Moong Dal Khichdi for #HealthyWELLthyCuisines

This is a post that's very close to my heart (no, that's not Valentine fever :p) for various reasons. Although Moong Khichdi is seemingly easy to make, getting the mushy , perfect texture is a challenge, especially for the Khichdi-lover that my husband is. 

Forget comfort food, he eats this all the time while travelling and at work, especially when he knows that the next meal may be too late for his rather tight schedule. So, I had to make this several times to get the perfect consistency, texture and taste that he waxed oh so eloquent so many times 🙂

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So what's great about Moong Dal Khichdi, the snobs might ask? Well, it :

• Is the ultimate Comfort food (after Rasam-rice, for me :p)
• Soothes tummy upsets
• Is Filling and real food with almost no prep time- gets done in a jiffy (ask harried moms and bachelors :D)
• Totally customisable - from bland to spicy to hollering-hot {Again, any combo of lentils and rice would work here (mostly!)|}
• Tastes great with or without veggies
• is made differently in every household, each with its own ratio of rice to lentils, and each yummy in its own way
• is easy on the stomach, especially after the I-swear-this-is-is-the-last-time-I-am-eating-outside-food phase 🙂
• is Gluten free and vegan (mostly!)
• Makes a filling meal with simple yoghurt, papad and pickle ! 

So, Moong Dal Khichdi, full of lentils (which is another reason you should be making this for the protein content) is my dish for @HealthyWELLthy Cuisines's"#LegumeAffairAtHW" - theme suggested by Seema for this fortnight as well as MLLA #125 hosted by @Seema, original event by Lisa & Susan and the original MLLA page 

More Khichdi and One Pot Meal options:

• Zero Oil Dal Khichdi
• Panchkuti Dal Khichdi - Dahi Aloo Combo
• Fada Nu Khichdi (Broken wheat Khichdi)
• Moong Sprouts Khichdi
• Menthye Bataani Bhaath (Fenugreek leaves and peas rice)
• Tomato Rice (Thakkali Saadam)
• Veg Au Gratin (Low fat version)
• Achaari Pulav (pickle flavoured rice)
• Finger millet (Thinai) Pongal
• Dindigul Thalapakatti Veg Biryani
• Sambhaar Saadham
• Lapsi Veg upma

Prep time - 5 mins, Cook time - 10~15 mins , Serves - 2

What you need:

Short Grained Rice - 1 cup (200 ml)

Cinnamon stick - 1 inch (optional)

Chopped veggies - I used 3 teaspoon of carrots and a handful of peas (one may also use cauliflower, broccoli, onions, garlic etc)

Badi Elaichi (Large cardamom - black) - 1 no. (opt.)

Split green gram / Moong Dal - ⅔ cup 

Salt - to taste

Turmeric - ½ tsp

Hot water - 4 ~ 4.5 cups (depending on the rice variety) 

Tempering: 

Ghee - 1 teaspoon (use oil for vegan version)

Split green chilly - 1 or 2

Grated ginger - ½ tsp

Cumin seeds - ½ tsp

Asafoetida - ¼ teaspoon (skip for GF)

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Garnish:

Chopped fresh coriander - 1 tsp

How to make:

In a pressure cooker, heat half the oil / ghee sauté the rice and the dal for a min or two till fragrant. Add the veggies, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric, half the salt + hot water and pressure cook for 4~5 whistles. Let the pressure come down on its own.

In a deep bottomed pan, add the oil or ghee, make the tempering with the ingredients above and add to the cooked khichdi. If the Khichdi is too thick, add a teaspoon of two of hot water at a time and adjust the consistency.

Adjust salt and spices and serve the khichdi piping hot with yoghurt, papad and/or pickle (hot Khichdi is best coz it gets mushy and lumpy when cold). 

Other recipes for this theme have been :

• My fav Dhaba StyleKala Chana - Jayashree
• chatpata Baingan Pakoda - Geetanjali
• lipsmacking Manithakkali Vathal Kuzhambu- Priya 
• Dal Tadka restaurant style -Seema
• yummy Boondi Kadhi -Rosy
• Habisha Dalma - Sasmita
• a DIY Home-Made Peanut Butter - Poonam
• an aromatic Lehsuni Dal Palak - Swatyonam
• Classic and evergreen Rajma Masala - Shalu

Sending this to following events

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