Dahi Ni Kadhi – The Khorshed Way!

When I moved to Pune 3 decades (and more) ago, I (aptly) knew my way around a kitchen but I learnt certain recipes and certain, tiny but important, nuances of the kitchen under the kind and patient guidance of my sis-in-law, Khorshed. She’s my eldest ‘jethani’ and I’m not much for words, face to face, but Khorshed is someone very close to my heart (oh, that does not mean I don’t trouble or rile her 😉). This is her recipe.

I’m no poet but I’ve penned this for her….

Through all the ups and all the downs,

Though all the smiles and all the frowns,

We’ve been through it all and more,

But one thing I know for sure,

No matter what the circumstances,

No matter where we’re led in life’s game,

We’ve been family; we shall remain the same! (Touch wood! 💕)

Ingredients:

3-4 green chilies, chopped fine

8-9 cloves garlic, chopped fine

½ kilo bland thick curd/yogurt/dahi (NOT sour)

1 big onion, chopped fine

¼ teaspoon cumin seeds

¼ teaspoon mustard seeds

Few curry leaves

½ teaspoon chili powder

1/3 teaspoon turmeric

Salt, to taste

Powdered sugar, to taste

1 tablespoon oil

Method:

1. Heat oil in a stainless steel kadhai/wok.
   
   
2.  Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, green chilies, garlic, curry leaves and splutter for about 30 seconds.
   
   
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3. Add onion and fry till golden brown.
   
   
   
   
4. Add chili powder, turmeric powder, a wee bit of salt and sauté. Remove from fire and keep aside.
   
   
   
   
5. Take curd in a stainless steel or glass bowl and whiz with an electric hand blender to smoothen it (this will thin out the curd to some extent).
6. Add a wee bit of salt. Give the dahi a whiz. 
7. Add sugar to taste and give it a good whiz with the hand blender until the sugar is well incorporated.
8. Add the seasoned-sweetened curd to the spice mixture in the wok. Mix the masala into the dahi until it all comes together evenly.
9. Put the wok back on the stove on VERY LOW HEAT. (I cannot emphasize ‘very low heat’ enough.)
10. Stir CONTINUOUSLY and stir well till the kadhi heats up gently and evenly. Do NOT allow the kadhi to boil/bubble and do NOT let up on the stirring for even a few seconds.
    
    
    
    
11. Once the kadhi is hot (not boiling/bubbling), take it off the stove, check seasoning, add if needed. If you add extra seasoning, put the kadhi back on low flame; stir continuously for half a minute. Serve with piping hot rice or khichdee.
    
    

Chef’s Notes: 

1. You may add a wee bit of water to thin out the dahi, if you so like. As mentioned earlier, the gentle whizzing will thin it a bit. I prefer not to add water.
2. Adjust the salt and sugar to taste. Dad hates sour kadhi which is why the kadhi made at home is usually sweet and spicy with a light hint of tang (from the bland dahi - yes, even bland dahi will have a faint hint of tang).
3. Put the wok on the stove only after you have evenly mixed the dahi into the masala.
4. When you put the masala-mixed dahi on the stove please adjust the stove flame to the LOWEST setting.
5. When I say stir continuously, do not merely mean stir in a circular motion. Stir the kadhi all over the base of the vessel and the sides. At no point in time should the dahi get overly heated from one corner of the wok or bubble and boil. If at all that happens, the kadhi is sure to curdle/split.
6. Please use a wooden spoon to stir the kadhi evenly. The ladle you see in the photograph is merely used to serve the kadhi. 
7. Ensure you serve the kadhi with piping hot rice/khichdee. I say this because the kadhi will be hot, but it can never be piping hot.
8. You can serve Dahi Kadhi Rice with various kinds of fried fish, dry fish preparations, papads and pickles.
9. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   
   

My trusty old Big Boss Electric Hand Blender