm, love kadhi in any form.. Hamare jaise log kadhi khaate nahin peete hain....:-) I usually make guar ki sabzi with kadhi/rice, but next time will surely try this beans-granula sabzi with loads of ginger, looks very tempting... Wish I could eat it from the picture ;-)

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  3. Oh wow ...even i like guar ki subzi with kadhi and most of the time it is guar with kadhi at my place too. Some flavors go well together so very much.

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  4. Absolutely love this version of kadhi, we make gatta kadhi, but that involves little more oil in the besan dough and then steaming it as well. Got to try this one. I love all kinds of kadhis.

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  5. yummy and delicious kadhi

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  6. the kadhi has such a vibrant yellow color, delicious!

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  7. ah haaaaaaaaaaaaaa i love this :) yummy Kadhi chawal bestttttttttttttttt :)

    Bikram's

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  8. ah haaaaaaa yummy
    Kadhi chawal... loved itttttttttttttttttttt


    Bikram's

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  9. Thanks Bikram...glad to know you like some vegetarian khana too ;)

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  10. Liked the idea of low fat Kadhi. And there is also dubki kadhi...a bit different though.
    I found your chapatis interesting looking..How come there are 'Gridlines'?? how do you roll it out??

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  11. Thanks Anonymous ...
    Those chapatis are rolled using a ridged rolling pin , i use that rolling pin when i have to roll chapatis in a hurry with refrigerated dough, you know refrigerated dough becomes a bit hard to roll :)

    I have rolling pins with two different patterns :)

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  12. firstly i shd buy this rolling pin.. my fav kadhi..

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  13. What a wonderful dish, your chapatis came out beautifully! I have to try making those one day!
    *kisses* HH

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  14. I guess dhokli is same as 'gatta' which is used to make gatta curry in Rajasthan. I add 'kasoori methi' to the dough for gatta and it turns our pretty well. The steamed 'gattas' are eaten as snack in my house and also used in fried rice. A 'not so healthy but fun' deep fried version (fried after boiling/steaming) with more grated veggies in the dough also works an interesting snack.
    I also read about a 'makai ka gatta'(made from maize floor)some where but didnt try it though.

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  15. Hi Joylife...
    Dhokli, gatta and muthia are all variations of chickpea dumplings. While gatta and muthias are steamed before cooking in a curry or otherwise, this dhokli is directly cooked into the cooking liquid.

    Makai ka gatta, makai ka dhokla and makai ki idli is also very very tasty...see my post here..
    http://healthfooddesivideshi.blogspot.com/2010/08/many-healthy-ways-with-humble-corn.html

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  16. kadhi looks yummy....
    thx. for sharing dear :)

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  17. flavourful delicious combination looks wonderful
    Sangeeta
    the book artisan bread in five miniutes is worth reading lots of tips and that is the easiest delicious bread to make
    do try it and also try to take a look at this book
    regards Akheela

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  18. I'm not familiar with the names, but by looking at the food, my mouth start to water... looks delicious!!!

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  19. About the rolling pins again..where do you get these ridged rolling pins? And do the rotis puff up when you roll them with such a rolling pin?

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  20. I am have a nice smile reading your comment Anonymous...am thinking of doing a post about these rolling pins :)

    I bought these from a wood works shop in Haridwar , they should be available in other places too.The ridges are not too deep and whole wheat chapatis get puffed up easily when other things in dough making are taken care of.

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  21. Hey Sangeeta,
    Thanks so much for coming over to my place!Even if you have forgotten me,I have not;)This is not the first time you came over - you did visit my Lobongo Loutika Pithe post eons ago,but I didn't get to see you after that!:)Well,glad that you like the name of my blog!Aloo fulkopi is a fave of mine too and this recipe is straight from my Maa - let me know how you liked it if ever you give my recipe a try. And yes,do keep coming back!Cheers!

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  22. Lovely vibrant Kadhi... It makes a wholesome platter. I am so intrigued by the pattern on the chapatis.. looks so different. As I was reading through the comments, I can c that few others are impressed as well. Next time I have keep an eye out for the patterned rolling pins.. Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe..
    First time here and I loved it..
    Happy to follow u..:)
    Reva

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  23. Hi Sangeeta, my comment is gonna be long...nothing can beat comfort of kari chawal specially for punjabis....love the color of your kari, I don't use saunf in kari may be will try sometime. No subzi on side for me when it's kari. Reading the post I was thinking it's kind of gatte ke kari only but comment section cleared it that when no steamed first it's called dhokli. I someime just make tawa fry pakoras for kari with very little oil.

    I missed meeting U but enjoyed reading about your trip. U know what, I saw similar kind of rolling pin on some blog other day while blog hopping & here U are with it now, do the post about it...waiting....And finally I figured out the solution for my prob., remember I couldn't leave comment on your blog couple of months back but now I can.

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  24. I had dal dhokli at a friend's place a few days ago and it happened to be a new dish for me. A similar sounding name of your dish caught my interest :) An interesting twist to kari/kadhi.

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