In India, you do not need a reason to chomp on Khichdi, every occasion is good enough to make a bowlful. The ultimate comfort food of India, Khichdi, is a one-pot dish made with a combination of rice, lentils and spices. Occasionally even vegetables and greens are added to the same pot. Khichdi is possibly one of the oldest known Indian foods, so much so that it finds a mention in the chronicles of the Moroccan traveler Ibn Batuta, who described the dish as a composite of rice and Moong beans, in the fourteenth century. The dish also struck a chord among the Mughals, while there was no dearth of rich kormas and biryanis in the royal courts, many Mughal rulers would often prefer a simple serving of khichdi to satiate themselves. The Alamgari khichdi, was said to be a favourite of Aurangzeb. Food historian K.T. Achaya in his book Indian Food: A Historical Companion, wrote that emperor Jehangir was particularly fond of..”a Gujarati khichri called Lazizan, made of rice cooked with pulses, ghee, spices and nuts was one of his favourite foods on his days of abstinence from flesh”.
Khichdis are of many kinds and prepared in myriad ways across the country. For instance, Bengalis like to roast the rice before cooking the khichdi, while in Bardoli, Gujarat, people like their Khichdi a little sweet. This goes to show, just how versatile our khichdi can be. You can even experiment with the lentils in your khichdi. If you are bored of Moong, you can rustle up a khichdi with chana dal, and we assure you that the results are going to be nothing short of epic.
This chana dal khichdi, is light, flavourful and wholesome. All you need to make this khichdi is good quality rice, you can choose basmati or broken basmati, then you would require half a cup of chana dal, some hing or asafoetida, red chilli powder, water and some oil.
Remember to soak the dal before you start, but before that, make sure you rinse it a couple of times in fresh, running water. Soak it overnight at room temperature or for 4-5 hours. You can also soak it for just 30 minutes in hot water before you begin. Soak the rice as well. Starin water and then start.
Here’s the step-by-step recipe of chana dal khichdi. Try it soon and let us know how you liked it.