Khadi Chawal

Khadi chawal is a  popular North Indian dish.  "Khadi"  is the sauce made with yogurt and "Chawal" is rice. In other words, it is chickpea flour dumplings in yogurt sauce, seasoned with tadka . I never saw too much use of tadka (seasoning) items in the North Indian food.  But,  recipe is an exception. It is a blend of both North and South indian cuisine.  This recipe is particularly loved by the kids because of the mild taste and flavours of yogurt.

Ingredients:
for the sauce:
Yogurt/ curd - 2 cups (sour prefered)
Gram flour/ chick pea - 2 tbsp
Water - 1 cup
Garlic - 2 cloves finely chopped
Ginger - 1/ 2 tsp grated
Salt
Red chilli pwd - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric pwd -  a pinch
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Coriander- 1 tsp finely chopped ( for garnish)

for Seasoning:
Mustard -1 tsp
Fenugreek -1/4 tsp
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Dry red chillies - 2
Asafoetida - a pinch
Oil - 1 tbsp

for Pakoras (Dumplings)
Gram flour - 2 cups
Sliced onions - 1 chopped
green chillies - 2 chopped
cumin - 1/2 tsp
salt
oil for deep fry.

Method
1. Start with making the dumplings. Take chick pea flour in a bowl and add chopped onions, cumin, green chillies , water and salt. mix well till it is light and fluffy. Heat oil in a Kadai and drop it in the oil with the spoon to make pakoras. Fry them till golden brown and keep it aside. ( you can make these pakodas couple of days ahead and freeze it until used)

2. In a bowl beat curd and chick pea flour to make a thick paste and water and stir well, making sure there are no lumps.keep it aside.

3. Heat 1tsb oil in a pan add red chillies, mustard, fenugreek and cumin seeds. Add paste of garlic and ginger. Fry till it is golden brown. Add salt, turmeric pwd, red chilli pwd and garam masala to it. Add the curd and chickpea flour mixture and stir.  Heat on medium flame and bring it to a boil( the sauce starts thickening ) lower the heat. Add the fried pakodas, Cook for 10-15 minutes on low heat. Add chopped coriander for garnish and serve with rice.