Kadhi is a nice change of pace from the usual tomato-onion curries, and great when you are running low on veggies in the fridge. Creamy, luscious sauce with crispy pakora and steaming hot rice. Comfort food at its best! I got this recipe from my friend Shubh, many years ago.
For rice, I have been trying to include wild rice. You can hardly notice its in there and you get more protein from wild rice as well as four times as much vitamin E and six times as much as folate than brown rice! Note that it does take more time to cook than white rice, so plan accordingly or cook it separately(which I did).
In a bowl put the yogurt and mix it with a spoon until smooth. Then blend in the besan flour and be sure that there are no lumps. Do this before adding water. Mix in ginger, spices and then the water. It will be very thin, but will thicken once its cooked.
Heat ghee (I think there are a few recipes in which ghee really is a lot tastier than oil, this is one of them!) and splutter the mustard seeds. Then add green chilies, stir for 30 seconds. Then reduce the heat and add in the yogurt mixture all at once. Increase heat again to medium. Stir constantly, scraping the bottom and sides until the mixture comes to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the mixture is thick and the besan does not taste raw.
Combine the onion, cabbage, spices and salt in a bowl. Keep aside for 10 minutes or more so that the cabbage releases some water. Add pinch baking soda and enough besan flour till the cabbage is well coated, then sprinkle in water, enough to make a very thick batter (it should not be pourable, but able to be scooped easily with a spoon). Heat a sufficient amount of oil in a pot for frying. With your hands or a spoon drop ping pong ball sized mounds into the oil. Do not pack the dough tightly or the pakora will be hard. Its fine if they are not perfect spheres, in fact the onions/cabbage that stick out and get crispiest are my favorite part! Keep the flame slightly above medium and after adding pakora reduce to medium. Cook until golden brown and cooked on the inside. You may need to adjust the heat for your stove/pot.