Lahsooni Kadhi - A Garlicky Yogurt Soup while the Sun plays Peek-a-Boo

The Sun God is playing a nasty game of Peek-a-Boo with me and I'm not liking it at all. After my Pea and Mint Soup post, the Weather Gods had pity on my poor soul and blessed me with a gorgeous weekend (Mar 9^th and 10^th) of sunshine and warmth. A generous favor, I'll be eternally grateful for.

Come Monday and the Sun hid behind the rain clouds and simply refused to show up. As things turned woeful, I cheered myself with a fabulous dinner. Tuesday was no better and it remained uneventful. On Wednesday, I got up praying for "no rain" and then what do I see... the trees, the cars and the roads, all covered in pristine white. It had snowed all night!

I was depressed, grumpy and cold. And to add more woes to my already sorry life, the heat stopped working. So what does a soup-o-holic needs at a time this? 

A bowl of piping hot and comforting soup!

But it was one of those days when, you need all the comfort and nourishment but don't want to chop veggies, thaw out the frozen meat or stand in front of the stove stirring your stock pot. For days like this you have Kichu Khon's Lahsooni Kadhi, a tangy, Garlicky Yogurt Soup!

Kadhi is a yogurt and chickpea flour based gravy dish to which vegetable fritters (Pakora) are often added. Its quite popular in the North-western and Western parts of India. You have different forms of Kadhi, based on the region of their origin, The tangy Rajasthani Kadhi, the sweet Gujarati Kadhi, the spicy Punjabi Kadhi (this one has onions) or the Sindhi Kadhi, with lots of fresh vegetables and no yogurt. Kadhi-Chawal or boiled rice mixed with Kadhi is considered a light, everyday meal and a comfort food for many.

Raised in a Bengali household, Kadhi was not frequently made in my house. I started having it during my first job when I had a Rajasthani boss, who would bring this regularly for lunch. However, her was a pure-veg version, sans onions and garlic and would have pakori (fritters) or papad (lentil wafers).

I never had nor heard of this amazing Lahsooni Kadhi, until Sharmila of Kichu Khon published it in her blog. I have made this a lot of times and we love it, including Lil Sid, who used to call it "Lellow Soup" even a few months ago. He now calls it "Yellow Soup".

This in an incredibly easy stuff to make and does not require the baby-sitting, most Kadhis needs. Its healthy too, because it does not require any tempering nor it has the calorie-rich, deep fried fritters in it. Its easy, simple and very, very comforting. I used Greek yogurt to make it tangier and to buff up the protein factor.

My afternoon was spent with the Kadhi, a comforter and The Help!
Dinner was a breeze too as I served the same Kadhi with boiled brown rice and my easy-peesy Brazilian fish balls. What a satisfactory dinner it was!

Recipe Snapshot: Lahsooni Kadhi - A Garlicky Yogurt Soup Serves: 4 serving (1 serving = 1 cup) What I used: Greek or regular Yogurt - 1 cups (I used the Greek one for the extra tang and bust of protein) Chickpea Flour (Besan) - 1 tbsp Garlic - 5-6 cloves, crushed by a pestle or the back oa a knife Asafoetida (Hing) - ¼ tsp Red Chili powder - ½ tsp or to taste Turmeric Powder - ½ tsp  Water - 4 cups (more or less depending on the consistency you want) Salt - to taste Cooking oil - 1 tsp What I did: 1. In a big bowl, whisk the yogurt till smooth and free of any lumps. Add the besan (chickpea flour), turmeric powder, red chili powder, water and salt and mix well. (Be a little gentle on the salt. We can always add salt but cannot take it back.) 2. Heat oil in a deep pan or wok over medium heat. I recommend you use a non stick pan, so that the gravy will not stick at the bottom. Its also fine to use a regular pan, only you need to keep stirring it, every 3-4 minutes to avoid sticking at the bottom. 3. Add the Hing (Asafoetida) and the crushed garlic and fry till the garlic turns golden. (Not brown or black please!!!) 4. Add in the yogurt mixture and stir to incorporate. 5. Bring the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until the Kadhi is infused with the garlicky flavor and the crushed garlic is soft and tastes almost "candy like". 6. Tastes best when served piping hot. 7. Sip like a soup, or mix with rice with a side of spicy dry potato curry, it just awesome any which way. Notes/Tip: The consistency of this soup/Kadhi depends on a personal choice. I like it thin and soupy. If you like your thick, reduce the amount of water. It also tastes good with roti or parathas.

A BIG Thanks to Sharmila for sharing her recipe. This had become a new family favorite.

Diabetic Platter: Besan or Chickpea flour is low in saturated fat and a excellent source of Dietary Fibers and Protein. Its also low in carbohydrates when compared to whole what flour. Those looking for a low-carb, whole grain flour option, please give Chickpea flour a shot.  The dish hardly requires any oil. Its high on garlic, which contains Allicin, a naturally occurring antioxidant that may help improve heart health. Compounds in garlic also act as powerful antioxidants. There is some evidence that garlic may lower blood pressure and LDL-cholesterol levels — as well as decrease levels of homocysteine — a by-product of protein breakdown that causes inflammation and damages blood vessels.

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