Khichdi- Lentils Rice Caserrole
Khichdi is a golden yellow Indian rice recipe, a perfect example for quick sumptuous meal. Adding ghee or clarified butter adds to its aroma and taste. It is often served along with tomato chatni, egg omelets, methi kheema curry and papads and very popular in Deccan Hyderabad for all meals of the day! The Indian mango pickle or aam achaar is a great accompaniment too.
Author: Birjis Adeni Rashed
Cuisine: Indian
Recipe type: Main Course
Serves: 4
Prep time:
Total time:
Ingredients
- 4 c rice
- 1 c small yellow lentils( mung dal) or split red dal (masoor dal)
- 1 onion
- 1 t garlic paste
- 1 t ginger paste
- 1 cinnamon stick (dalchini chakla)
- 4 cardamom( elaichi )
- 4 cloves (laung)
- 1⁄2 t turmeric
- 1⁄2 c mint leaves (pudina)
- 3 jalapeno green peppers
- 4 T oil
- 1 1⁄2 t salt
Instructions
- Take a medium to large onion and make thin slices. Heat the oil and fry these sliced onions till light brown. Add to this the ginger-garlic paste and fry till you smell a pleasant cooking aroma.
- Next put in the garam masala that is cinnamon, cardamom and cloves for a great flavor. Most Hyderabadi food has this as an active ingredient. Now add the dal or lentils. Kichdi is cooked with either the moong dal/ yellow lentils or the masoor dal/ red lentils. Moong dal is said to be easy on the stomach in digestion, hence that is popular. But masoor dal is also cooked by many since it cooks faster than moong! After roasting the dal, spoon in the salt and turmeric followed by slit green peppers and mint leaves.
- The next step differs according to how you cook your rice.
- If you prefer the rice cooker for cooking rice: Add the rice to the other ingredients and sauté it till all flavors are mixed with rice. Next transfer all the contents to the rice cooker. Add the appropriate amount of water and let cook.
- If you prefer using pressure cooker or cooking in a pot: Add approximately six cups of water to the ingredients as the next step. When the water starts to boil, add the washed rice and cook till the rice is fluffy.
- Garnish with mint leaves and serve warm.
Notes
In Hyderabad, India, Kichdi is a favorite Friday afternoon meal. Friday is an auspicious day of the week among Muslims when they offer prayers at the mosque. Hence Friday is also considered a special day for good food. But many Hyderabadi’s love khichdi so much, they have it for breakfast everyday, especially in the month of Ramadan, they have it in seher- the meal eaten before sunrise.
Serving Size
Serving size: 4
