Whip yogurt and gram flour in a bowl until smooth, set aside.
Heat oil in a large pot and fry garlic for few seconds then add chopped onions, ginger, and ingredient in the spice list. Give it a stir and let it sizzle for 1 minute.
Now add tomato slices and reduce heat. Cover the pot and cook for about 3-4 minutes until tomatoes are soft.
Now, add the whipped yogurt-gram flour paste and water. Cover the pot again and let kadhi simmers for 90 minutes or more on low heat, do not boil.The curry should be moderately thick at this stage. (It will thicken further after adding pakora.)
For Pakora
Mix all the ingredients of batter in the bowl and make a thick batter.
Heat oil thoroughly, then fry pakora on medium heat until crispy and golden.
For tempering of Kadhi
Heat oil and add cumin, coriander seeds, curry leaves, and red chilies. Fry until you see the red color of chilies have darkened and are about to burn.
Pour the tempering over the Kadhi. Add the Pokora 15 minutes before serving in the hot curry. Garnish with corriander andserve.
Notes
Instant pot and pressure cooker: You can also consider cooking curry in an instant pot or pressure cooker for the same taste with just 30 minutes of cooking.
Gram flour:- This is flour made from split chicken pea pulse. A similar flour called chickpea flour made from the chickpea can also be used.
Indian yogurt: Kadhi is made with Indian sour yogurt called ‘Dahi’. You can get it from the Indian store. If you wish to use plain packaged yogurt then add a little lemon to it to make it sour.
Curry leaves: If you can’t find it then use cilantro. The taste will slightly be compromised but still close to the real taste.