Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Gujarati Khichdi ~ Simply seasoned rice and lentil dish

Khichdi (pronounced as Khitch- dee) is a simple,wholesome and nutritious combination of lentils and rice that can only be described as comfort food. There are many variations of khichdi that are made in various regions of India. This version is from Gujarat, a state in the western region of India.  A classic combination with this khichdi is Gujarati kadhi

I first tasted this dish a few years back when my sister in law in Bombay made this for me. I loved it and asked her for her recipe.When she shared her recipe I was rather surprised that it was so simple and needed so little garnish and yet tasted delicious.This dish now features regularly in my menu and I make it,  at the very least,  at least once a month.

Gujarati Khichdi ~ Simply seasoned rice and lentil dish

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and method to make the Khichdi

1 1/4 cup brown basmati (or white rice, see notes below) (chawal/ arisi)
3/4 cup split green mung bean with skin (mung dhal/payatham parappu)
4 cups of water

3-4 tsp clarified butter (ghee/nei)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam)
1/8 tsp of asafoetida (hing/ perumgayam)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/ manjal podi) (optional)
salt to taste (namak/uppu)

Wash the rice and lentils together and drain. Add four cups of water to the lentils and rice and pressure cook it until soft

If using the stove top simmer both the rice and lentil in sufficient water until soft and mushy.

Heat the clarified butter and add the cumin seeds to this. When it splutters, add the asafoetida and turmeric powder if using, then quickly add the rice and lentil mixture to this.

Add salt to taste and mix well. It is fine if in the process the rice and lentils get crushed slightly since for this dish does not require the rice and lentils to be separate.

A classic combination with khichdi is this Gujarati kadhi, but it can also be served with any kind of  curry, mixed vegetable sambar  and papads/ chips if you want :)

Notes:
You can use white rice too for this dish. Ideally short grain rice like sona masuri work well in this dish. For sona masuri in this dish, I usually use for 1 cup of rice about 3 cups of water. So for this proportion of rice and lentils, you would need about 4 and 1/2 cups of water, pressure cooked until soft. Proceed with the rest of the recipe in the same manner.

This khichdi tastes best hot or warm and does not taste as good when cold so be sure to serve it hot.

Related Recipes
Cilantro Mixed Vegetable Rice

38 comments :

anudivya said...

Nice! It has been a few years since I switched to brown rice from white and it is supposedly very healthy too, so this one is right up my alley.
Sometimes the "thayir sadam" does'nt look very good like when made with white rice, but hey! it is healthy right? So I try not to complain :)

Laavanya said...

That's very healthy & simple.

NKP said...

This is a perfect dish for my daughter. She eats mostly vegetarian and loves lentils and legumes. I would like to try the brown basmati rice, I have only had white.
Good staple dish, I can imagine that it would be great with a chutney.

Unknown said...

never tried brown rice yaar..have to..khichdi looks yummy..healthy as well!!

Cham said...

I love pulav also with brown rice :) Very healthy Kichdi

Dershana said...

Very like Pongal, don't you think?

Sounds equally yummy.

A little gift for you at my blog, my dear.

ST said...

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi dear..
Khichidi looks delicious and healthy.Never tried brown rice.Will try now....

Ivy said...

In Cyprus we cook lentils with rice but with different ingredients, but still delicious and a very healthy dish. This sounds very delicious. Will have to try it with brown rice.

Unknown said...

Happy Ganesh Chaturdhi to you & your family. Recently we switched to eating a mixture of white & brown rice. This looks lovely!

Deepa Kuber said...

happy Ganesh chaturti to u n ur family.. lovely recipe.. will try sometime..i always use gram flour or rice flour, but never APF.. somehow i avoid using it, no reasons :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Usha,

Nice to hear from you again; how've you been?

Pajeon is one of those convenient dishes for a stressful day-quick but filling; kinda like a simple Dosa or a pancake. Give it a try!

Your cauliflower, peas & potato curry looks fabulous; I am making that right this week! :)

Unknown said...

I love pulav also with brown rice :) Very healthy Kichdi... Happy GAnesh chathurthi ///

Purva Desai said...

I ve never liked brown rice, but seeing this khichdi I feel I will convert myself and start eating brown rice

Anonymous said...

Very healthy recipe...luks gud. Kichdi with brown rice is different..its great. Thnx for sharing a healthy recipe...Will try and let u know.

aTxVegn said...

Such a simply delicious recipe. I love that you can make it in the pressure cooker.

anudivya said...

Happy Ganesh chaturthi! Eppadi pochu?

Paru ... said...

I have never cooked with brown rice..Need to try this khichdi..Looks yumm Usha..

Sukanya Yogesh said...

Simply brilliant, very healthy and nutritious

Archy said...

Wow, Khichidi with brown rice.. sounds healthy and yum !! Thanks for sharing !!

Usha said...

Hey Divya,Thanks for dropping by...I have switched to brown rice for the last couple of years myself..luckily for me I am not too much into thayir chadam *gasp*so it does not matter to me brown or white ...

Usha said...

Thanks Laavanya :)


Yes Natashya this does taste yummy with chutney especially cilantro chutney :)

Usha said...

Thanks Sowmya,you should try brown rice...it works very well for khichdi and bisibelebath etc :)

Usha said...

Thanks for visiting Cham :)

Yes Dershana,quite similar to pongal,
will check out your blog soon :)

Thanks Sireesha,same to you...

Usha said...

Thanks Ivy, do try it, it is really delicious :)

Usha said...

Thanks Shillu, same to you too :)


Thanks Anjali same to you too...I too am avoiding the use of AP flour since I read that it is extremely unhealthy...

Usha said...

Hey Anu,I have been fine,thanks for asking...it's been sometime since we connected...will give your pajeon a try soon...hope you enjoy the cauliflower curry as much as we did:)

Usha said...

Thanks Sripriya,same to you :)


Hey Purva I find that brown rice works especially well for dishes like khichdi and bisibelebath and mixed rice varieties :)

Usha said...

Thanks Lothi ...



Thanks ATxVegn...I really do love the simplicity of this dish too :)

Usha said...

Hey Divya, thanks same to you.Pandigai nala irundadhu...kozhukattai neivediyam pannirdhen :)

Usha said...

Thanks Purva :)

Usha said...

Thanks Sukanya :)

Usha said...

Thanks for visiting Archy,hope to see you here again :)

Lore said...

I can't believe what I've been missing! I love both rice and lentils but I've never paired them in the same dish. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, it's now going to my bookmarks :D

Rajani said...

oh very nice, and different looking khichdi. will def. try it!! good idea for my kiddo!

Unknown said...

This rice recipe sounds great Usha, love to try out varities.

Anonymous said...

How many whistles does it take in the pressure cooker ?

Usha said...

Thanks Lore do try it...I am sure you will like it :)


Thanks for visiting Rajani :)


Thanks Pearls of east :)

Usha said...

Thanks for visiting Jyoti, it takes about 3 to 4 whistles in the pressure cooker when using brown rice, for white rice it may be a bit faster...

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