Kadhi is similar in texture to cream of [fill in the blank] soup, but with no cream, and…well…better. All you need to make it are yogurt, chickpea flour, and spices. But don’t let the simplicity fool you: Kadhi is both deeply comforting and insanely complex in its flavor, like a cozy blanket draped over a hot bowl of white rice. The exact recipe varies from region to region in India, and sometimes includes add-ins, like chickpea flour–based fritters called pakoras, but we like it thick, rich, and spice-forward, with a pleasant tanginess at the end. If you don’t like peppercorn flavor, feel free to nix them or cut the amount in half.
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
1
¼
1
1
5
2
½
½
½
1½
2
3
½
¼
Preparation
Step 1
Mix yogurt and chickpea flour in a large measuring glass until smooth and homogeneous. Stir in 1 cup water, followed by turmeric—the mixture should be a pale yellow color; set aside.
Step 2
Melt 1 Tbsp. ghee in a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat. Add cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and ½ tsp. cumin seeds and cook, stirring, until mustard seeds start to pop, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and add reserved yogurt mixture and 3 cups water; mix well. Season with 2 tsp. salt. Taste—the mixture should be tangy, rich, and distinctly flavored by the spices. Add lime juice to taste and more salt if needed.
Step 3
Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly (if you stop stirring, it will curdle). Insert a large long-handled spoon into the pot to prevent soup from boiling over and let cook 10 minutes without stirring (if at any point it looks like it might boil over, reduce heat to medium-high for a minute before turning it back up). The kadhi should become thicker and brighter in color and look like a creamy soup. Taste again and add more lime juice if needed.
Step 4
About 5 minutes before kadhi is done cooking, melt remaining 4½ tsp. ghee in a small saucepan or butter warmer over medium-high. Cook remaining 1 tsp. cumin seeds until they start to sputter and turn brown, a matter of seconds. Immediately remove pan from heat and stir in chiles, asafetida (if using), and chili powder.
Step 5
Stir spiced ghee into kadhi and serve in bowls over rice.
Leave a Review
Reviews (44)
Back to TopThis was so yummy and was the perfect consistency! Thank you so much! So a few things I did: avoided the lime juice, added 2 cups during boiling stage of water as my mixture was 2% yogurt. my stove gets very hot so after stirring for 10 min, I did bring it down to low and it boiled softly for 10 min. for the last tadka, I added 3 chilies and some curry leaves too!
Rhea
Toronto, Canada
8/4/2021
Absolutely delicious and crave-worthy. We used White Mountain brand Bulgarian yogurt from Austin which was really nice and tart to begin with, so no need to add lime or amchoor. The salty/sour hit in a creamy and comforting base really hit the spot.
Anonymous
Washington, US
10/26/2020
This was really bad - watery and bland. It was not at all authentic, we definitely don’t use cloves or lime in kadhi, and also kadhi is not a soup. I feel bad for people who have never tasted kadhi, and make this recipe and think that this is it. You can look up a proper traditional kadhi recipe on an authentic Indian website - This had no depth in flavor and a bad texture, much too thin.
Anonymous
9/26/2020
Completely inauthentic. Traditionally, we don’t put lime or clove in kadhi. It was ok but not much depth of flavor and much too thin. Also, kadhi is not a soup. I feel bad for people who have never tasted real kadhi, and who make this and think that this is it. Look up a traditional recipe on a true Indian site for much better flavor and texture.
Anonymous
9/26/2020
Great recipe! I am so glad to see someone bring this beloved Punjabi dish to a global platform. Side note- now that Priya has gone on record, in a BA interview no less, to say that calling her Kadhi a Tumeric-Yogurt "soup" to make it more accessible to a white audience was irksome, and is a representation of the racial bias and oversimplification of non-white cuisines at BA and other food magazines, maybe consider removing it?
simran23
India
7/30/2020
AMAZING. LOVE YOU PRIYA
Anonymous
7/26/2020
Have made this a couple of times (once w roasted pumpkin bobbing in it, and once with spinach) and it was delicious both times - got the creamy texture second time around and it was so comforting, but still pretty healthy. Very meditative to make too. Thank you so much for sharing!
Anonymous
Australia
7/23/2020