Arhar Dal Ki Khichdi

Khichdi is an easy to digest and quick to make healthy Indian food. Basically it is a rice dish made of rice, dal with or without vegetables and meat but there are as many recipes for khichdi as there are households all over India. It can be spicy or rich or plain bland dish, made with a single lentil or combinations of 2-5 lentils.

I take rice and arhar dal in equal proportion and cook it more like a ‘pulao’ so that rice and dal grains can be seen separately.

Pour lot of sizzling ghee over the khichdi if you really want to enjoy it more.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup Arhar dal/ Toor dal/ Pigeon pea
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 bay leaf
• Pinch of asafetida
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2-3 green chilies
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
• Butter or ghee to garnish
• 2 tbsp crispy brown fried onion
• Butter or Ghee to pour over khichdi
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Soak the rice and arhar dal in water for at least one hour.
• Heat 2 tbsp of ghee in a pressure cooker, on medium flame.
• Stir in bay leaf, asafetida and cumin seeds. Fry till cumin seeds stop spluttering. Add chopped onion and fry till onion is brown. Add rice, arhar dal, red chili powder, garam masala, salt, turmeric powder and green chilies. Stir and add 3 ½ cups of water (remember rice and dal are pre soaked). Place lid and pressure-cook it up to two whistles (pressure release).
• Remove from heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves, crispy brown fried onions and lots of butter or ghee.
• Serve hot with chutney, raita, pickle, and salad

Do You Know?

Kedgeree, often thought to be an Indian dish, is made up of flaked fish, boiled rice, eggs and butter. According to some highly disputed sources, the dish originated from Scotland and was taken to India by Scottish troops during the British Raj, where it was adapted and adopted as part of Indian cuisine.

It is said that Indian khichdi is a modified form of the Anglo Indian Kedgeree.