Oats khichdi is one of the easy oats recipes that can be prepared without much effort. It makes a good, nutritious and healthy breakfast on a busy day. Oats khichdi can also be a quick fix to a meal or dinner when you don’t have much time to cook. This can also be served to babies from 8 months. Oats khichdi can be cooked to slightly grainy or mushy to suit your liking.
khichdi is an Indian dish made of rice and lentils (dal). This is made with slight variations with an addition of garam masala or vegetables.
Those following an ayurvedic diet believe it to be nutritious, light and is said to correct digestive disorders or soothe an upset tummy.
This oats khichdi recipe is adapted from an ayurvedic book, i replaced rice with oats. Using oats does not make the khichdi sticky since a good amount of dal and veggies are used.
You can also check these 30 Indian Oats recipes
Oats upma
Oats Idli
Instant oats dosa
Oatmeal pongal
Oats khichdi recipe
Oats khichdi | Vegetable oats khichdi | Oats Recipes
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
- ¼ cup moong dal or yellow split mung beans
- ½ cup oats (rolled or instant)
- ½ to ¾ cup mix vegetables (carrot, peas, beans)
- 2 tablespoon onion (optional)
- 1 small tomato deseeded (optional)(I didn’t use)
- 1 ¾ to 2 cups water (regular rolled oats may need more)
Tempering for oats khichdi
- 1 tablespoon ghee or oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin or jeera
- ½ teaspoon ginger grated or crushed
- 1 green chili slit or little pepper (skip for babies)
- Salt as needed
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric or haldi
- Pinch asafoetida or hing (avoid for babies)
How to make the recipe
Preparation for oats khichdi
- Wash and soak moong dal in water till used.
- Next wash and chop onions, tomato, carrot and beans. You can also skip all the veggies.
Make oats khichdi
- Pour ghee to a hot pot or cooker. Add cumin.
- When they sizzle, saute ginger and chili till it turns aromatic. Do not burn.
- Add hing if using. Next put in the onions and saute until transparent.
- Transfer all the veggies and saute for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- If using tomato then saute until tomatoes turn completely soft and mushy.
- The raw smell of the tomatoes has to go away.
- You can also add little chili powder if you prefer.
- Drain the water from dal and add it to the pot.
- Fry for about 2 to 3 minutes till the dal smells good.
- Add oatmeal, salt and turmeric. Fry for about 2 minutes.
- Pour water. You can adjust the quantity of water to make it mushy or slightly grainy.
- On a medium flame, pressure cook for 3 whistles.
- Dal has to cook completely.
- If cooking in a pot, cook until the dal has soft cooked adding more water as needed.
- When the pressure goes off open the lid. If desired can add little more ghee.
- Serve oats khichdi warm.
NUTRITION (estimation only)
Notes
If you are a beginner or new to Indian cooking, I highly suggest you to check the supporting step by step photos for best results. Step by step photos with description available below after the recipe card.
How to make oats khichdi recipe
1. Wash and soak dal until we need it, this helps dal to get cooked faster. Heat ghee in a pot, saute cumin till they begin to sizzle. Add ginger and fry until it begins to smell good. Add hing. For babies under an year old you can avoid using hing. You can also add bay leaf.
2. Saute the onions first until transparent. Then add chopped veggies, green chilli and saute for about 2 to 3 minutes. Veggies like chili, carrots, cauliflower, capsicum go well with this khichdi.
For babies you can try with cauliflower, carrots, methi, palak, pumpkin or bottle gourd. You can also add 1 small deseeded and chopped tomato if not making for baby. Saute until the tomatoes cook and turn mushy. The raw smell of tomato must go off.
3. Add moong dal, turmeric and saute for about 3 minutes without burning. You can also use a bit of red chilli powder and garam masala (optional).Khichdi gets a good aroma by sauteing dal in ghee.
Adding oats for oats khichdi
4. Add oats,salt and saute for 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Add 1 ¾ to 2 cups water. Stir well.
Cooking oats khichdi
6. Pressure cook on a medium flame for 3 whistles. When the pressure goes off, open the lid. I usually cook it in a pot on a medium flame until done. After few readers commented the dal didn’t get cooked well or took longer, i tried pressure cooking. It did work well.
Make sure the flame is medium and not high. If you are not on a low fat diet, add half a spoon of ghee towards the end. If making for baby, mash up well with a spoon before feeding.
It can be pureed as well once it cools down. For babies older than an year, just mash and feed.
I like to sprinkle little pepper powder and ghee. Serve oats khichdi warm. It can be served with pickle or papad.
Pushpa says
I follow your receipe….they are so easy…. I have a request… cud u plz suggest some weight loss recipes…. I am really confused what to cook for myself….
swasthi says
Hi Pushpa,
Thank you! Actually recipes do not help in losing weight. Change your eating patterns and foods. Avoid refined foods and deep fried foods completely. Eat only twice a day.
1 whole grain breakfast before 8.30 am, 1 meal for dinner before 7 pm. Your lunch and evening snack should be only lots of fruits and veggies. Nothing else.
