Hindi Movie Khichdi

[Cre Moonin]

KhichdiRecipe made with rice, moong dal & spices is a simple, healthy and hearty Indian meal. This delicious dal khichdi is protein-packed, super comforting and flavorful that you are going to love it. Made under 30 minutes, it is an easy one pot dish and needs only pantry staples. Moong dal Khichdi can be made in a regular pot, electric rice cooker or any kind of pressure cooker, be it a stove top cooker or an instant pot. This post covers all the details.

Every nation has its own comfort food, loved by a larger population either for the health benefits or for the ease of making. Khichdi is the most popular comfort food for Indians. Mostly because it is vegetarian, filling, inexpensive & more importantly provides all the essential nutrients in one meal.

Khichdi is a healthy Indian dish made with rice and moong lentils. Various other ingredients like ghee (clarified butter), cumin seeds, ginger and asafoetida are optionally used depending on the preferences.

As such khichdi is not native to any regional cuisine and is made in so many different ways. The simplest way to make dal khichdi is to just cook rice & mung dal with salt to a mushy texture. Then top with ghee and serve hot. But that sounds rather too bland.

The recipe shared here is a generic one that is suitable to everyone. Based on your preferences, you can easily plus or minus the recipe ingredients following my tips section below. I make it often for our lunch or dinner. We serve it with Lassi and pickle.

1. We usually dry roast dal on a low to medium flame until lightly golden. Cool and store it in a jar. Whenever needed rinse the dal and use. This helps to make the khichdi more aromatic. This is an optional step which you can follow if you have enough time.

11. Pour 4 cups water. For porridge like consistency, add 4 cups. I used 4 cups. If you want just a mushy texture then add 3 cups. Mix well and taste the water. It has to be slightly salty. If needed add more. Give a good stir so any food stuck at the bottom releases.

13. Wait for the pressure to release naturally. Open the lid and stir well. Taste test and add more salt if needed. If you like more soupy consistency, boil half cup water in a separate pot and pour it here. Mix it well & simmer just until bubbling.

But if you are eating khichdi following an ayurvedic diet, then do not serve it with yogurt as lentils and yogurt are an incompatible combination. This combination is best avoided by people recovering from sickness.

To cook lentils in a pot or pan, rinse and soak the lentils in hot water for at least 30 to 40 minutes. This saves some time and energy as the soaked lentils cook faster. You can soak rice and lentils together. Later drain the water.

I make khichdi in instant pot for the whole family as mentioned below in the recipe card. Sometimes only one or 2 of us want to have it, then I make it following the pot in pot method. This way the large pot need not be cleaned.

For this method, I rinse the rice and dal in a small pot that fits into the IP. I do the tempering in a small pan and then transfer the ingredients to a pot. Add the vegetable like carrots, peas and beans directly to the pot. Pour water and pressure cook for 8 minutes.

Ghee also known as clarified butter, is one of the key ingredients in a khichdi. It is said that ghee helps in digestion and enhances ojas, meaning life energy. It is said to be healing and balances body and mind equally. So khichdi is always made with ghee. However if you are under a diet then simply use any vegetable oil of your choice.

Moong dal is the standard lentil used to make khichdi. These are split and skinned yellow lentils made from whole green mung beans. As I said earlier these are great for balancing any disturbances in the body. However you can also make this with any kind of lentils like split pigeon peas (toor dal), masoor dal (red lentils) or even with soaked whole mung beans.

Hing is known as asafoetida in English. It is considered as a powerful spice used to clear up stagnation, bloating and toxins in the body. So it is used in khichdi as it aids digestion. If you are on a gluten-free diet, then look for gluten-free hing or skip it completely. Use only as mentioned. It is a stimulant so do not use a lot.

Rice is the most common grain used to make dal khichdi. But we also make it with other grains like millets, quinoa, oats, broken wheat and even with semolina. For healthy option, refined or polished rice is not used. So you can also use brown rice, hand pound rice or any other less processed kind of rice.

Spinach: You can also add spinach to dal khichdi. I do not prefer to overcook my greens so I saute fine chopped spinach separately in a pan until they wilt completely. Add them to the hot khichdi. Cook only for a few minutes until the leaves blend well.

