Kari and Pakoras

Kari is a golden yellow yogurt based curry with soft fritters made from gram flour. Besan, as gram flour is called in Pakistan is flour made from fried split yellow chick peas easily available at Indian/Pakistani markets. I would consider kari as Pakistani soul food. You can eat it alone, with rice, naan, or roti. My grandmother would occasionally make kari for us on weekends with her homemade yogurt. For some reason it seemed like a process that took all day, but when I made it myself it didnt seem to take that long. You can adjust the heat in my recipe below by reducing the amount of red chili powder used. Hope you enjoy this soup-like dish on a cold winter night.

Kari Recipe 2-3 Tablespoons Oil 2 teaspoon mustard seeds ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 2-3 cloves 1 chopped large yellow onion 1 medium chopped skinless tomato 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder 1½  teaspoon Garam Masala 1 teaspoon Red Chili Powder 1 teaspoon tamarind paste dissolved in warm water 1/2 cup sifted Besan or Gram Flour 2 cups Yogurt 4 cups water 1 teaspoon salt or to your taste (tip: to remove skin from tomato, freeze the tomato for about an hour and then place it in a bowl of warm water- it should easily peel away from the flesh) Start off with mixing the besan (gram flour) with water and a pinch of salt. If you would like you can add a little bit of red chili powder and turmeric powder. Set it aside after you have blended well and made sure the mixture is lump free. In the meantime, heat the oil on medium/high in a large pot and add the cumin, mustard, coriander, cloves, and fenugreek seeds. Fry until they start popping, then add onions and ginger/garlic past update: recently my mom read my blog and totally shot my recipe down. thanks mom, love you. She said "noone ever puts the seeds in whole". She's the boss- and a way better cook than me, so its your choice if you want to use the whole seeds, or you can grind them all up and use the powder. I don't mind the seeds in the mouth (you can't barely tell), but if you want a smoother kari base then I would suggest using the coriander, mustard, cumin, cloves, and fenugreek all in powdered form. When the onions start to soften add red chili powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala. Fry for just a moment and add the tomatoes and tamarind paste.   If mixture starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, simply add a little water for moisture. The tomatoes should melt into the masala and become homogeneous. After the “masala” is prepped, lower the heat to medium and slowly add the besan/water mixture. Slowly bring it to a boil, then set it at simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir continuously to avoid a film on top and kari sticking to the bottom. The kari should slowly thicken, if it thickens quickly you should add some water and continue cooking on low heat to ensure the besan is cooked out.  Stir in the pakoras (see recipe below) gently and simmer for another 5 minutes. Top it with a tarka (small round dried chillies and cumin seeds fried in a tablespoon of oil) Pakora Recipe:  Pakora Recipe : 1 cup sifted besan (gram flour) ½ teaspoon cumin seeds ½ chopped green chili ¼ cup chopped cilantro Pinch of turmeric powder Pinch of garam masala ½ teaspoon red chili powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 small chopped yellow onion Mix the besan and spices with water until it makes a smooth batter much like pancake batter. I would suggest using a whisk or even a hand blender to whip the batter. The more you incorporate air into it, the lighter and fluffier your pakoras will be. Let it rest for 30 minutes and add onions when you’re ready to fry the pakoras. Heat oil in a deep pan with oil (much like frying fritters). Take a heaping spoonful of batter for each pakora and add it to the oil. The pakoras do not have to be a certain shape, but when pouring the batter try to make it circular as possible. Turn them over after a minute; they should be a light golden brown. You can eat these as is with some chutney, or stir them into your kari.   I served my kari with boiled rice and garnished it with cilantro. Enjoy!