Bok choy, tomato kadi
Most of the people know kadhi as Punjabi kadhi. Though the kadhi base is made of yogurt, many variations of kadhi is made in different states. Some states make plain kadhi with besan and tampering. In some states, little jaggery is added to make it sweet, some regions make with sour yogurt, some regions add vegetables. Some areas add besan deep-fried fritters called pakora. Many types of veggies are used to make kadhi. Okra (bendi), drumsticks, tomatoes, kaddu (bottle gourd) etc. Besan is made of channa dal/ Bengal gram. It is used widely in many Indian dishes. It is vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free. Besan has an amazing ability to thicken the gravy and transforming to a smooth texture. No need for store-bought stock. By adding besan to yogurt, yogurt is thickened and transformed into a smooth texture. You can buy besan in any Indian grocery stores. Here is amazon link to buy besan. As always, I make every dish with all-natural, fresh, unprocessed ingredients.
In Southern version, tampering is added with mustard seeds, cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves and cilantro. It is called Majjige Huli in Kannada, Majjiga pulusu in Telugu and Mor kuzhambu in Tamil, in Kerala, it is called Kaalan. Bok choy can be eaten raw in salads, green smoothies, or vegetable juices, or cooked in stir-fries, soups, or other vegetable dishes.
For years I used to see bok choy in Local market wondering how to cook. One day I dared to ask a person buying it. He said they stir fry, add some fish sauce and then add meat to it. I bought it not sure of what and how to cook. I had homemade yogurt sitting in the fridge. For past few days, I and my family have not been consuming as much yogurt. It is not great to eat by itself at that point. Reminded me of kadhi dish. If I cook bok choy and yogurt so that my yogurt can be used and I get to try cooking bok choy. There it is another success recipe. Kadhi is an Indian dish made of buttermilk, besan (Bengal gram flour), spices, tampering and optionally veggies. Kadhi is eaten either with boiled rice or khichdi. A dish light in calories.
Bok choy is one of the most nutrient-dense foods in the world, and it is uniquely beneficial for its calcium availability – bok choy is lower in oxalate, a substance that binds up calcium and prevents it from being absorbed, than most other leafy greens. 54% of the calcium in bok choy can be absorbed by the human body – compare this to 5% in spinach, a high oxalate vegetable, and 32% in milk. We can much more readily absorb calcium from bok choy than from dairy products.
Bok choy provides abundant amounts of vitamins A, C, and K as well as folate and calcium. A recent study detected 28 different polyphenols – antioxidant phytochemicals – in bok choy. Some of these were more concentrated in the leaves, and some in the stems. The most abundant polyphenol these scientists found in bok choy was kaempferol, a molecule shown to have anti-cancer properties.
- 2 tbsp - Healthy oil of your choice.
- ⅛th tsp - cumin
- ⅛th tsp - black mustard seeds
- 3 clusters - bok choy.
- 1 - tomato
- ½ - medium-sized onion
- 2 cups - fresh buttermilk
- ½ cup - besan (split gram flour)
- 5 - chilies
- ⅛th tsp - turmeric powder
- 2 sprigs - curry leaves
- ¼ tsp - ginger garlic paste
- 3 spring - fresh cilantro
- Salt
- Slit green chilies. Cut onion into cubes. Cut ¼ inch of bok choy ends and discard.
- Separate leaves and thoroughly wash tips after cutting. Often the end of stalks is the place for mud.
- Place besan in a bowl. Mix till no lumps exist. Pour buttermilk, salt, and mix till no lumps
- Pour your choice of oil in a thick-bottomed pan. Heat on medium.
- Add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin. Let it fry for 20 seconds or till fried.
- Add curry leaves, ginger garlic paste. Then add turmeric powder. Curry leaves and ginger garlic paste tend to splutter a lot. That's why I put them first and when spluttering settles, I add turmeric powder. Otherwise, turmeric powder splutters around and the color is all over.
- Now add chilies, onion, tomato and bok choy. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add buttermilk and besan mix. Let it boil in medium high. Once boiled, turn off.
- Garnish with cilantro.
- Serve with rice or roti.
