Easy, Recipes, Vegetarian

Classic Dal Kichidi

One of the humblest Indian pot meals, khichdi is comfort food best made at home. Piping hot, laden with spices and rich in proteins, everything you need in classic Indian food. It’s is best served with ghee – the more butter or ghee the better!

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Mix Lentils
  • 1 Cup Rice
  • 1 Tomato (large)
  • 1 Onion (large)
  • 1 Teaspoon Chilli Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Turmeric
  • 1 Teaspoon Cumin Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Coriander Powder
  • 2 Teaspoons Raw Mango Pulp
  • 2 Teaspoons Ginger-Garlic Paste
  • 1 Teaspoon Butter & Ghee
  • Salt, Pepper & Sugar to Taste
  • Fresh Coriander (for garnishing)
  • For tempering – 2 Teaspoons Oil
  • 1 Teaspoon Chopped Chili
  • 1 Stem Curry Leaves
  • Mustard Seeds

Preparation

Prep: 15 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes

  1. Boil the lentils and rice in a cooker with a little extra water.
  2. Make an onion tomato masala with all the above-mentioned ingredients. Cook through well by adding water (braising) occasionally till the oil leaves the sides and looks almost coming to a slight burn.
  3. To the masala, add in the boiled dal and rice and mix thoroughly (if it tends to get clumpy, add milk).
  4. Taste and season accordingly, make sure you have a nice balance of sweet, spicy and salty.
  5. Prepare a nice tempering by adding all the tempering ingredients in hot oil and pour over gently.
  6. Give it one last mix, garnish with a good dollop of ghee or butter and coriander sprigs. Serve with some papads.

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James Miranda

The very first time I put on a Chef's Coat and when I first laid my hands on an old trumpet, it brought me immense joy. I realised that was my calling - through food and music, I wanted to bring joy to other people's lives too. Observing my granny in her old-stone counter kitchen, cooking Sorpotel and Vindaloo in Goa and singing old Goan folk songs or rummaging through her recipe books that date back to the late 1800s or the satisfaction I would derive from seeing her earthen pots boil and soak in flavour - a voice deep within me always said, “boy, you are going to be a chef one day." Professionally far removed from the family of doctors, I was inclined towards culinary arts. After working at Sofitel and Marriott, I started Jazzy Jim’s Cookhouse, a cloud kitchen. Putting smiles on people’s faces through my food techniques and improvisations on traditional East Indian and Goan dishes with European cooking techniques.