Yogurt holds a place of pride in the Indian cuisine.
Everyone knows India’s ubiquitous yogurt drink ‘lassi‘, and you rarely ever find an Indian meal without its staple accompaniment of ‘raita‘, the popular yogurt salad.
Growing up, homemade yogurt (or ‘curd’ as it is called in India) appeared at many of our meals, making a fitting accompaniment to the otherwise spicy fare at the table. On special occasions, I remember eagerly awaiting ‘Sev-Dahi‘, a unique and mouthwatering Parsi celebratory treat of warm roasted vermicelli ‘Sev’, topped with mom’s home-set sweetened cardamom-vanilla yogurt ‘Dahi’.
Piping Hot ‘Kadhi’ Yogurt Soup, Made with Yogurt, Lentil Flour and a Delicious Tempering of Indian Spices
Today, we bring you an equally unique, super-healthful and flavorful Indian yogurt dish ‘kadhi’; made with yogurt, lentil flour and a tempering of Indian spices, it is traditionally served over steamed basmati rice.
There are many versions of ‘kadhi’, each hailing from different ethnic regions of the country. Outside India though, you’re most likely to have sampled a spiced north Indian ‘kadhi’ with a thick-consistency or a sweet-n-spicy, soupy version from west India, like ours below.
This easy-to-prepare vegetarian and gluten-free ‘kadhi’ yogurt soup is best served freshly prepared and steaming hot on a cold winter’s day (or just about any day, I say) with your choice of garnish like green peas or diced red bell peppers accompanied by basmati rice or your favorite bread for dipping.
‘Kadhi’ Yogurt Soup
Serves 2-4
Simple Steps to a Heathful and Flavorful, Vegetarian Gluten-free ‘Kadhi’ Yogurt Soup
Ingredients
2 cups yogurt (whole or low fat)
2 tablespoons lentil flour/chickpea flour/besan*
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon canola oil
½ inch ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 Thai green chili or 1/2 Serrano or jalapeño pepper, finely minced
3 teaspoons sugar or jaggery
1/2 teaspoon salt (based on sourness of yogurt)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Tempering Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil (use ghee/clarified butter for a more authentic flavor)
2-3 curry leaves**
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds**
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
Choice of Garnish
Handful of frozen green peas, thawed
Cooked Basmati rice, white or brown
Diced cooked potatoes
Finely-diced red bell peppers
Crusty baguette or bread of choice
* Chickpea or lentil flour is available at many natural grocery stores or sold as ‘besan’ in ethnic stores. It is made with dried chickpeas or yellow gram lentils, roasted and ground to a flour consistency.
**Fenugreek or methi seeds can be substituted with mustard seeds for this preparation. Curry leaves give an authentic flavor to this kadhi-soup, but can be left out if unavailable.
Piping Hot ‘Kadhi’ Yogurt Soup with Choice of Garnish
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk the lentil flour/chickpea flour/besan and ground turmeric along with yogurt and 2 cups of water.
In a deep saucepan, cook grated ginger & garlic as well as finely minced Thai chili/ Serrano/ jalapeño pepper in canola oil for 1-2 minutes.
Add the whisked yogurt mixture, sugar/jaggery and salt to the saucepan. Whisk the ‘kadhi’ intermittently till the yogurt comes to a boil (stay close to the stove at this stage since the yogurt can boil over.)
Turn down the heat and cover the soup, let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.
To make the tempering, heat canola oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add fenugreek seeds and cook for a minute. Next toss in the curry leaves, cumin seeds and turn off the heat.
Immediately stir the hot tempering into the ‘kadhi’ yogurt soup. Add chopped cilantro, taste for salt and cook covered for another 5 minutes, so all the flavors can blend.
Serve piping hot ‘kadhi’ yogurt soup with your choice of garnish like green peas, diced red bell pepper along with cooked basmati rice or crusty baguette.
We make a version of this in Kerala but instead of besan, we grind a little coconut and add to ginger garlic mixture. Nice recipe!
Wow, that’s an interesting twist…fresh coconut with ginger garlic paste, an amazing combination! I’ve tasted a shrimp preparation using these flavors on a trip to Cochin:) Thanks!
Thanks for letting me camp out in your blog for a little while today. I had a great time and tried to leave my campsite as good as when I arrived. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks!
Thanks for camping out at our site (great concept, love the idea!) and your ‘likes’ on many of our servings! Glad you enjoyed them…look forward to seeing you soon. And keep those great pictures and posts coming our way…
I like Kadhi too much and It goes so scrumptious with Chawal (rice)….. slurp..slurp
Oh yes, Kadhi with chawal/rice is ultimate comfort food! Especially when it gets wintry cold:)
Looks terrific….I tasted Sindhi Kadhi years ago at my school friend’s home & this sort of reminded me even though there are differences….have to try your way….
Thanks! Yum, the North Indian or Sindhi & Punjabi versions are delicious, my mum-in-law makes an amazing one! This one is a touch more like soup instead of ‘curry’ in its consistency and use:) you’ll like it!
What a yummy yoghurt soup Peri; I look forward to spicing up the way you do here – and again loving the similarities in our cuisines, the love of yoghurt!
Adding peas to top is great, a complete meal with some crusty bread, yum yum : ) xxx Ozlem
Oh yes, both our cuisines sure love yogurt, I especially love your yogurt dipping sauce, the one you make with the zucchini fritters! Peas are not a traditional kadhi topping but the traditional one of ‘pakoras’ or lentil flour fried tempuras are terribly unhealthy:) Thanks! XxPeri.
Use so much yogurt, but somehow have missed kadhi so far! Just have a lot of homemade yogurt almost ready, so this may be Sunday lunch tomorrow
! Shall try as the recipe states but look for ones with no sugar if a can taste it in the soup: a very savoury gal here 
!
Yummy homemade yogurt! Kadhi is so amazing and wholesome, if you like yogurt, you’ll love this taste:) I’m a savory gal like you, so reduce the sugar to about 1 teaspoon for this quantity, it helps balance the flavors…and don’t add the chili pepper if spice is any issue. Thanks for trying it…hope you like the kadhi soup:)
That sounds so good and so simple to make. Want to give this one a go as I don´t think I´ve ever tried it and I know I´ll love it
Thanks…this one is easy and so delicious! Plus yogurt soup makes a great change in the winter soup scene:)