Karhi Pakora
Try this flavorful and delicious karhi pakora recipe – crunchy fritters dunked in a spicy, salty, sour yogurt-based curry. So tasty with steamed rice or flatbread!
Karhi Pakora is a popular and delicious dish from the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Pakistan and North India. Karhi chawal is especially very famous and well-liked in Punjab. It’s hard to ignore if you grew up here in this area.
It is a combination of a savory, tangy gram flour-based curry, and crispy gram flour fritters that are added to it. This dish is usually served with steamed rice or hot roti.
Although it is prepared differently in different regions of the country, hence there is no standard method. However, one thing that unites them all is the use of gram flour (besan).
Also see, Spinach Pakora and Baked Potato Pakoras
As always, I suggest you read the complete article for useful tips and tricks. However, you can find the detailed recipe with exact ingredients and step-by-step instructions below.
What Does Karhi Pakora Taste Like?
Compared to the typical brown/red hue of most Pakistani-style dishes, Kadhi Pakora LOOKS incredibly different. If a Kadhi Pakora is cooked properly—long and slowly, with all the correct ingredients—it should taste like:
- Tangy with a sour bite. The yogurt is supposed to be the source of this sour flavor, but if you don’t want to make Karhi with tangy dairy yogurt, you can substitute vegan yogurt for the dairy variety and can add lemon juice to taste.
- The turmeric, cumin, and coriander flour are simmered for a long time with the sauce, which gives it a deep flavor in addition to the tang.
- Ahh, the tadka, the tadka! The dish’s dominant, distinctive flavors of onion, tomato, and ginger-garlic are all brought together SO perfectly by this. It gives everything a rich taste that goes well with the tanginess of the base. The pakoras in the karhi are soft and light, not heavy and mushy.
Why You Will Love Trying This Karhi Pakora Recipe?
I’m sure you’ll love trying this karhi pakora recipe because:
- It is incredibly simple and easy to make.
- It is tangy, spicy, creamy, comforting, and full of flavor.
- It consists of crunchy and tasty pakoras.
- It tastes exactly like the one you get at your favorite Indian or Pakistani dhaba (restaurant).
- It is a good source of protein because of the use of gram flour.
- It is typically ingested in colder months and aids in cold and cough prevention.
- It makes great leftovers as it tastes even better the next day!
- It is highly customizable. You can add more or fewer spices to suit your taste buds.
Ingredients For Karhi Pakora
For Karhi:
- Essential Ingredients: vegan yogurt, gram flour, and water are the essential components of any karhi recipe.
- Masala: For making this karhi also like to add onion-tomato-ginger & garlic masala (tadka). This imparts a dhaba-like flavor. You may add curry leaves if you have one.
- Spices: You only need a few essential spices including turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, and salt. You may add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds for added flavor.
For Pakora:
- Base Ingredients: To prepare pakoras, I used gram flour, potato, onion, coriander leaves, and green chili as the base ingredients.
- Spices: I used cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, and red chili powder.
- Oil: Oil for frying and making the tadka (masala) I used avocado oil, however, you can use any.
How To Make Karhi Pakora?
Here is a recipe for making karhi pakora at home:
- To make the karhi, whisk together the yogurt, gram flour, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk until smooth.
- Heat the oil in a large pot or saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger garlic paste, and chopped onions and fry for a few minutes until the onions are a little golden. Add the chopped tomatoes, and fry for a few minutes until the veggies are soft and golden brown.
- Add the yogurt and gram flour mixture to the pot, and stir well. Add in e cups of water and mix well. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the karhi thickens.
- To make the pakora, mix together the gram flour, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and salt in a bowl. Gradually add water and mix to form a thick batter. Heat oil in a frying pan, and drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil. Fry the pakoras until they turn golden brown, then remove them with a slotted spoon.
- Add the pakoras to the gram flour karhi, and let them simmer in the karhi for a few minutes until they are soft and fully coated in the curry. Serve hot with steamed rice or roti. Enjoy!
Storage Instructions
- Karhi with pakora can be kept in the fridge for 4-5 days if kept in an airtight container.
- The leftover pakora can keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container.
- You can batch freeze this in an air-tight container for about a month. To Freeze this curry I suggest freezing the karhi and pakora separately in different containers to maintain the flavors and texture.
- Just take out the container, put the frozen karhi in a pan, and let it cook until it bubbles hot or you may reheat it in the microwave.
- Because karhi is made of yogurt and gram flour, it thickens up while stored in the refrigerator. Therefore, while reheating in a pan on the stovetop add a small amount of water (or as required) while stirring constantly until lump-free.
Recipe Notes:
- Use high-quality gram flour (besan).