Breakfast can be heavy like any whole grain or legume salads like chana salad, rajma salad, mixed dal dosas, sprouts salad etc. You can eat about 1 to 1.5 cups soaked chana Or any other with lots of veggies.
Dinner – you can eat anything you make for the family. Move to brown rice in case you are using white. Avoid all incompatible combinations. This can be a major contributor for weight gain. Hope these tips help you.
Hemanath says
Your recipes are very helpful & regularly visit your site. Thanks for the recipes. If I am to use steel cut oats how much water should I use.
swasthi says
Hi Hemanath
You are welcome. Thank you! Please check this link for steel cut oats
Vikky says
Super recipe. I am a very big follower to ur recipes. thank you
swasthi says
Hi Vikky
Thank you so much.
Shilpapaida says
I would like to know that in oats khichdi oats can use ready med like safola oats or different ???
swasthi says
Hi Shilpa
I don’t live in India so I don’t know much about saffola oats. But I guess saffola oats are processed and has additives in them. Please try to find rolled oats or steel cut oats. Other kinds of oats are not healthy to use.
Jaishree soni says
Thanks for your oats recipes. They help me to loose weight.
swasthi says
Welcome Jaishree
Happy to know they are useful
Hemangi says
Hie swasthi, oats khichdi and Dalia khichdi super recipes, my daughter like a lot, she is 14 month old, she like only runny food, roti,subji,paratha she can’t eat, pls send me more runny food recipes…Pls pls, she is not eating idli dosa because she feel very dry… She has only 2 teeth…Pls give me more recipes. Thank you..
swasthi says
welcome Hemangi
Thanks.
You can check this link on baby food recipes. You will find lot of baby food recipes. It is healthy to feed runny foods till the baby turns 18 to 24 months as they are light on the stomach. If you feed idli you must use rice for making idli and not rava. You will have to soak up the idli in raasam or sambar and mash well and feed. Hope this helps
puja gupta says
Thanks aap k wajese mai SB kuchh sikhi hu
swasthi says
Welcome Puja
Kavita says
I tried wid a v small twist, added tomatoes as well.. before serving added few drops of lemon juice.. it tasted yummyyy .. thbx fr d wonderful recipe..
swasthi says
welcome Kavita
Adding tomatoes and lemon juice is a good idea. Thanks for the comment
Kavita says
pleasure?
Nutan says
Loved it! I made it with rolled oats with exactly same steps. It came out very very yummy! Thanks.
swasthi says
welcome Nutan
Glad to know it came out good
Ana says
Excellent
shilpa says
Hi Swasthi,
I was looking to make something that is easy , healthy and hearty this diwali . This Recipe checked all the boxes 🙂
So i went ahead and gave it a try …it did taste good i must say ..not as yummy as Khichdi with rice , but great for Oats i guess.
I soaked my moong dal overnight and oats for couple hours and i pressure cooked it for like 3 -4 whistles and the dal cooked perfectly well . I did add a lot of water as i really dont like sticky / hard oats in any dish so the khichdi was a little runny.
But i am so glad i came across this and tried it ..i will be a regular follower from now on as i am hunting for healthy recipes .
But this recip
swasthi says
Hi Shilpa,
Glad to know you.
Yes the taste of khichdi comes from rice as well, that will be missing in this. I suppose there are few different kinds of moong dal. Mine turns so soft when i pressure cook it for only whistle on a medium flame. But i read from many others that it takes long to cook so they cook it for 2 to 3 whistles.
Thanks for the feedback. You can find lot of healthy recipes on this blog.
kallpana says
Hi swasti…
Thanks for this recipe…
I would like to know if I can substitute masoor dal (red colour dal) in place of moongdal for my 3 yr old kid in winters….
Wonder if taste be still the same….
swasthi says
Hi Kallpana,
Masoor dal is said to cause vata dosha in the body hence it is not good not only for kids even for us as well. I am not sure, but i have read it in some forum and even in a fb group. So i avoid that completely. Instead try using toor dal, the taste would be different but still nice. You can try adding little bit of garam masala, pepper powder during winters if you think moong dal is going to be cool to the body. Hope this helps
Ana says
Same problem here. My dal took ages to cook. Probably dal doesn’t get cooked fast along with oats. We may need to cook it separately like I saw in another recipe
swasthi says
Hi,
It is probably the variety of dal that matters. This is one of the recipes i make often at home. Every time i make it cooks very well in pot together with oats. After reading your comment, i immediately tried it in a pressure cooker this time and it worked well. I have updated the post now. Thanks for the mention.
Anjali Chauhan says
Hi,
The prepartion method of your receipies is very easy, can u pleas e post some more breakfast receipies…
swasthi says
Thanks Anjali,
I will surely post more breakfast recipes
dolly says
u no..ur pics r as fab as ur recipes…
and ur service is the fabbest of them all…
helped a new n duffer mum like me 🙂
god bless ur babies n u 🙂 🙂 🙂
swasthi says
Hi Dolly,
So glad to read your comment.
🙂
Iam really happy to know that my recipes helped you. Thanks a lot for the wishes. You made by day. Wishing you the same and a happy time.
neela manogar says
A healthy breakfast. Yummy.