Steamed Palak Pakoda Kadhi Recipe

Traditional pakoda kadhi is as unhealthy as it is delicious, since the pakodas are usually deep fried. We show you how to enjoy this kadhi without all the calories, by simply replacing the fried pakodas with steamed spinach pakodas that are both delicious and nutritious!

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

For the palak pakodas (makes 8 pakodas)
? 3/4 cup blanched and chopped spinach (palak)
? 1/4 cup Bengal gram flour (besan)
? 1/2 tsp chilli powder
? 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
? A pinch of soda bi-carb
? 1 tsp oil
? Salt to taste

For the kadhi
? 1 cup low-fat yoghurt (dahi)
? 2 tbsp Bengal gram flour (besan)
? 1 tsp oil
? 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
? A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
? 5 curry leaves (kadi patta)
? 1/2 cup sliced onions
? 1 tsp finely chopped garlic (lehsun)
? 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
? 1 tsp green chilli paste
? Salt to taste

Method

For the palak pakodas
? Combine all the ingredients in a deep bowl and knead them into a soft dough without using any water.
? Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and shape each portion into a round ball.
? Arrange the pakodas on a sieve and steam them in a steamer for 7 to 8 minutes. Keep aside.

For the kadhi
? Combine the yoghurt, gram flour and 1 cup of water in a deep bowl, mix them well and keep aside.
? Heat the oil in a deep non-stick pan and add the cumin seeds.
? When the seeds crackle, add the asafoetida, curry leaves, onions and garlic and cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes.
? Add the turmeric powder, green chilli paste, yoghurt-flour mixture and salt, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 4 minutes, while stirring continuously.

Just before serving, reheat the kadhi, add the palak pakodas to it, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 1 or 2 minutes.

*Image courtesy: ?Shutterstock
*Recipe courtesy: Steamed Pakoda Kadhi, TarlaDalal.com