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1
Combine the sour yoghurt and 60 g besan in a large bowl and whisk together thoroughly while both are cold until no lumps remain, then whisk in the 750 ml water, turmeric, and salt — cold ingredients resist lumping far better than warm ones, giving you a smooth slurry that will not clot when it hits the heat. The mixture should be uniformly pale gold and completely smooth; run a finger around the whisk and no grit should remain.
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2
Pour the yoghurt-besan mixture into a heavy pot and set over a medium flame, stirring constantly as it comes to a simmer, because if you walk away at this stage the yoghurt will seize and curdle into ragged threads rather than a silky broth. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for a minimum of 20 minutes, stirring frequently — this is where the dish lives or dies: under-simmering leaves a raw, grassy besan flavour and a thin broth, and the kadhi is ready only when that smell has cooked entirely away and the broth coats the back of a spoon.
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3
While the kadhi simmers, make the pakora batter by combining 120 g besan, salt, and turmeric in a bowl, then add the water gradually, stirring, so you can arrest it at exactly the right thickness — too loose and the batter slides off the onion; too stiff and the fritters turn dense rather than light. Fold in the onion slices once the batter holds its shape on the back of the spoon.
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4
Heat the neutral oil in a deep vessel to approximately 170 °C — a small drop of batter should rise to the surface within two seconds, sizzling steadily — and fry spoonfuls of the onion batter in batches, turning once, until pale golden and just set. Remove and drain; the pakoras must be slightly underdone at this stage so they can finish in the broth without turning to mush.
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5
Lower the pakoras into the simmering kadhi and allow them to cook in the broth for 5 to 8 minutes, so they swell gently and drink in the turmeric-soured broth all the way through rather than remaining raw-tasting at the centre. They are ready when they have swollen slightly and absorbed the broth at their surface — press one gently with a spoon and it should yield without disintegrating.
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6
Immediately before serving, heat the ghee in a small pan over a high flame until it shimmers, add the mustard seeds, and let them pop and crackle fully for about 30 seconds so every seed has burst open and released its nutty sharpness rather than sitting raw and bitter in the finished dish. Add the dried red chillies, curry leaves, and hing — the mixture will spit and hiss — then pour the tadka immediately over the kadhi and stir once, as the aromatic depth of hing and curry leaf fades within minutes; serve at once alongside the basmati rice, sliced green chillies, sliced onion, and achaar.