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Sindhi kadhi is a spiced Indian vegetable curry thickened with chickpea flour. It’s a versatile curry that you can make using any veggies that you have on hand! (soy-free, nut-free with gluten-free option)
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Sindhi kadhi – a creamy, dairy-free Indian curry – is absolutely packed with flavors! Kadhi is usually a creamy simply spiced yogurt and chickpea flour sauce. This kadhi from sindhi cuisine uses just chickpea flour and whole spices. Sindhi cuisine is is the cuisine from the region of Sindh in Pakistan and India and has influences from Iranian, Mughal and central Asian cuisines. It has many specific recipes and this kadhi is one of them.
Sindhi kadhi starts with a layer of whole spices, like cumin and fenugreek seeds. Then you add savory aromatics – ginger and green chili. The next layer of flavor comes from ground turmeric and cayenne pepper. There is no onion and garlic in this recipe, we use asafetida(hing) for the garlicky flavor. you can add some onion and garlic if you like.
But this amazing curry doesn’t stop there!
Adding tomato, tamarind, and lime juice near the end of cooking rounds out the amazing flavor profile of this dish.
Instead of dairy, Sindhi kadhi gets its creaminess from chickpea flour, which you roast with the aromatics. As it cooks, it absorbs the water and yields a rich, creamy broth, no yogurt or cream needed.
Why You’ll Love Sindhi Kadhi
- absolutely flavor-packed Indian curry
- use any veggies you like!
- naturally dairy-free, soy-free, and nut-free with easy gluten-free option
More Creamy Curries
What to Serve with Sindhi Kadhi
Serve with rice, flatbread, or naan to make this a meal. It’s also great over potatoes, like my jeera aloo, or served as a soup!
Sindhi Kadhi
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/3 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon asafetida hing, omit to make gluten-free or use a certified gluten-free asafetida
- 8 to 10 curry leaves, fresh or frozen
- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
- 1 hot green chili finely chopped
- 1/4 cup chickpea flour or besan
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 3.5 cups of water, room temperature or luke warm
- 3/4 teaspoon or more salt
- 1.5 to 2 cups small chopped veggies, potatoes, green beans, carrots, cauliflower etc
- 1 tomato finely chopped
- 2 to 3 teaspoon tamarind paste , or 1 to 2 tbsp tamarind pulp, dry tamarind pods soaked in hot water, pulp reserved and the seeds removed
- 1/2 teaspoon lime juice or to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium heat in a saucepan. When the oil is hot, add cumin and fenugreek seeds and cook until they change color and get fragrant. Stir frequently. 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add asafetida and curry leaves carefully. Once the sputtering has died down, add ginger and green chili and cook for a minute. Add the chickpea flour and mix in. Roast the chickpea flour for 3 to 4 minutes, stir every minute.
- Add turmeric, cayenne and 1 cup of water and mix in. Use a whisk if needed. Mix until all of the chickpea flour is well dissolved and there are no lumps.
- Add rest of the water, salt, and veggies. Mix, cover and cook over medium heat for 17 to 18 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes, tamarind, and lime juice, and mix in. Reduce heat to medium low. Partially cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt, tang, and heat. Add a dash of sugar or jaggery if needed and mix in. Serve over rice, with roasted potatoes, or as a soup.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- oil – To toast the spices and to sauté.
- whole spices – You’ll use cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, asafetida, and curry leaves. Omit the asafetida for gluten-free.
- aromatics – Ginger and green chili bring flavor and heat to this dish.
- chickpea flour – You can use chickpea flour or besan in this recipe.
- ground spices – Turmeric and cayenne bring even more flavor and heat to your Sindhi kadhi.
- water – To hydrate the chickpea flour.
- veggies – Use whatever veggies you like or have handy, like potatoes, green beans, carrots, cauliflower, okra, etc.
- tomato – Adds umami richness to the curry sauce.
- tamarind paste – Adds sweetness and tang.
- lime juice – For even more tang!
💡 Tips
- Keep a close eye on the whole spices while roasting them, so they don’t burn.
- It’s important to stir the chickpea flour frequently, as well, so it doesn’t burn while you roast it.
- If the curry is too hot at the end, a little bit or sugar or jaggery will offset that heat.
How to Make Sindhi Kadhi
Heat oil over medium heat in a saucepan. When the oil is hot, add cumin and fenugreek seeds and cook until they change color and get fragrant. Stir frequently. 1 to 2 minutes.
Add asafetida and curry leaves carefully. Once the sputtering has died down, add ginger and green chili and cook for a minute. Add the chickpea flour and mix in. Roast the chickpea flour for 3 to 4 minutes, stir every minute.
Add turmeric, cayenne and 1 cup of water and mix in. Use a whisk if needed. Mix until all of the chickpea flour is well dissolved and there are no lumps.
Add rest of the water, salt, and veggies. Mix, cover and cook over medium heat for 17 to 18 minutes.
Add in the tomatoes, tamarind, and lime juice, and mix in. Reduce heat to medium low.
Partially cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt, tang, and heat. Add a dash of sugar or jaggery if needed and mix in.
Serve over rice, with roasted potatoes, or as a soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sindhi kadhi is dairy-free, nut-free, and soy-free. To make it gluten-free, simply omit the asafetida and add in 2 minced cloves of garlic along with the ginger.
Asafetifa (hing) powder can have wheat flour or starch. You can also find gluten-free asafetida which has rice flour and use that.
Thank you….another new idea of vege recipe besides saambar.
I do not have chickpea flour. Is there a substitute?
you can use 2 -3 Tbsp wheat or white flour and a tbsp ground cashews. If you can, do get chickpea flour as there are many recipes I use it in.
This was so, so good. I could eat it everyday! I probably cooked it a bit longer and really didn’t pay attention. The chickpea flour made it so silky smooth with the whole cooking time…..Lovely texture.
Awesome!!
Soothing and creamy deliciousness! Although I didn’t have all of the seasonings at home it tasted fantastic, being eager to try the recipe before shopping.
The vegetables and herbs I used didn’t need much cooking time. Since the soup tasted yummy and seemed thick enough after only ten minutes I’ll shorten the cooking time next time and will try even more of the seasonings mentioned.
Awesome! I used potatoes and they needed the longer cooking time. The soup should thicken as soon as it comes to a boil. Simmer for another few minutes after it comes to a boil and its done.
It doesn’t say when to add turmeric and cayenne…
add it just after the chickpea flour is roasted. I added that in the instructions. Thanks for catching it.
Thank you and very (y). First time I see another recipe using besan! Have only ever used it in what we call at home Burmese Soup. Will send this recipe back to my folks (I now live on a boat so many ingredients can be hard to come by).
btw: check your blog regularly for inspiration in the galley (aka kitchen).
Thats amazing Tina. thanks!
Great use for chickpea flour, I must try in more soups! This looks wonderful, agreed on amazing pictures. Thanks!
Thanks!
This sounds wonderful! I’ve never had chickpea flour in a soup, but since I am a big fan of the chickpea, I know I’d love it. Also, beautiful pics!
Thanks Cadry. It works great as a thickener and adds a deep nutty flavor!
Would this work without the fenugreek and the tamarind… I really don’t like either of them. Suggestions for replacements maybe?
you can use mustard seeds( 1/2 tsp). And for the tang, you can add more tomatoes and more lime/lemon juice to taste. Fenugreek seeds add a subtle flavor, so maybe add 1-2 seeds?