- Pakoras should always be added right before serving. If you prefer soft pakoras, you can simmer them in Kadhi for five minutes.
- Always use low heat to prepare kadhi. Kadhi contains yogurt, therefore if you cook it at high or medium heat, the yogurt will curdle. Furthermore, you won’t have a smooth and creamy texture.
- Tempering the karhi is an optional step, you can temper the karhi with some cumin seeds, curry leaves, and dried green chilies.
- This karhi is best served with some fluffy steamed rice.
- Do not forget to temper the frozen karhi upon reheating.
Tips About Pakora
- The crispiness of the pakora comes from the amount of water content in the batter – if the batter is too runny you will end up with soggy pakoras. To avoid this make sure you add some extra chickpea flour if it looks runny.
- Make sure the vegetables are thinly sliced so the pakodas stay light and crunchy.
- Always fry pakodas over medium heat to ensure that the vegetables are well cooked and the pakodas are crispier.
- Instead of frying the pakora in oil, you can make it in the pan or you can even air fry it. The result is a crispy, delicious snack that tastes like the real thing without feeling like an oil slick in your mouth. We promise you’re going to love it!
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Karhi Pakora Made Of?
Karhi Pakora is prepared with gram flour (besan) and yogurt mixture with basic spices and aromatics. After that, it is simmered until it becomes rich and creamy. Making karhi requires simmering because the besan must be thoroughly cooked and have completely lost all of its uncooked flavor and odor.
Is Gram Flour (Besan) Healthy?
Yes! Gram flour is highly healthy.
- It promotes nutrient absorption and is beneficial to intestinal health.
- Gram flour is high in calcium and hence good for bone health.
- It is beneficial for diabetes as it lowers insulin and blood sugar.
- The rich fiber content of chickpea flour may help lower blood fat levels. Additionally, it includes resistant starch, a type of fiber that has been associated with a number of health advantages.
- Chickpea flour may reduce appetite by controlling the ghrelin hunger hormone.
- Antioxidants found in chickpeas may aid in the battle against free radicals. The amount of harmful acrylamide in processed meals appears to decrease when chickpea flour is used.
Additionally, gram Flour is gluten-free, so it works well as a wheat flour substitute. So, this tasty karhi pakora dish is healthy when consumed in moderation.
What Is Pakora?
Pakoras are a classic dish from the Indian subcontinent that has delighted millions of people for generations. Pakora batter is made by mixing gram flour (also known as chickpea flour or besan) with a variety of spices and chopped vegetables such as onions, cauliflower, potatoes, spinach, eggplants, chilies, and coriander leaves (cilantro). They can also be made with fish or meat. It is then deep-fried in oil to create crispy fritter-like snacks.
Is Pakora A Junk Food?
They are a common street food item and are also found in every home. Pakoras are fried in a lot of oil despite being prepared with vegetables, gram flour, and spices; they are still regarded as junk food.
Is Kadhi Pakora Healthy?
No, because it contains deep-fried food, this recipe is not suitable for diabetics, the heart, and weight reduction. Because deep frying boosts oil absorption, your fat levels rise.
How To Make This Karhi More Healthy?
When making this karhi recipe, you can use less oil. Pakoras can be prepared in an air fryer, or a little oil can be added to an appam pan for making these pakoras. When using an air fryer to make pakoras, add oil to the batter. You can skip tempering.
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karhi pakora
Ingredients
The Kadhi
- 2 cups vegan yogurt or coconut yogurt
- 1/2 cup flour or besan
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- salt to taste
Pakora Base
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 small tomato chopped
- 3 cups water
Pakora
- 1 cup gram flour or besan
- 1 medium potato chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 green chili pepper
- 1 tbsp coriander leaves chopped
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- salt to taste
- water as required
- oil for frying
Instructions
To make the karhi
- Whisk together the yogurt, gram flour, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk until the batter is smooth.
- Heat the oil in a large pot or saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the ginger garlic paste, and chopped onions and fry for a few minutes until the onions are a little golden.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, and fry for a few minutes until the veggies are soft and golden brown.
- Add the yogurt and gram flour mixture to the pot, and stir well.
- Add in the cups of water and mix well. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the karhi thickens.
To make the pakora
- Mix together the gram flour, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and salt in a bowl. Gradually add water and mix to form a thick batter.
- Heat oil in a frying pan, and drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil.
- Fry the pakoras until they turn golden brown, then remove them with a slotted spoon.
- Add the pakoras to the gram flour karhi, and let them simmer in the karhi for a few minutes until they are soft and fully coated in the curry.
- Serve hot with steamed rice or roti. Enjoy!
This karhi pakora looks really nice