Give an innovative edge to the humble khichdi

NEW FLAVOURS

A staple dish prepared from rice and pulses -Khichdi doesn’t take much time to cook, is not too spicy and easy to digest --- is generally prescribed for those who are ill or suffering from some stomach-related ailments.

Sometimes, if one is feeling too lazy to cook, one takes the shorter route to a wholesome meal by simply cooking chopped vegetables, tomatoes, rice and red masoor dal in a pressure cooker and flavouring it with ghee or butter for an easy meal. However, the humble khichdi lends itself to great experimentation and there are numerous ways you can try and make it more interesting and delicious.

“Khichdi can be made in a hundred different ways. You can choose various dals (moong with chhilka, arhar, chana dal etc) to combine with rice and make khichdi at home,” says Chef Swasti Aggarwal, regional head, North, Foodhall. 

“In Rajasthan people eat bajre ki khichdi in the winters with lots of ghee and some imli (tamarind). Bajra (millets) is a superbly healthy grain, very wholesome and gluten free. Make your khichdi healthier and more tasty by replacing white rice with brown rice and add a lot of chopped vegetables before cooking. Brown rice, lentils and mixed vegetables gives you complete nutrition. Don’t forget to add some zeera and heeng for the extra zing,” she says. 

Chef Ripudaman Handa, chef-cum-host in Snack Attack Firangi Twist on Zee Khana Khazana says,  “Innovations are always good. And innovating one of the simplest food item like khichdi can be so much fun. Every household has a different style of making khichdi. Some like it spicy, some sweet, while some like it with just salt and curd. What I always cook for my family is - high protein khichdi with a twist.”

“This is as simple as it could be and gets in highest level of proteins for any age group. All you need is oats, chana dal, chopped carrots, onion, green peas, cauliflower, green beans, diced paneer, ginger-garlic paste, olive oil, salt, pepper, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, lemon juice, chopped green chillies, coriander,” he says. 

Handa explains in detail about his innovative khichdi, “In a pan put olive oil, ginger-garlic paste, green chilli, all the masala’s and vegetables, sauté it till cooked well. Add oats and let it cook, add chana dal and mix all together. Add water as needed. Let this cook well. In a separate pan, add olive oil and coriander.

Let the oil and coriander mix well. Once done, add this to the khichdi. After this, add the diced paneer and garnish with coriander. To add a little more firangi twist, you can have it with pita bread, garlic bread or even our Indian rotis and paranthas.”

So go ahead, try your hand at some innovative khichdi!