Ingredients and Method to make Mixed vegetable khichdi
1 1/4 cup brown basmati rice (or white rice, see notes)
3/4 cup split red lentils (masoor dhal/ mysore parappu)
3 small bay leaves or 1 large bay leaf
1 medium sized onion cut fine (pyaaz/ vengayam) (Optional)
1
1/2 to 2 cups of mixed vegetables (cut into 1/2 inch pieces) ( I used a
combination of cauliflower, carrots and peas but any seasonal
vegetables like beans, carrots, potatoes, peas and bell pepper/ capsicum
can be used)
1 Tbsb Clarified butter (ghee/nei)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp asafoetida (hing/ perungayam)
1/8 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/ manjal podi)
salt to taste (namak/ uppu)
1/2 tsp chilli powder or according to taste
handful of cilantro/coriander leaves(hara dhania/kothamalli) cut fine(optional)
Mix brown basmati and whole red lentils,add water to it, swirl a couple of times and drain the water. Repeat this process a few times until the water runs clear.
Add 4 cups of water to this mixture, allow to soak for about 30 minutes. Add bay leaves, place in the pressure cooker and cook until soft. (This takes about 4 whistles in my pressure cooker) Alternatively you can place
the rice and lentils in a large pan with the bay leaves and sufficient
water to cook the rice and lentils and simmer on medium heat until the
rice and lentils are cooked and slightly mushy.
Remove the bay leaves and discard.Keep the cooked rice and lentils aside.
Heat
ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and add cumin seeds to it. When the seeds
start crackling, add asafoetida, turmeric powder and quickly saute for a
second.
Add cut onions (if using) and saute until the onions turn translucent
Add vegetables and sprinkle a little water, a pinch of salt and cook until the vegetables are soft but not mushy.
Add
the cooked rice and lentils to it, add chilli powder, salt to taste and
mix well. Let it heat on low all the way through for a few minutes.
Serves approximately 3-4
Notes
If
you would like to make this with white rice, ideally white rice like
sona masuri is a good choice for this dish. To cook sona masuri usually a
proportion of 1 cup rice to 3 cups water is used, so for this quantity
of rice and lentils you would need about 4 and 1/2 cups of water.
The ghee and the bay leaf mainly do lend a lot of flavor to this dish, so if these are not used it can make quite a bit of difference to the taste.
If
you want to spice up this khichdi you could cut 3 to 4 green chillies
(small Indian or thai variety) or according to taste and add it
immediately after you add the cumin seeds to the ghee, saute for a
minute and proceed with the rest of the recipe
