Khichdi

 

For me, this dish carries with it many nice memories.  Before marriage, Rajender used to cook this one-pot meal very often. A very quick one to make and very satisfying too after a day of stessful work. Rajender used to have this with raw carrots and his mom's mango pickle as a side-dish. I too got used to it and whenever I make this khichdi, carrot+mango pickle will be our side-dish .  He uses toor dhal (thuvaram paruppu) for this khichdi while the norm is moong dhal (pasi paruppu) or bengal gram dhal (kadalai paruppu). But whatever it is, kichdi smells and tastes very good.

Ingredients :

Rice - 2 1/2 cups

Toor dhal- 1/2 cup

Onion- 1 (big variety)

Potato- 1 big

Green chillies- 5 nos

Curry leaves- some 15 leaflets

Jeera- 1 tspn

Turmeric- 1/4 tspn

Oil- 3 tbspns

Salt to taste

Method :

Cut onions, green chillies and cube the potatoes into big pieces. Heat oil in a pan. When it is hot enough add the jeera seeds. When it splutters add minced onions, green chillies, curry leaves , cubed potato pieces and turmeric powder. Saute for few minutes until onions turn translucent. Now add water depending on how much the rice you use demands. I use 5 cups of water for 3 cups of rice+lentil. mixture Let the water boil. Now add enough salt and water+lentil mixture into it. Tranfer everything into a rice cooker. When done serve with any side-dish you would like. But mango pickle and carrot tastes awesome with it !!!

Taste enhancing tips : Just follow the recipe. Make it as simple as possible without the addition of any other items. This lentil, rice medley has a very nice aroma and you will love it. Happy cooking !!!