Kadhi Bari

Before you start

• Take the yogurt out of the fridge 30 minutes ahead. Cold yogurt hitting a hot pan splits instantly.
• Whisk the yogurt, the 50g besan and the water together completely smooth before any of it goes near heat — lumps set hard and never disperse.
• Beat the bari batter for a good 5 minutes; a spoonful should float in a bowl of water when it is aerated enough.

Method

1. Whisk 150g besan with 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp turmeric, the baking soda and about 120ml water into a thick batter, then beat hard for 5 minutes until it is pale and fluffy.Drop a little into water — if it floats, the batter is ready; if it sinks, keep beating.
2. Heat the neutral oil to 170C and drop in walnut-sized spoonfuls of batter. Fry 4-5 minutes, turning, until deep golden and hollow-sounding.
3. Drain the bari on paper, then soak them in warm water for 10 minutes and squeeze gently.This soak is what makes bari spongy rather than chewy — do not skip it, and squeeze softly or they tear.
4. Whisk the sour yogurt with the remaining 50g besan, the rest of the turmeric, the chilli powder and 1.2 litres water until absolutely smooth.
5. Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil in a kadhai until it smokes, then lower the heat and crackle 1 tsp cumin seeds and the fenugreek seeds for 15 seconds.
6. Add the chopped onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies and fry 6-8 minutes until the onion turns golden.
7. Pour in the yogurt mixture and bring it to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly in one direction.Stir without stopping until it boils — the moment you walk away is the moment it curdles.
8. Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer uncovered 25 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the kadhi coats a spoon and the raw besan smell is gone.
9. Add salt and slip in the squeezed bari. Simmer another 8 minutes so they drink up the gravy.
10. In a small pan heat the remaining 1 tbsp mustard oil, crackle the mustard seeds, remaining cumin, nigella, broken red chillies and asafoetida for 20 seconds, and pour it over the kadhi.Pour the temper over at the table so the aroma survives to the plate.
11. Scatter with coriander leaves and serve with plain rice.

Storage

Keeps 3 days refrigerated and tastes better on day two. It thickens considerably — reheat over low heat with 100ml water, stirring, and never boil it hard on reheating.