Mixed vegetable moong dal khichdi

Khichdi is a dish made from rice and lentils and can be flavoured with many different spices and ingredients. It is considered one of the comfort foods in India as it is well balanced, nutritious and contains everything you need to keep you going. Khichdi is also considered one of the dishes to give to people who are feeling under the weather and one of the first dishes you give to babies! 

The basic khichdi recipe contains moong dal, white rice, salt and ghee. For this recipe, I swapped the white rice for brown to increase the amount of whole grains in this recipe. I also added some pre-chopped frozen veggies to increase the vitamin intake as well. I kept it simple with minimal spices and finished of with a tadka of ghee, mustard seeds and dried red chillies. I didn't add any ginger or garlic in this recipe as it didn't want the flavour of those two ingredients to overpower the dish - as can sometimes be the case if you're not careful. If you are vegan, then simply use oil instead of ghee for the tadka.

I made this khichdi in my pressure cooker (like it would be made in every Indian home). I love my pressure cooker because it allows me to create the easy one pot meals which really flavourful! If you don't have a pressure cooker, then don't worry. I have included underneath how to make it in a pan. The only thing is that it will take longer to cook. This recipe takes around 25-30 minutes with a pressure cooker, but probably close to 45 minutes in a pan.

Lets make moong dal khichdi! This recipe serves 4. 

Ingredients: 
3/4 cup moong dal 
3/4 cup brown rice 
3 cups water (or as required)
1 red or white onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 green chilli, slit
Handful of chopped mixed frozen veggies (carrots, beans or peas work great). Alternatively you can use freshly chopped veggies. 
Small handful washed and chopped spinach leaves
Coriander to garnish
Oil as required
Salt to taste 

You'll need these spices: 
1 tsp cumin seeds 
1/2 tsp tumeric 
1/2 kashmiri red chilli powder 
1/4 tsp coriander powder

For the temper/tadka: 
1/2 tbsp ghee 
1 tsp mustard seeds 
2 dried red chillies, broken into pieces

Method: 

• In pressure cooker, add a good glug oil and let the cumin seeds sizzle.
  
  
• Next, add the onion and slit green chilli and sauté until translucent. Add the tomato and cook until mushy. 
  
  
• Once the tomato is mushy, add the remaining spices (coriander, turmeric and chilli powder). Mix well to ensure that the spices don't burn. 
  
  
• Next, add the frozen veggies and mix well. It will stop sizzling a bit as the veggies are cold, but this is not an issue. Sauté for around 5 minutes. 
  
  
• Add the rice and lentils. Mix well and then top up with just over double the amount of water to rice and lentils (in this case around 3 cups)
  
  
• Mix and seal the pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles until the lentils, rice and veggies are soft. Let the pressure release naturally and then check the consistency of the khichdi. You may need to add some more water according to your preference. I like my khichdi to be slightly soupy, so I topped up with another 1/2 - 3/4 cup water.
  
  
• Next add salt to taste and wilt in the spinach leaves. Set aside whilst you prepare the tadka. 
  
  
• Take a small saucepan or tadka pan . Add the ghee and place on a medium heat. 
  
  
• Once the ghee is hot, add the mustard seeds and let them sizzle. Then add the dried red chillies and fry until they puff up slightly. Pour the tadka straight into the khichdi and mix well. 
  
  
• Finish the khichdi with a little sprinkling of coriander and serve hot! 

Stove-top instructions (without pressure cooker)

• If you don’t have a pressure cooker: follow the steps until adding the rice and lentils. Then add ~4 1/2 cups of water and cook until the lentils are soft, adding water if required. The rest of the recipe is the same.