Sindhi Kadhi - A Delicious Stew

This is a recipe that my aunt gave me recently and asked me to try it out. It is called Sindhi Kadhi. It is a delicious stew or curry prepared with chickpea flour (besan) and vegetables. However, it does not conform to my traditional view of what “kadhi” should be. All the different versions of kadhi that I have made or eaten so far have always had yogurt and besan/chickpea flour as the main ingredients. The main difference in all these versions was the seasoning that I used, however the main ingredients always stayed the same i.e. yogurt and besan. I had never made or tasted Sindhi Kadhi prior to this attempt, and I am glad I finally did. It has definitely changed my perception of what kadhi can be. This particular version of the kadhi does make use of the besan flour, however it differs in the fact that, instead of using yogurt, tamarind water is used to give it a sour taste. Also, this recipe has a lot of vegetables. And while I made it with the vegetables that my aunt listed, I am sure you can change the combination of the vegetables based on what is available. The end result is a hearty, healthy and delicious stew. We enjoyed the preparation and I will definitely be making it again.

Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
1/8 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
pinch of asafoetida
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1 cup okra/bhindi/ladies fingers ( diced)
3 tsps besan/chickpea flour
1 cup potatoes (1 large or 2 small potatoes), diced into big pieces
1 cup banana squash/red pumpkin/laal kaddu/ laal bhopla,
1 cup cluster beans /gavar /gowar, diced
1 drumstick, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
chilli powder to taste
5-6 curry leaves
1 tsp tamarind paste or 1 inch ball of tamarind
salt to taste

Method
If using tamarind paste, dissolve it in about 2 cups of water and keep aside. If using regular tamarind,  soak it in warm water and then remove the pulp and dissolve it in 2 cups of water and keep aside.

Heat the oil. To this add the cumin seeds. Once they being to crackle, add the hing/asafoetida, and the okra pieces. Stir fry the okra till well cooked and a little browned. Then add the besan flour and cook the besan flour till you get the fragrant roasted smell for the besan. Then add the cluster beans, drumstick pieces, potato and pumpkin. Stir it and add the turmeric powder and chilli powder and cook it all for a minute.  Then add the tamarind water, stirring continuously while adding the water, so that no lumps formed. Add the curry leaves. Add more water if needed. All the vegetables should be covered with the water. Then cook till the curry till it starts to boil and thicken. Add the salt. Taste and add a little more of tamarind paste if you want a more sour taste. Check to see if the vegetables are cooked. The curry shouldn’t be too watery or too thick. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve hot with white rice.

Tips
Steam cook or pressure cook (1 whistle) the guvar/cluster beans and the drumsticks so that they are semi cooked and softened.  This will reduce the overall cooking time. Do not precook the potato and pumpkin, since they do not need a long cooking time and will get cooked through as the curry boils. If precooked, they will turn to mush. Fry the besan and the okra well. The okra needs to be crispy and the besan needs to be a brown color which will impart a brown color to the curry.
If you decide to change the vegetables, use hearty vegetables which will not become mushy when the kadhi is being boiled. You can also add in some tomatoes in this recipe. They should be added along with the potato and other vegetables. 

Gavar Ani Bhoplya Chi Bhaaji - Cluster Beans with Banana Squash/Pumpkin

I am amazed at the large variety of squashes and pumpkins that exist. I was only aware of one kind of a pumpkin while growing up. When anyone said that they had made a pumpkin curry, it really meant that they had cooked "laal bhopla" (in Marathi) or "kaddu" (in Hindi). And squash really boiled down to "bottle gourd".  Moreover, I was not fond of pumkins so I stayed as far away as possible. It was the similar case with cluster beans which are known as "gavar" (in Marathi) or "guvar" (in Hindi). Of course times have changed, my palette has expanded and I find that any vegetable can be made to taste good. I enjoy the challege and experimenting with new varieties.

A couple of weeks ago I found a slice of "banana squash" in the local market, which upon closer inspection turned out to be the familiar "laal bhopla". I got nostaligic, remembering how I used to fuss when I had to eat it and decided to give it a second chance. I was debating how to use it when I remembered a preparation that I had eaten at an aunt's house when I was a kid. It had my two least liked vegetables "pumpkin" and "cluster beans", but the taste had been amazing and I had relished it. Luckily I had a packet of frozen cluster beans in my freezer, so I decided to recreate that recipe. It came out very close to the taste I remember and I enjoyed it. I also tried out another variation of cooking just the squash by itself, but that is another post.

Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
1/8 tsp mustard seeds
1/8 tsp cumin/jeera seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek/methi seeds
a ping of asafoetida/hing
1/4 tsp turmeric
2-4 dry red chillies (to taste)
salt to taste
2 cups diced banana squash/laal bhopla/kaddu
1.5 cups cluster beans, cut into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces (if using frozen, they are already precut)
1 tsp goda masala (optional)
1 tbsp groundnut/peanut powder
1/2 tsp sugar

Method
Heat oil and add mustard and cumin seeds. Once they crackle, add the methi seeds and hing and red chillies. Next add the turmeric and immediately add the cluster beans. Do not let the turmeric cook in the oil for too long as it burns almost very fast. Stir and then add the diced banana squash pieces. Stir well, lower the heat and cover the pan. Let the vegetables cook till soft, stirring occasionally. Once the vegetables are cooked through, add the goda masala, salt, peanut powder and mix well. Add sugar and stir. Serve hot with chapati or roti.

Tips
If needed, you add a couple of spoons of water if the vegetables are browning too fast without getting cooked through. This is more likely to happen if you are using a steel pan versus a non-stick one. If you have a lot of banana squash, you can freeze the diced pieces in a freezer safe bag/box. If you don't have goda masala, use dhania-jeera (corriander-cumin) powder instead.