Best Occasion to Prepare this Recipe
Khichdi has always been this debated vegetarian dish – people either love it or hate it. The lovers love it despite (and some for) its simplicity and haters hate it cause… I’ve heard innumerable reasons that I’d rather not mention. I have some of those haters in my house and I took it as a challenge to change their opinion of this protein rich Veggie delight, and I won! For those who wanna know how –the secret is that you can stretch your creativity farther than simply combining Dal and Rice together. I’m going to let you in on many variations that I’ve tried and tested and each of them taste better than the other!
When and why should I try Khichdi you ask? Ayurvedically speaking, Moong Dal Khichi is recommended as a part of detox diet for balancing the three doshas (Pitta, Kapha and Vata), and that’s how it’s popularly been known as the “recovering from illness diet”. This one pot comfort meal can also serve its purpose during chilly winters. It is a major life savior when you plan to travel or just returned from a tediously long journey – it’s a filling dish that hardly takes any time to make. Also, amateur cooks/students living on their own can impress the crowd with any of these recipes -trust me it’s harder to ruin this dish! That said, it’s a lazy man’s/working woman’s secret kitchen room weapon. And guess what.. If you have 5 more minutes to spare, you can pull something amazing out of Khichdi (like Veggie Masala Khichdi) using a only few extra ingredients.
A fan of Khichdi? You’re bound to love Bisi Bele Bath too, its spicy distant cousin!
PS: Best served HOT with a dallop of Ghee and Khadi (Gujrati Khadi)
My Top Recipe Recommendations
- Easy Moong Dal Khichdi – Most basic form of Khichdi there is. This has no other seasonings except for cumin seeds and turmeric. This is usually offered as a naivedyam during some festivals and so is a no onion no garlic khichdi recipe
- Bagar (Seasoned) Rice Moong Dal Khichdi – Some of your moong dal khichdi is leftover from yesterday? Don’t discard it, you can make it twice as spicy and delicious with this recipe and give it a makeover!
- Mixed Vegetable Masala Khichdi – Spicier version of mushy rice with moong dal, carrying veggies like potato, peas, carrots, capsicum in onion and tomato mix.
- Tuvar/Toor Dal Khichdi – I’ve bookmarked this recipe for life. This is the only recipe ever that I’ve not tried to be creative with. Use the exact ingredients and exact proportions and you’ll be addicted to this comfort food for life. Addition of Caramelized onions and double thadka makes the world of difference! Hats off Your Food Lab!
- Palak Khichdi – Something that healthy can be super delicious also. Once again, Thadka is a game changer. Also, if you like to make this recipe more healthy, add some sprouted green moong to this recipe.
- Dal Panchmel – This one is literally loaded with Dal. Panchmel simply means use of 5 different Dals (Urad, Chana, Masoor, Moong and Tuvar Dal) in the Khichdi. Mix this with your choice of vegetables and rice to make Khichdi. Or refer to this Panchmel Khichdi recipe and use all five Dal types
- Dhaba Style Chana Dal Khichdi – Really easy to make healthy Dhaba style version of Khichdi. Chana Dal stays in form- and that’s how it should be!
- Sprouted Green Moong Dal Khichdi – with any khichdi, some people like it grainy and in form, while some like a more diluted mushy consistency. I like my sprouted moong soft and diluted. For achieving this, water:rice consistency should be 5:1.
Regional Favorites
- Hyderabadi Khichdi – Easy version of Hyderabadi Khichdi and Khatta. This combination cannot be replaced, so try to make this together!
- Bengali Khichuri – One of the most popular variations of Khichdi takes a native form. It is made from husked and split moong dal, using lots of vegetables like potato, cauliflower, peas, and cinnamon, cardamom and cloves to enhance its flavors
- Kathiyawadi Khichdi / Gujrati Style Vaghareli Khichdi – LOVE this recipe mainly cause of the color, lavish use of Vegetables, spices and consistency
- Patri Khichreen / Sindhi Style Khichdi – Sindhi khichdi is an ideal breakfast dish in almost every Sindhi house. It is made from husked green gram along with various spices like cumin seeds, asafoetida, and turmeric powder to enhance its taste
- Ven Pongal / Tamil Style Khichdi – Wildly popular breakfast dish in Tamilnadu. It tastes great with coconut chutney, sambar and arachuvitta sambar.
Other Ingredient based Recipes
- Diet Khichdi/Daliya Khichdi/Broken Wheat Khichdi– It’s nutritious and often prepared during festivals such as navaratri, janmasthami etc. Compared to rice, broken wheat has better fiber content and also has a better glycemic index and hence is added to many diet plans
- Oats Khichdi – Tastes great with Raita, curd or pickle. Perfect meal for babies as well!
- Bajra Khichdi – Bajra takes time to cook.. Rajasthanis use more of millets like bajra than rice, and therefore recipes like khichdi that are typically made with rice in other parts of the country are made differently in Rajasthan. But-this version is cooked by a Sardarji and has veggies in it! Bajra Khichdi, with its creamy consistency and mild flavours, is both comforting and satiating and makes a lovely meal when served with a cup of curds or raita
- Saboodana Khichdi /Sago Khichdi – Fasting day delight! End your fast with filling and delicious Khichdi. If you’re not ending a fast, feel free to fry some onions and add it to your Khichdi as well. Tastes awesome.
- Rava Khichdi – They also call it Rava Upma. This makes for a light and easy dinner time recipe at our home. Be generous with roasting cashewnuts in ghee and topping your Khichdi with it!
- Kuttu Ki Khichdi/ Vrat ki Khichdi– Kuttu is rich in vitamins, proteins and fibres, which is great for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol issues. It also has copper, zinc, iron and magnesium.
- Makai Khichdi – This khichdi is made from whole corn and lots of spices with green chilies. A little elaborate- very Gujarati!
- Brown Rice Khichdi – My dear health conscious viewers, this is one to take a look at!
My Improv & Notes
- Khichdi is easily customizable, so feel free to add ginger, garlic, green chilies or more spices if you wish
- You can make this porridge as dilute or not as you’d like. If you prefer a thinner consistency, add water and rice in 5:1 consistency. Also, if you are re-heating the khichdi the next day then you will need to thin it out as it thickens over time
- You can also add all kinds of veggies to the Masala Khichdi– really, use what you have on hand. You can use carrots, capsicum, green peas, potato, brinjal, some people even add sweet potatoes and Zucchini! It’s all about how you’d like it to taste. But always try to keep the veggies to a lower side as it shouldn’t dominate the taste of rice+dal mix
- Season it with ghee and wholesome of jeera. Let the jeera turn dark brown and add a couple red chilis with it
- Serve HOT with Masala Papads, pickles or yogurt
Restaurants Serving Best Khichdi in Bay Area
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I don’t know which one to try first!
Haha! If I were you, I’d start with Mixed Vegetable Masala Khichdi. 🙂