Gujarati kadhi, in its traditional form, is a beloved dish from western India that is both comforting and nourishing, often served alongside steamed rice or khichdi, and though sweetened versions are very popular in Gujarat, a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) approach avoids jaggery and other concentrated sweeteners, bringing the dish closer to its simplest, most wholesome roots. Historically, kadhi evolved as a thrifty, everyday preparation in Gujarati households, where buttermilk—often leftover after churning butter—was simmered with chickpea flour (besan) to create a tangy, soupy curry that stretched a small quantity of ingredients to feed many, embodying the frugality and resourcefulness of the region’s largely vegetarian communities. While many Gujarati families later adopted the addition of jaggery or sugar to balance the natural sourness of buttermilk, food historians point out that earlier versions were far less sweet, and instead relied on the tart complexity of fermented dairy to define their flavor. In a WFPB reinterpretation, plant-based yogurt made from soy, almond, or cashew, thinned with water and whisked with besan, provides the same silky base without dairy, while the tempering uses mustard seeds, cumin, green chilies, ginger, and curry leaves gently roasted in a splash of water or vegetable broth instead of oil, maintaining authenticity yet adhering to health-focused cooking principles. The result is a light, tangy, protein-rich dish, thickened naturally by chickpea flour, that pays homage to centuries of Gujarati food culture while staying true to whole-food, plant-based values. This oil-free, unsweetened kadhi highlights how traditional Indian recipes can be re-imagined without losing their cultural resonance, making it both a dish of history and a dish of the future, preserving the Gujarati love for balance in flavors while aligning with modern ideas of health and sustainability.

Ingredients
2 cups fresh yogurt
5 tbsp Bengal gram powder (besan, kadalai mavu)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (sabut jeers, jeeragam)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (sarson, kadugu)
2 pinches of asafoetida (hing, perunkayam)
1 sprig curry leaves
Unrefined salt to taste
1 tsp ginger green chilli paste
2 tbsp date paste
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves