Indian khichdi

Indian khichdi -

Khichdi is a very popular and easy dish from the Northern region of India. It is a very simple and hearty dish.

Ingredients:

For the khichdi:
100g red lentils
100g rice
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
salt to taste

For the tadka:
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
1 teaspoon crushed chillies
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped coriander

Method:

Wash the lentils and rice in several changes of water. Place the lentils and rice in 500ml water in a large saucepan. Add 2 teaspoons of turmeric and salt to taste. Bring it to a boil and then simmer with a cover for about 30 minutes with occasional stirring. Cook until you see that the lentils and rice are almost coarsely blended together.
Remove the pan from the heat and your khichdi is ready.
Now its time to prepare your tadka. Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Now lower the heat and then add the whole cumin, crushed chillies and chopped garlic until they are brown until cumin starts to splutter. Now add the chopped onions and sauté until golden brown. The tadka is now ready to be mixed to the khichdi.
Just pour all the tadka in the khichdi and mix well. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander when serving.

Tip:
There are a few variations of khichdi. You can cook khichdi with any lentils available in the Indian grocery store i.e., moong daal, masoor daal, or toor daal. You can also add vegetables to your khichdi. The most commonly added vegetables are peas and cauliflower. They are added at the same time as the lentils.
Khichdi is a very healthy and nutritious food. It is also often cooked for someone who is recovering from a mild illness because it is a complete meal with the equal proportions of carbohydrate and protein. It is easy to swallow and it provides energy. You can make it tastier by adding ghee to the tadka. But in my opinion, ghee makes the food fattening. I much prefer cooking in sunflower oil or olive oil.

Other ideas:

The main accompaniments for khichdi are: roasted poppadums, fried potatoes or aubergine puree.