Punjabi Kadhi Pakora with Home-made Punjabi Garam Masala

     For the past few weeks weekends were busy with back to back parties for us ; little girl was much happy wearing her favorite dresses and showing off herself at every party. But now , summer started so did the viral flu, poor thing she is not doing well for the last 2 days. Friends, do take care of your little ones, we cant stop anything but surely can take some precautionary steps.

Most of the time i have a hard time deciding on my dear hubby's lunch box. He prefers Rotis most of the days, and very very rarely take rice . So its like i need to make curries or gravies that goes
good with both roti as well as rice. We have our family favorite Indian Restaurant which has a North Indian Thali on their menu, and its the only thing that we order.

The Kadhi that they serve with the thali is just awesome, and we got so hooked that i tried it once at home, but not much to the mark. I kept on searching for a prefect recipe and landed on the blog   Veg recipes of India , but the original recipe called for the Aunthentic Punjabi Garam Masala, as i wanted the authentic taste, i made the Garam Masala as well from the blog and truly , it was just amazing. I have shared the recipe for the Garam Masala along with the Kadhi recipe below, am sure to make some more next time and have a post just for this awesome smelling Masala.
I didnt make much changes from the original recipe just made few changes with the measurements thats it.
We loved the Kadhi, i made roti for hubby dear and rice for the little one and myself, it was like a comfort food.

Punjabi Kadhi Pakora with Home-made Punjabi Garam
Masala

Ingredients:

For the Pakoras :

1 small Onion ( sliced )
3/4 cup Besan / Chickpea flour / Kadala Mavu
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
few Curry leaves
salt to taste
water

For the Kadhi

1 1/2 cup sour Yogurt / Curd  ( it should be sour )
1/2 cup  Besan / Chickpea flour
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Red chili powder
1tsp Garam masala ( recipe below )


For tempering :
Oil
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
1 tsp Coriander seeds ( crushed )
a pinch Asafoetida
1/2 tsp Ginger ( minced )
2 Green chilies / dry red chilies ( slit )
Curry leaves

Method:

Make the Pakoras:
In a bowl mix Besan + Asafoetida + Turmeric , slowly add in water and mix it to a thick batter, add in onions+ torn curry leaves and check for salt.
Heat oil in a Kadai , and deep fry small batches of pakoras until done or it turn golden colour  and drain it well on a paper towel, and set it aside.

Making the Kadhi -
In a bowl mix together curd + turmeric + chili powder + garam masala and whip well.
Now add in the besan and mix well, also pour in 2 - 2 1/2 cups of water and mix until no lumps and smooth.
Heat oil in a deep Kadai and pop cumin seeds followed by fenu greek seeds + coriander seeds and let it sizzle.
Add in the ginger + green chili and curry leaves , and red chilies, fry for a few mins.
Pour in the curd mixture, bring the kadhi to a simmer on low heat for 8 - 10 mins.
Now add in the Pakoras and let it get soaked for a few mins.
Heat oil in a pan and splutter jeera + coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds , ginger , green chilies, asafoetida and curry leaves, and pour it on the curry and serve hot with Rice or Roti.


Home-made Punjabi Garam Masala

Ingredients :
4 tbsp Coriander seeds
1 1/2 tbsp Cumin seeds
1 whole Cinnamon stick
1 1/2 tsp Cloves
2 Indian Bay Leaves / Tejpatta
2 -3 Big Cardamom / Black Cardamom / Badi Elaichi
6  Green Cardamom
1 tsp Pepper corns
1/2 inch Whole dry Ginger
1/2 tsp Nutmeg powder ( i grated it )

Method:
Set aside - Dry Ginger and Black Cardamom ( do not dry roast these ) .
Dry roast the rest of the ingredients on low heat until a good aroma comes.
Grind everything to a fine powder and store it in a air tight container.