Sometimes all you need is a bowl of simple, home-cooked food. When I think of such a satisfying comfort meal, a lightly seasoned khichdi is the first thing that comes to my mind.
A wholesome, nutritious khichdi is an easy-to-digest, vegetarian one pot meal prepared with different varieties of lentils and rice cooked in its own unique style in every Indian household. This creamy bowl of Indian style risotto is seasoned with various spices. The flavors of this comforting meal with ghee and served with yogurt raita, papad, pickle and chutney are so soothing that they’ll warm your heart after a long day!
This creamy bowl of Indian style risotto is seasoned with various spices. The flavors of this comforting meal with ghee and served with raita, papad, pickle and chutney are so soothing that they’ll warm your heart after a long day!
- 1/2 cup rice , washed and soaked for 1-2 hours
- 1/4 cup yellow moong dal (petite split yellow lentils) , washed and soaked for 1-2 hours
- 1/4 cup split green moong dal (split green gram lentils) , washed and soaked for 1-2 hours
- 1 carrots ,chopped
- 1 zucchini , chopped
- 1/4 cup peas
- 1 small shallots (onions) , chopped
- 1 small tomatoes , chopped
- 2 tsp green chili ginger garlic paste
- 2 tsp ghee
- 1 bay leaves
- 1 inch cinnamon sticks
- 2 cloves
- 1 green cardamoms
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- salt , to taste
- 2 cups water , more as needed
- 2 tbsp cilantro , chopped
- 1 cucumber , chopped
- 8-10 cherry tomatoes , chopped
- 1 shallots (onions) , chopped
- 1 green chilies , chopped
- 3 tbsp peanuts , roughly crushed
- 1 tsp chaat masala
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp honey
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- salt , to taste
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Turn on saute mode in the Instant Pot and add in ghee, bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, and cumin seeds. Sauté for 1 minute and add in your onions and green chili-ginger-garlic paste. Sauté for 2 mins until fragrant.
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Add in your tomatoes and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Then, add in your carrot, peas, zucchini, drained rice, and drained lentils. Gently mix them together. Add in salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and water.
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Put the lid on and pressure cook for 5 minutes on high in manual mode and then quick release after 5 minutes.
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Open the Instant Pot and if needed, adjust the consistency by adding some more water and cooking on saute mode. Adjust the seasonings according to your taste.
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Serve with Kachumber salad, yogurt, and pickles! Enjoy!
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All the instructions are the same as above, except step 3. In that step add an additional ½ cup of water and then pressure cook for 1 whistle on high flame and 1 whistle on medium flame.
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To make the Kuchumber salad, mix the ingredients together and set aside.
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I’m not a huge fan of khichdi, but this one sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try it out. It’s so nice that the recipe is easy, and the pictures look amazing. I’ll be sure to bookmark this post and make some soon.