Khichdi
Posted by 365DaysVeg on January 8, 2008
Comfort Food ~ Khichdi
When I think of comfort food, nothing but Khichdi that comes to my mind. Growing up my Mom would make khichdi in a variety of ways including mung dal, toor dal, masoor dal and more. This dish is very easy to prepare and your imagination is the limit to prepare this dish. Any kind of vegetables you may like could be added or it could be made with just plain rice and dal. It is also a no fuss dish with just very simple flavors and without the complexity of too many spices. It is also a one pot, okay, not a one pot, but one pressure cooker meal; all the vegetables, rice and dal go into one pressure cooker and you are all set. Today I have tried to use a variety of vegetables including some unusual ingredients; the net outcome was still the same soothing and satisfying meal with every spoonful.
Recipe: (Makes for 4 people)
2 cups brown rice (or white rice)
1 cup toor dal
1 carrot diced
1/2 bell pepper chopped
1 small bunch of swiss chard chopped
< 1/4 cup corn
< 1/4 cup peas
< 1/4 cup string beans cut
1 tbsp Ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds or jeera
1 green chili pepper slit length-wise
1 tsp red chilli powder or per taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste
Vegetables for khichdi
Soak the rice with double the amount of water for at least 30 minutes. Soak the toor dal also is possible with twice the amount of water. In a pressure cooker, heat ghee and add jeera. Then add the green chili, carrots and string beans saute for a few seconds. Then add the rice excluding the water and mix well with the vegetables so that ghee can coat every grain of rice. Now add the toor dal and water. Add the turmeric, chilli powder, salt, black pepper and mix. Cover the cooker with the lid and let the pressure come out at least 5 - 6 times before you turn off the flame. You can open the pressure cooker after about 10 minutes or when the pressure is completely calmed and no hissing sound is heard. Add the bell pepper, corn, peas, swiss chard now and mix well as these vegetables can cook through easily from the heat of the mixture. I also prefer the bell pepper to be a bit crunchy so I add it in the end. If you are using fresh corn or peas, add it along with the carrots in the beginning.
Top it off with a small dollop of ghee and your hot khichdi is ready to be enjoyed and you won’t even notice that it is made with brown rice.
Khichdi with a drizzle of ghee
July 2, 2008 at 7:16 am
Nice recipe. Could you please post the amount of water you used to cook 2 cups of brown rice and 1 cup of toor dal? I have problem trying to come up with the amt of water I need for brown rice. Thanks.
July 2, 2008 at 8:11 am
Hi,
Thanks for your wonderful comments. You will need water a little more than twice the amount of rice + dal together for khichdi.I hope this helps. Let me know how it turns out. Saute’ing in ghee is important to get the aroma & flavor. You do not have to add too much though. If needed, you can add a mix of ghee + oil.
July 3, 2008 at 4:59 am
Thanks; I will try this and let you know how it turns out. I usually prefer whole green moong dal for khichdis but I will try it with toor dal this time! Many thanks again.
July 3, 2008 at 5:01 am
Another quick question, what is the best way to cook brown rice if I were to just use it as is? How much water would I need for a cup of rice?
I have found that pressure cooking Bwn rice takes more time than the regular kind. Please let me know. Thanks.