The Shah Archive

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Nani (Induben)Family only

Nani's kadhi

She has made this every Sunday for fifty years and has never once measured the besan.

Ingredients

  • 1 cupsour yogurt, whisked smooth — must be properly sour
  • 2 tbspbesan (gram flour)
  • 3 cupswater
  • 1 tspginger–green chilli paste
  • ½ tspturmeric
  • 1½ tspsalt, to taste
  • 1 tbspghee
  • ½ tspmustard seeds
  • 1 pinchhing
  • 8–10curry leaves

Method · 35 min

  1. Whisk the yogurt and besan together with a little water until there is not a single lump. This is the whole recipe. Do it longer than you think.
  2. Add the rest of the water, ginger–chilli, turmeric and salt. Whisk again.
  3. Bring to a bare tremble on low heat, stirring almost constantly. It must never boil — it will split, and there is no recovery.
  4. Hold at that tremble for 20 minutes until it thickens and loses the raw taste of the flour.
  5. Heat ghee, crackle the mustard seeds, add hing and curry leaves, and pour it over. Serve with rice.

In the margins

She never used cumin. That's your addition and it's fine but don't call it hers.

Mummy · 12 Jul 2026

Ba used to add a spoon of jaggery in winter. Nani says that's a Surat thing.

Masi Ila · 13 Jul 2026