Kadhi (Yogurt-Based Sauce)

• 2 cups yogurt (or sour cream, if preferred)
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour
• 7 cups water
• 4 small, fresh hot green chilies, each about 2 inches long
• 1 1-inch cube of peeled fresh ginger
• 1 small red ripe tomato, about 1/4 pound
• 1 tablespoon salt, if desired
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 18 curry leaves, rinsed and patted dry, preferably fresh (or use double the amount dried)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 12 whole cloves
• 1 1-inch stick cinnamon broken into small pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon dried cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried black mustard seeds
• 4 small dried hot red peppers
• 1/4 teaspoon asafetida
• Juice of half a lime
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander leaves

1. Leave yogurt or sour cream outside refrigerator overnight so it will sour more.
2. Put flour in bowl and add yogurt or sour cream.
3. Stir while adding 5 cups of water.
4. Cut chilies in half lengthwise.
5. Cut each length in half crosswise and add to mixture of yogurt or sour cream.
6. Cut (do not grind) ginger cube into very small pieces.
7. Add this.
8. Cut away and discard tomato core.
9. Cut tomato into 1/4-inch cubes.
10. There should be about 1/2 cup.
11. Add this.
12. Add salt, sugar and curry leaves.
13. Heat butter in small saucepan and add cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, hot dried peppers and asafetida.
14. Cook briefly, stirring, and add about 1/4 cup of sour cream or yogurt mixture.
15. Combine this with remaining yogurt or sour cream mixture in a kettle and bring to boil.
16. Add remaining 2 cups water to saucepan in which spices cooked.
17. Stir this around and add it to kettle.
18. Bring to boil, stirring.
19. Add lime juice.
20. Cook, stirring, about 15 minutes.
21. Stir in coriander leaves.
22. Serve over cooked rice (do not cook the rice in a meat broth if the meal is to be vegetarian).

yogurt, chickpea flour, water, fresh hot green chilies, fresh ginger, red ripe tomato, salt, sugar, curry, unsalted butter, cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds, hot red peppers, asafetida, lime, fresh coriander leaves

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/2390 (may not work)