Khichdi recipe | How to make khichdi | Moong dal khichdi recipe

Khichdi recipe – Easy one pot rice lentil dish under 30 mins. Khichdi also known as khichadi or khichuri is a comfort food that’s most commonly eaten all over India. As such it is not native to any regional cuisine and is made in so many different ways. The simplest way is to just cook rice & mung dal with salt to a mushy texture. Then top with ghee and serve hot.

Most people refer khichdi to be the food for babies and the sick as it is bland in taste. But a well made khichadi is very delicious, protein packed, healthy and nourishing. It can be served with ghee, papad, and Pickle or achar to spice up your meal.

The most common lentil used to make khichadi is moong dal or skinned & split green gram. According to Ayurveda, moong dal is Tridoshic in nature and can balance any kind of disturbances in the body.

In this post I have shared simple khichadi made with minimum spices. I also make vegetable masala khichdi using more dry spices like bay leaf and cinnamon.

Other khichdi recipes I make
Oats khichidi
Dalia khichadi
Sabudana khichadi
Millet khichadi.

This simple khichdi is super quick to make so I make it often for my lunch or dinner and serve it with Lassi and pickle.

More Rice Recipes here
Ghee rice
Veg pulao
Tomato rice

Khichdi recipe

Recipe instructions updated for instant pot khichdi

Khichdi recipe

Moong dal khichdi is a one pot rice and lentil dish cooked with mild spices. Khichdi is a flavorful, protein rich & nutritious comfort food. 

Prep Time5 minutes

Cook Time25 minutes

Total Time30 minutes

Servings2 people

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

Ingredients for khichdi

• 1 to 2 tbsp ghee or clarified butter
• ½ to ¾ tsp cumin or jeera
• 1 bay leaf or 1 sprig of curry leaves (optional)
• ½ to ¾ tsp ginger grated or ginger paste
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 green chili slit or ½ tsp red chili powder
• 1 small tomato deseeded & chopped
• 1/8 tsp turmeric or haldi
• salt as needed
• ½ cup rice (any rice, steel cut oats or millets)
• ½ cup moong dal or skinless petite yellow lentils
• 4 cups water
• 1 pinch asafoetida or hing (optional)
• ½ tbsp ghee for topping

optional ingredients

• 1 medium carrot cubed
• 8 french beans cut to 1 inch length

Instructions

Preparation for khichdi recipe

• Wash and soak rice & dal for sometime. If you have time you can soak for 30 mins. Drain water completely.

How to make khichdi

• Heat ghee in a pressure cooker or heavy bottom pot on a medium heat.
• Add bay leaf & cumin. Let the cumin crackle then fry ginger until fragrant. Sprinkle hing.
• Fry onions and green chilies until the raw smell of onions goes away. 
• Add tomatoes, carrots, beans, salt and turmeric and saute for 3 to 4 mins.
• Then add drained daal and rice. Saute for 3 to 4 mins.
• Pour 3 cups water for mushy consistency and 4 cups for porridge like consistency. Stir well & taste the water. Add more salt if needed.
• Pressure cook for 2 whistles on a medium flame for a mushy khichdi.  or Cook 4 to 5 whistles on a low to medium flame for porridge consistency. If cooking in a pot, cook until soft adding more water if needed. 
• Pour 1 tsp ghee on the hot dal khichdi. Serve with papad and pickle.

Instant pot Khichdi

• Press saute button (medium) & heat ghee. Add in bay leaf & cumin. When it sizzles then add in ginger, hing, onions & chili. Fry until transparent. Next add in tomatoes, all veggies & turmeric. Saute for 2 to 3 mins until tomatoes turn mushy. 
• Add drained rice & lentils. Saute for another 2 to 3 mins. Add in salt & pour water. Mix well & taste the water. Add more salt if needed. Secure the lid & move the steam release value to sealing.
• Press porridge button which is auto set to 20 mins. Once it is done, the instant pot beeps, then press cancel and switch off. Wait for a natural pressure release.
• When the float value drops, open the lid & stir the khichdi. 
• Top with some ghee & serve khichdi with plain yogurt, pickle or papad.

Video

Video of moong dal khichdi recipe

Notes

Variations of dal khichdi recipe

To make masala khichdi, Just add 3/4 tsp garam masala along with turmeric.
For vegetable masala khichdi, add 1.5 cups of mixed veggies like carrots, beans and potatoes. Also stir in 3/4 tsp of garam masala.
To make palak or spinach khichdi – Use about 1.5 to 2 cups of finely chopped spinach and saute for 2 mins. Then add rice and dal.

Nutrition

Calories: 463kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 689mg | Potassium: 580mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1.3% | Vitamin C: 10.2% | Calcium: 6.3% | Iron: 24.6%

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Preparation – khichdi recipe

1. We usually dry roast dal on a low to medium flame until lightly golden. Cool and store it in a jar. When ever needed rinse the dal and use. This helps to make the khichdi more aromatic. This is an optional step which you can follow if you have enough time.

2. Wash rice and dal in a pot. Soak them until the onions and tomatoes are chopped. Chop onion, tomato, green chili and grate ginger. Set these aside.

3. Heat a pan with ghee.

4. When the ghee melts, add jeera and allow to splutter. Then add hing.

5. Next add ginger and saute for a minute.

6. Add onions and green chili. Saute well until golden.

7. Then transfer tomatoes, turmeric and salt.

8. Saute until tomatoes turn mushy. You can also use carrots and french beans and saute them for 2 mins.

How to make khichdi

9. Drain the daal completely and add it here. Fry for 3 to 4 mins. Skip frying if you are using roasted dal.

10. Then add the drained rice. You can also add rice and dal together and saute.

11. Pour water. Mix well and taste the water. It has to be slightly salty. If needed add more.

12. On a medium flame I pressure cooked for 4 whistles to get a soup consistency. To get grainy consistency, 2 whistles would be enough.

13. When the pressure goes down, stir well.

Transfer to a serving bowl and add a tsp of ghee. Serve khichdi with pickle & papad.