Hello Adrienne,

If you have a instant pot, cook it on 9 mins porridge mode or 8 mins pressure cook mode. I have the instructions for IP in the recipe card at the end of the post. Hope you enjoy the dish

Namaskar Colton,

It should be 10 cups water. Did the lentils and rice cook well? If so you could just cook it on a saute mode for a few mins to evaporate the excess liquid. It also becomes thick after cooling down. Hope this helps

I was curious about roasting the dal. I understood you preheat a pan to hot, turn off heat, add moong dal, and leave on pan until you feel the heat coming through the dal which should be less than 2 minutes (otherwise it will burn). Does that sound about right?

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6. Now, we will start preparing the Kale Khichdi. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker base. Add in the mustard, and allow it to sputter. Then, add in the carom seeds, the cumin and the asafoetida. Let them stay in for a couple of seconds.

17. Now, close the pressure cooker and put the whistle on. Turn the flame up to high. Allow 4 whistles on high flame. Let the pressure release naturally. Once the pressure has gone down completely, your Kale Khichdi is ready. Mix it up well and serve hot with raita of your choice, plain curd, papad and/or pickle. Drizzle a little ghee over the khichdi while serving (if using).

5. The above method yields a well-cooked, soft khichdi that is just perfect for us. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of water you use or the number of whistles you allow, depending upon the consistency you require.

Wow! this is an interesting way to add kale to our food! In a khichdi no one will know what I am adding ;D . I never use ajwain seeds but that will lend a delicious flavour. Cannot wait to get to the supermarket to buy some kale. Thanks for the shout and yes the Jambalaya was amazing.

Loved this super healthy and delicious kale khichdi. I would love to have it with a dollop of ghee and begun bhaja. A great idea to add greens in our regular food. No one can say no to this yummy one pot meal.

I think the most interesting parts about khichdi can get overlooked, like its rich history and regional variations, from simple versions like this one to more elaborate versions served at celebrations or back in the day, to emperors and kings. The way I like it is fairly straightforward, with white basmati rice, mung dal, spices, and veggies.

A good risotto must include butter and cheese, for me khichdi is like an Indian risotto where ghee is what makes it so comforting and delicious. It gives a lovely smoky flavour the dish as well. Use oil for cooking if you prefer but finish the dish with a little ghee at the end.

Add the mashed dal and rice and season the khichdi. Stir, add water and simmer on a low heat for 2 minutes. Turn the heat off, garnish with coriander and rest for a few minutes. Serve warm with crispy papad, mango pickle or yoghurt.

In Tandoori Home Cooking, Maunika Gowardhan, bestselling author of Thali, takes you on a tour to share an explosion of tandoori flavours, spices, recipes and culinary heritage found across the streets and restaurants of India, with dishes that can be made in conventional ovens and grills in your home all year round.

Having a pot of khichdi on hand provides something like ready-to-eat convenience food without the side effects of ready-to-eat convenience food, such as throwaway plastic packaging encasing nutritionally bereft substances.

Golveda ko achaar (tomato sauce) tastes delicious on the side of this one-pot meal as do chopped fermented hot peppers and preserved lemons. Like a pot of khichdi, after you have prepared a jar of fermented food, you can conveniently pull it out of the refrigerator at mealtime to enjoy.

When I want a quick, comforting meal with no fuss, I turn to this barley khichdi. A traditional Indian khichdi is made with rice, moong dal (yellow mung beans) and turmeric and is cooked to a risotto like consistency. I use barley instead of the rice to create a curried Indian barley khichdi. This vegetarian barley khichdi is tasty, easy to make and will please the whole family! Plus, you can easily cut out the ghee and use oil instead to make this khichdi vegan.

Add a handful of frozen mixed vegetables or a little cubed carrot and some peas if you wish. Also use less dal, according to your preference. This is a very forgiving recipe. If you have a pressure cooker, feel free to cook this in a pressure cooker.

These pictures are real treat to eyes! Never tried barley khichdi although we do make a similar version with Pearl millet(Bajraa) and whole wheat. It does take a lot of time even in pressure cooker. Will try this recipe soon! Thanks for sharing.

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