Everyone has a way of making their favorite comfort food. The festival season makes me nostalgic and makes me crave home-made sweets and khichudi bhog that are offered to Gods.
This version can be made onion-free (onion-garlic is considered non-veg in Bengali culture- don't ask me why).
1. Measure 1 cup rice, 1/2 cup moong dal and 1/2 cup masoor dal (this ratio works well for me). Rinse well and pressure cook with salt and turmeric. (If you prefer, you can dry roast the moong first. I prefer it watery- so no issues if you don't want to do that. But if you prefer dry khichudi, you might want to roast it first.)
2. In a wok, heat oil and add jeera (cumin seeds), diced onions, Bay leaves, cardamom, a cinnamon stick, slit green chilis, and grated ginger. Fry lightly - add to the boiled rice-dal mix. You can shallow fry potatoes and cauliflower florets and add as well. Or mixed veggies like peas, tomatoes, carrots etc. For Palak khichudi- it is a good idea to fry the spinach and garlic separately before adding them.
3. Usually it fares well with Bengali mixed vegetables, cabbage curry or/and fritters.
Beet gajor aloo matar checki
This is my new favorite way to eat beets. Cut the vegetables (beets, carrots, potatoes) into sticks. Saute with nigella seeds (kalo jeere, kalonji), salt and turmeric. Add slit green chilies. Eat with roti or rice. Good for stuffing sandwiches too.
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Another version of khichudi is pressuring cooking vegetables with rice and lentils. We dubbed it 'lopsi' and was a winter favorite as a kid. You may used potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, peas, carrots, radish, 1 tsp of mustard, whole green chilies and quartered onions with salt and turmeric.
This version can be made onion-free (onion-garlic is considered non-veg in Bengali culture- don't ask me why).
1. Measure 1 cup rice, 1/2 cup moong dal and 1/2 cup masoor dal (this ratio works well for me). Rinse well and pressure cook with salt and turmeric. (If you prefer, you can dry roast the moong first. I prefer it watery- so no issues if you don't want to do that. But if you prefer dry khichudi, you might want to roast it first.)
2. In a wok, heat oil and add jeera (cumin seeds), diced onions, Bay leaves, cardamom, a cinnamon stick, slit green chilis, and grated ginger. Fry lightly - add to the boiled rice-dal mix. You can shallow fry potatoes and cauliflower florets and add as well. Or mixed veggies like peas, tomatoes, carrots etc. For Palak khichudi- it is a good idea to fry the spinach and garlic separately before adding them.
3. Usually it fares well with Bengali mixed vegetables, cabbage curry or/and fritters.
Beet gajor aloo matar checki
This is my new favorite way to eat beets. Cut the vegetables (beets, carrots, potatoes) into sticks. Saute with nigella seeds (kalo jeere, kalonji), salt and turmeric. Add slit green chilies. Eat with roti or rice. Good for stuffing sandwiches too.
***
Another version of khichudi is pressuring cooking vegetables with rice and lentils. We dubbed it 'lopsi' and was a winter favorite as a kid. You may used potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, peas, carrots, radish, 1 tsp of mustard, whole green chilies and quartered onions with salt and turmeric.
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