Khichuri/ Indian style risotto is all time comfort food to me and a customary cook during Bengali festivals.This humble dish is a staple in most households in India and every time I make it, I am transported back to Kolkata, where I had this dish a lot while growing up.
Khichuri/khichdi or Indian style risotto is one of those rare dishes that effortlessly strides the boundary between what’s considered ‘ordinary’ and ‘special’ when it comes to cooking.
Adding vegetables to the rice and lentil makes it a perfect one pot meal. Essentially a porridge of rice and dal tempered with a handful of spices (that can vary from region to region), khichuri/khichdi or Indian style risotto can be as plain or as rich as you want it to be. It ranges from the mild, runny, and carefully spiced version for when you are under the weather, to the steaming and slurpy one for those wistful rainy days, to the thick, gorgeous, ghee-laden offering made to your favourite goddesses during pujo.
Type: whole meal
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 40-50 minutes
Serve: 6-8
Ingredients:
- 1 cup gobindobhog chal/ kali jeera rice/ghee rice or any short grain rice or you can use risotto rice
- 1 cup yellow split lentils/ moong dal
- 1 tsp panch phoron/ Indian all spice consists of- nigella seeds( kalo jeere), fennel seeds( mouri), fenugreek seeds( methi), black mustard seeds (kalo shorshe), cumin seeds ( gota jeere)
- 2 tbs ginger paste
- 2 medium sized potato diced and fried (coat with salt and turmeric powder)
- 1 small cauliflower diced and fried (coat with salt and turmeric powder)
- 1 large tomato chopped
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbs sugar (change according to taste)
- 3-4 green chillies
- 1 cup green peas
- 3-4 tbs genorous drizzle of clarified butter or ghee
Procedure:
- Soak the rice before hand for at least 30 minutes
- In a deep dish pan fry the yellow lentil or moong dal
- Fry until brown
- Now add water to it
- Bring it to boil
- Add the soaked rice
- Waii until parboiled
- In another pan add 3 tbs mustard oil
- Add the all spice
- Add the ginger paste
- Fry until aroma comes
- Now add the chopped tomatoes
- Fry until soft
- Add the fried potatoes
- Cook well and add the rice and lentil mix
- Mix well
- After incorporating add adequate amount of water
- Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes
- Now add the fried cauliflower and green peas
- Add the green chillies and give it a quick stir
- Again cover and cook for 10 minutes in lowest flame
- Now add the clarified butter and put the gas off
- Give it a standing time of 10 minutes
Your risotto in Indian style or khichuri/khichdi is ready to serve
We’ve added a step by step video of this recipe
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You can have some potato fritters or fried egg with this
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