Khichdi Recipe | Comforting Moong Dal Khichdi
The Khichdi recipe presents a delightful one-pot combination of rice and moong lentils. Moong Dal Khichdi stands as a light, effortlessly digestible, and nutritious meal option. The recipe card encompasses directions for preparing it on the stovetop using a pressure cooker, using an Instant Pot, as well as on a conventional stovetop pan.
Ingredients
For Soaking Lentils And Rice
- ½ cup moong dal (split and husked mung lentils)
- ½ cup rice – you can add any rice, regular short or medium grained rice or even basmati
- water – as required
Other Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Ghee (clarified butter) or oil – any neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ⅓ cup finely chopped onions or 1 small to medium-sized
- ⅓ to ½ cup chopped tomatoes or 1 medium-sized
- ½ teaspoon chopped green chillies or serrano peppers or 1 small green chilli
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger or grated – 1 inch ginger
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) – optional
- 3.5 cups water – for a more thin consistency, add 4 to 4.5 cups water
- salt as required
Instructions
Soaking Rice And Lentils
- Rinse and wash moong lentils and rice together.
- Soak both rice and lentils for 30 minutes in water.
- After 30 minutes, drain all the water and set aside.
Sautéing Onions, Tomatoes, Spices
- Heat ghee or oil in a 3 litre pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds. When cumin splutters then add onions.
- Sauté onions until translucent. No need to make onions light brown or golden brown.
- Once the onions become translucent, then add tomatoes, green chilli and ginger.
- Mix and add turmeric powder and asafoetida. Mix again and sauté until the tomatoes softens.
- Add the rice and moong lentils to the pressure cooker.
- Stir and sauté for a minute. Add water and season with salt.
- Mix well. Check the taste of the water and it should be slightly salty.
Cooking Khichdi
- Close the lid tightly and pressure cook on a high heat for 7 to 8 whistles or 8 to 9 minutes on medium-high to high heat.
- Switch off heat and wait. Let the pressure fall naturally in the cooker.
- When there is no pressure in the cooker, remove the lid and check the consistency. If it looks too thick, add some hot water and mix well.
- Keep on sim or low heat to simmer for a few minutes until you get the right consistency.
- The consistency can be adjusted as per your choice by adding less or more water. Some people prefer thick and some thin consistency.
- While serving drizzle 1 to 2 teaspoons of ghee on top while serving. Optional step.
- Serve moong dal khichdi hot or warm with curd (yogurt) and accompanying salad.
Instant Pot Khichdi Recipe
- Follow the steps below to make this savory and comforting rice & lentil dish in a 6 quart Instant Pot.
- Press the sauté function of your IP. Let the display read 'hot'. Add ghee or oil. Fry cumin seeds until they splutter.
- Add onions and sauté until they soften. Tip in the tomatoes, ginger, green chillies and sauté stirring often until tomatoes soften. Stir in the turmeric powder and asafoetida.
- Add soaked rice and lentils. Stir deglazing if needed.
- Pour 3.5 cups water and salt. Deglaze removing any stuck ingredients from the bottom of the pan.
- Seal with the IP lid and set the valve to the sealing position. Pressure cook on high pressure for 9 minutes.When you hear the beep sound, wait for 10 minutes and then do a quick pressure release lifting the valve carefully.
- Check the consistency. If it is too thick, add some hot water and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes using the sauté function.If it has a thin consistency, sauté for some more minutes until you get the desired consistency. Serve hot or warm.
Dal Khichdi In A Pan On The Stove-Top
- To make khichdi in a pan, follow all the directions as listed for the pressure cooker version in a pan until you add the rice and lentils.
- After you add the rice and lentils, give a good stir and sauté for a minute. Add 4 to 4.5 cups water and season with salt. Cover the pan and cook on a medium-low to medium flame until the lentils are softened and mushy.
- Keep a check while cooking and if the water has dried up with undercooked lentils, add some hot water and combine well. Cover and continue to cook.
- When the khichri is cooked, check the consistency. If thick, add some hot water and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. For a thin consistency, continue too cook for some more minutes.
Serving Suggestions
- The sides that that pair great and make khichdi a satisfying complete meal are Curd (yogurt), Papad (roasted or fried), Pickle and Ghee – a teaspoon or two drizzled on top of the khichdi
Storage And Leftovers
- I always prefer to eat and serve khichdi fresh as it can become dry and lumpy on cooling or after some hours.
- If you do end up with leftovers, you can store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to 1 day.
- I also prefer to reheat the dish in a saucepan instead of the oven so that I can add some water to thin it a bit and ensure everything is evenly heated before serving.
- On cooling khichdi does thicken and becomes lumpy, so you have to add some water to it while reheating.
Nutrition
Calories: 482kcalCarbohydrates: 73gProtein: 17gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 632mgPotassium: 177mgFiber: 7gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 326IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 65mgIron: 3mg
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