Author Notes
Consider this an overdose of chickpea flour, chickpea flour dumplings in a chickpea yogurt soup, the balance of flavors lies in the contrast of fennel seeds in the soup and a hint of bitter dried fenugreek leaves in the dumpling.
Yogurt based curries are part & parcel of almost every subset of Indian cuisine, the gujrati version is flavored with cardamom, cloves and sugar, the south indian one is thickened with a coconut paste and so on.
This version is a Punjabi version but spiced wit a classic East Indian Bengali tempering of Panch phoron spice blend —Panfusine
Ingredients
- Panch phoron spice blend
-
1 cup
Chickpea flour
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1/3 cup
yogurt or buttermilk
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1 tablespoon
dried fenugreek leaves
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1 teaspoon
dried thyme
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1/2 teaspoon
baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon
paprika powder
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2 cups
oil for deep frying
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salt to taste
- Kadhi
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2 cups
low fat yogurt
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1/2 cup
chickpea flour
-
1 tablespoon
Panch phoron spice blend (see step 1 below)
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2
dried red arbol chiles (whole)
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2 tablespoons
Ghee
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1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric
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Salt to taste
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3 cups
water
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Chopped cilantro for garnish
Directions
- Panch phoron spice blend
-
Sift together the chickpea flour, thyme, fenugreek leaves, paprika, baking powder and salt. Slowly whisk in the yogurt into a thick batter that can be dropped with a spoon. Using a whisk or a beater, keep whisking the batter until its light and airy
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Heat the oil in a cast iron pan. WHen the oil gets hot, drop little teaspoon's of the batter into the hot oil and fry on a medium heat until te dumplings turn a golden brown. Transfer onto a plate lined with kitchen towels to absorb any excess oil
- Kadhi
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To make Panch Phoron, combine one teaspoon each of cumin, mustard, fenugreek, Fennel and Nigella seeds. Shake to mix well and use as much as the recipe requires.
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Whisk the yogurt and the chickpea flour such that there are no lumps. Add the water to the mix.
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Heat the ghee in a pan and add the panch phoron spice blend when the ghee gets hot., once the mustard begins to pop stir in the whole arbol chiles into the ghee and allow it to turn a deep brownish red color.
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Now stir in the yogurt chickpea flour mix , taking care to keep stirring constantly. Add the turmeric and salt, and bring to a gentle boil. turn down the heat and simmer for ~15 minutes at low heat (this ensures that the yogurt doesn't separate)
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Add the dumplings prior to serving. Pair with plain Basmati rice.
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