Yogurt & turmeric soup with curry leaves & egg
(Sindhi karri )
Known as ‘karri’ in Sindh, this uses a lovely yogurt and turmeric mixture tempered with infused oil. Using yogurt that’s a few days old works well. Chickpea dumplings and veg are often added, and some families include boiled eggs. My mother would sometimes add boiled eggs that were lightly fried.
SERVES 6!8 PREP 20 mins COOK 30 mins EASY V
340g full-fat natural yogurt
½ tsp chilli powder
1 heaped tsp ground turmeric ½ heaped tsp each grated
ginger and garlic
1 heaped tbsp semolina
1 heaped tbsp gram (chickpea) #lour 50ml sun#lower oil
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
50g frozen peas
100g carrots, cut into batons
1 Maris Piper potato, cut into batons 3 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled, halved and fried in oil until golden (optional)
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
For the bhagar
50ml sun#lower oil
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced 1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 long dried red chillies 5!6 fresh curry leaves
1 Put the yogurt in a large bowl with 1 litre cool water. Whisk to combine – this creates a thin ‘lassi’. Season with salt to taste, then add the chilli powder, turmeric, ginger, garlic, semolina and flour, and whisk to combine. Strain the mix through a sieve to remove any lumps.
2 Heat the sunflower oil in a pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the fenugreek seeds and toast briefly until sizzling. When the oil is fragrant, remove the seeds with a slotted spoon – otherwise, the dish will be bitter.
3 Reduce the heat to very low. Pour the strained yogurt mix into the oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
4 Turn the heat up to medium-low and cook for 25-30 mins until a bit thickened – it won’t get very thick, as it can be eaten like a soup, but will thicken more if refrigerated overnight. Meanwhile, cook the veg in a pan of boiling water for 10 mins, or until tender. When the veg is tender, the karri is ready to ‘bhagar’, or temper. Add the veg and eggs, if using, and heat through.
5 For the bhagar, heat the sunflower oil in a small pan over a medium heat, and fry the sliced garlic for 30 seconds, or until golden. Add the mustard and cumin seeds, the chillies and curry leaves. Quickly and carefully pour this over the karri, then cover the pan with a lid for a few minutes. Garnish with the coriander, then serve as a soup or with some rice.
GOOD TO KNOW healthy
PER SERVING (8) 237 kcals • fat 18g • saturates 3g • carbs 11g • sugars 5g • #ibre 2g • protein 7g • salt 0.2g
Known as ‘karri’ in Sindh, this uses a lovely yogurt and turmeric mixture