Sweet and tangy Gujarati Kadhi made in the Instant Pot! This yogurt soup is tempered with spices and tastes best with boiled rice.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Sides
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 2 cups yogurt (around 500 grams, at room temperature)
  • 4 tablespoons besan (gram flour, around 45 grams)
  • pinch turmeric (powder)
  • 1.5 teaspoon cornstarch (optional, skip if making kadhi on stove-top)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (adjust to taste)
  • 3.5 cups water (divided, 28 oz)
  • 2 teaspoons ghee
  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 1 whole dried red chili (broken)
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1/8 teaspoon hing (also known as asafoetida)
  • 1 inch ginger (finely chopped)
  • 1 green chili (or add more to taste)
  • 8-10 curry leaves
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • 1-2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Method

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt and besan. Then add pinch turmeric, cornstarch (if using) and 3 cups (24 oz) water. Mix to a lump free thin batter. Also add in the sugar and mix. Set it aside.
  2. Press the saute button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add the ghee and oil and then add the cinnamon stick, cloves and dried red chili.
  3. Saute for few seconds until spices are fragrant and then add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let the seeds sizzle and pop.
  4. Then add hing, chopped ginger, green chili and curry leaves. Saute for 30 seconds until the ginger starts changing color.
  5. Pour in the prepared yogurt-besan batter. Stir continuously with a whisk for 1 minute until the batter is well combined with the spices.
  6. Close the pot with it's lid. Press the soup button and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. You will have to use the "- +" button to reduce time to 10 minutes on soup mode. The pressure valve should be in the sealing position. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then do a quick pressure release.
  7. Open the pot and add the salt. I also add extra 1/2 cup water here, you may adjust the consistency of the kadhi to taste.
  8. Garnish Gujarati Kadhi with cilantro and serve with boiled rice.

Stove-top Instructions

  1. Make a lump free batter (without the cornstarch). Follow the same steps as it is in a heavy bottom pan on medium heat. Once you add the batter to the pan, stir and let it come to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Then lower the heat and let the kadhi simmer for around 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.