Dhaba is back again after a trip to Nigeria. Whenever I return from my long trips, no matter when I enter the house -- whether it is 2pm, 4pm or even as late as 7pm -- family looks forward to Dhabas dinner (or moms food!). After traveling for 24 hours across continents, how does Dhaba pull it off? The answer is khichari! To the uninitiated, khichari is a one pot meal made of lentils, rice and a variety of spices. It is a super food when it comes to measuring its health quotient, and fairly high on the taste quotient. Tasty in a different sort of a way. It is definitely not something you serve to guests. I think it is tasty because it comes with a special memory perk: it is a dish that most Indians associate having with only their immediate family. In my house, because it is the first meal I make after returning from my long travels, the family also associates it with a happy moment! I believe that what we feed our children when they are young is what they will always love to eat when they grow up. Perhaps this is the most important reason why making healthy nourishing food is important when the kids are young:) My recipe for khichari is very basic, I dont deviate much from it. I start with equal measure of rice and lentils (split pigeon peas --strictly not a lentil!) - 1 cup, add triple measure of water, 1 tsp turmeric, salt, 1/2 tsp of garam masala (dry ground mixture of 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tsp blackpepper, 1 bay leaf, 3 black cardamom, 4 cloves, 1 inch stick cinnamon), one large tomato chopped, 2 small whole organic potatoes. Ideally, you should soak the rice and lentils for at least an hour before cooking -this steps adds to the nourishment by reducing phytic acid that inhibits the absorption of nutrients from lentils. However this is meant to be a quick meal, so instead of soaking, I just put all this in a pressure cooker and cook for about 10 minutes. On a side note, pressure cooking also increases the nutrition you get from the lentils -the high heat cooking also takes care of phytic acid and lectins. (Pressure cookers increase the boiling point of water so the food is cooked in higher heat than if you were cooking it in a regular pot.) When you open the pressure cooker, check the consistency of the khitchari -- it should have the consistency of porridge. If it is too dry, boil some water and add to the mixture. Add salt as needed. The most important step in a well executed khichari comes next: Heat 3 tbsp of ghee in a small frying pan (or the special ladle most Indian households have for this step), add one large dry red chilli, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and when the cumin is toasty add a pinch of asafetida, 1/2 tsp of garam masala, (red chilly powder if you want it hot) and within 2-3 seconds of adding the dry ground ingredients (asafetida, garam masala and red chilly powder), drop the contents in the pressure cooker, close the lid immediately. If you are using the special ladle, dunk the ladle into the pressure cooker opening the lid just enough to let the ladle in. This allows the smoke/vapors from the sizzle created by oil meeting water to permeate through the mixture, and flavors the entire mixture with the toasty aroma of all the spices. This is how one generally flavors the lentils in Indian cooking. This process is called - tadka or chaunk. Give it a good stir, and serve hot with green coriander chutney, warmed ghee, and plain yogurt! Some people have it with fried potatoes but I have not introduced that concept to keep the health quotient high! Interestingly, the Washington Post had a full article on khichari. Posting it here in case you want to try more recipes: washingtonpost/lifestyle/food/kitchari-is-easygoing-indian-comfort-food/2015/01/05/6de1d044-904d-11e4-a900-9960214d4cd7_story.html No pictures from me as Khichari does not have a high beauty quotient although the Post has certainly tried!
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 12:52:08 +0000
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