Farah Khan's Kadhi Pakora recipe: 3 secret hacks for fluffy pakoras and delicious Punjabi kadhi

Few comfort foods can beat a bowl of creamy Punjabi kadhi paired with hot rice. Farah Khan, known for films such as Om Shanti Om and Main Hoon Na, is also admired for her love of cooking and often shares food videos. In one of her vlogs, the director-choreographer prepared Kadhi Pakora and revealed a few tricks behind the dish. From adding yogurt to the pakora batter to slow-cooking the kadhi, her tips can make this classic even more flavourful.

Farah Khan's Kadhi Pakora recipe has a simple fluffy-pakora trick

Farah Khan's Punjabi Kadhi Pakora recipe uses gram flour, yogurt and spices to create a rich, comforting dish. But one of her most useful tips is for the pakoras. Instead of relying only on baking soda to make the pakoras light and fluffy, Farah adds a small spoonful of yogurt to the batter. The yogurt helps the pakoras puff up while frying, resulting in a softer texture.

For the pakoras, you need gram flour, chopped onions, salt, spices, yogurt and a pinch of soda.

Farah Khan's raw garlic hack for richer kadhi

The second trick goes into the kadhi itself. Farah suggests adding crushed raw garlic directly to the uncooked yogurt and besan mixture before it goes on the heat. This gives the kadhi a deeper, more homestyle flavour. To prepare the kadhi base, mix yogurt with gram flour, salt and turmeric. The mixture can then be added to the tempering and diluted with water according to the desired consistency.

Slow-cook the kadhi for better flavour

The third important tip is to give the kadhi enough time to cook. Once the yogurt-besan mixture is added, the kadhi should be allowed to simmer slowly over low heat. This helps get rid of the raw taste of the gram flour while allowing the flavours to blend properly.

For the initial tempering, heat oil and add asafoetida, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, dried coriander and sliced onions. Once cooked, add the yogurt-besan mixture and enough water.

How to make Farah Khan's Punjabi Kadhi Pakora

Once the kadhi is simmering, prepare the pakoras separately. Mix gram flour, chopped onions, salt, spices, yogurt and a pinch of baking soda to form the batter. Farah's yogurt trick is particularly useful here if you want softer and fluffier pakoras. Deep-fry the pakoras on high heat until they are cooked and nicely fried. Once ready, place them directly into the prepared kadhi so they can soak up the flavourful gravy.

The final tadka makes the Kadhi Pakora even more flavourful

The finishing tempering brings the dish together. For the tadka, heat ghee and add cumin seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida, kasuri methi, green and red chillies and red chilli powder. Once fragrant, pour the hot tadka over the kadhi.

Serve the Kadhi Pakora with steamed rice for a classic Punjabi-style meal. Farah Khan's combination of yogurt in the pakora batter, raw garlic in the kadhi and slow cooking gives the familiar dish an extra layer of flavour and texture.