Dec 31, 2017 May 23, 2022 by [Archana Potdar] · This post may contain affiliate links · 37 Comments

Bihari Bari-Kadhi/Badi-Kadhi Recipe

Bihari Bari-Kadhi /Badi-Kadhi Recipe is a delicious and yummy dish from Bihar that tastes best with steamed rice.

The bari or badi means fried soft dumplings made of besan/gram flour cooked in spicy gravy of yoghurt and besan called the kadhi.

Badi-Kadhi

As food in Bihar is seasonal, Bari-Kadhi is generally eaten in summer. The accompaniments along with rice are dry stir-fried vegetable along with chutney and pickles.

For December 2017, we are making recipes from Bihari cuisine for “Ssshhhh Secretly Cooking.” Sara of Sara’s Tasty Buds is my partner, who choose Besan and curd as my secret ingredients.

However, what is Bihari cuisine like?

The cuisine of Bihar is quite similar to North Indian cuisine but has an influence from other East Indian Cuisine (for example like Bengali cuisine).

Bihari cuisine is predominantly vegetarian because traditional Bihar society influenced by Buddhist and Hindu values of non-violence did not eat eggs, chicken, fish and other animal products. However, there is also a tradition of meat eating and fish dishes.

The food here is highly seasonal, and the Bihari thali changes every 3–4 months. The only constants are rice, roti, achar, chatni, dals and milk products with some variation.

Dairy products are consumed throughout the year, with common foods including yoghurt known as dahi and buttermilk are known as mattha, and lassi, butter and ghee.

Foods such as watermelon and Sherbet made of the pulp of the wood-apple fruit are eaten mainly in the summer months. Preparations made of sesame seeds, poppy seeds in the winter months.

People use both vegetable oil or mustard oil and jeera or panch foran (literally “five seeds”, namely saunf or fennel, rai or mustard, methi or fenugreek, ajwain or caraway seeds and mangraeel (Kalaunji) or onion seeds for “chhounkna”/”Tadka” (tempering) of some vegetables.

There is a lot of light frying, called bhoonjnaa, in Bihari food. One of the most remarkable things about this cuisine is “smoked food”. It refers to using smoked red chilli to infuse a strong aroma into the food. Used in preparing “chokhaa”, i.e. mashed brinjals/potatoes/tomatoes, either single or combined.

Some dishes which Bihar is famous for and I have tried are

Nutritious Sattu ka Paratha, an Indian Bread Stuffed With Roasted Gram
Ghugni & Dusaka~Indian State Bihar
Litti Chokha
Now add Badi or Bari Kadhi to the list.

The main ingredients for Bari Kadhi are besan or gram flour and yoghurt. You can check my post here for setting perfect curd or yoghurt at home.

Bari Kadhi is similar to Punjabi kadhi and Kadhigole in Maharashtra yet different.

Bihari Bari-Kadhi/Badi-Kadhi

Bihari Bari-Kadhi/Badi-Kadhi Recipe

Serves:6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Recipe Source: Here

Ingredients:

For the kadhi:

1 cup sour curd
1 tablespoon besan
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1tsp red chilli powder
1-2 slit green chillies
Salt to taste

For Badi or Bari:

1 cup besan
1 teaspoon ajwain/carom seeds
½ teaspoon Kalonji/onion seeds
1 teaspoon haldi/turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder (optional)
1 onion chopped
1 pinch cooking soda
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

For tempering:

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 red chilli broken into pieces
A few curry leaves
1 tablespoon oil

Method:

Making the Badi or Bari:

In a big bowl mix the besan, ajwain, kalonji, turmeric, red chilli powder if using, onion and the cooking soda with water to make a thick batter.
Set aside for 15 minutes.
Heat oil in deep kadhai/wok.
Drop a small test ball into the oil. If the ball rises to the surface of the oil gradually then you can add more balls of the dough. If it rises immediately your oil is too hot. Cool it else, your badi will not cook inside.
Drop small balls of the batter in the hot oil. I used my hands but you can use 2 teaspoons to do the job.(Add small balls as they will swell in the oil).
On medium flame fry until deep golden brown.
Drain and set aside on absorbent paper.

Making the kadhi:

Mix the curd, besan ginger-garlic paste, black pepper powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and 2 cups water. Add more water if you want a thinner kadhi.
Whisk so that there are no lumps.
In a deep pan heat oil add the jeera/cumin seeds to splutter.
Add the red chilli, curry leaves and the green chillies.
Add the kadhi mix stirring constantly.
simmer on low flame for 15 minutes.
Put the badi in the simmering kadhi.
Cover and cook for 5 more minutes.
Serve with rice.

Bihari Bari-Kadhi