Bhog Khichadi (Bhoger Khichuri Rice and Lentil porridge)

• Servings:3- 4
• Preparation time: 11 minutes.
• Frying rice and dal time: 6-7 minutes.
• Frying  vegetable time: 7-8 minutes.
• Cooking time: 10-15 minutes.
• Total time: 41 minutes.

Khichadi is perhaps the most humble, universal and adaptable food experiments in India with innumerable variations as complex as our country’s geography is. With the recent heat around the controversy of declaring it the national food of the country and eventually downgrading it to letting it remain a brand India food has at least given some acknowledgement to its existence nevertheless.

This is the quintessential Bengali version popularly savoured as a ‘Bhog’ or ‘Prasad’ during the Durga puja festival and makes the taste buds running with the fragrance of rice, lentils and vegetables with the hint of sweetness and strong yet palatable spice mix.

Puja Bhog around the country is actually a part of ‘Naivedya’ or the essential offering of food to the Hindu Deity. Khichuri or Khichadi must perhaps be tracing back its origin to a time when humungous amounts of Bhog were to be distributed to the devotees worshipping the Goddess and which also was relatively quick, simple, and flavourful and filling for the stomach. Use of garlic and onion in this version of the Khichadi is a complete no but you shall find the taste perfectly comforting and satiating.

So this one recipe is to be classically prepared with a lavish drizzle of ghee and a generous potpourri of three to five vegetables along with the simple raw spice mix blended in it. Traditionally ‘Gobindobhog’ rice and ‘’Sona’ Moong dal varieties are used. However, I have used the ordinary home-cooking style and yet it has come out equally tasty and rich in flavour. You must try out this one recipe if the ordinary recipe has fizzed you to boredom.

Ingredients:

•  Rice: 100 gm.
• Mung Dal (split green gram):100 gm.
• Salt: 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
• Coriander powder: ½ teaspoon
• Red chilli powder: ½ teaspoon
• Garam Masala powder: ½ teaspoon
• Roasted cumin powder: 1 teaspoon
• Green chilli: 2-3 no.
• Potato: 2 no.
• Cauliflower: 100 gm
• Green peas: 100-150 gm
• Red pumpkin: 50 gm.
• Fresh coconut: 4” piece (scraped)
• Ginger: 2” piece
• Red chilli powder: ½ teaspoon
• Cooking oil: 4 tablespoon
• Cinnamon: 2” stick
• Clove: 3-4 no.
• Bay leaf: 2 no.
• Cumin: 1 teaspoon
• Red chilli: 2 no.
• Green cardamom: 3-4 no.
• Ghee: 50 gm.
• Water: 1 liter

Preparation:

1. Dry roast Moong dal on low flame for couple of minutes or till it gets light brown in colour, wash it with running water, keep aside.
2. Wash rice, keep aside.
3. Chop potatoes, cauliflower, tomato, yellow pumpkin into large pieces (~ 2”pieces), keep aside.
4. Cut ginger and green chilli into small pieces, keep aside.
5. Add salt, turmeric powder, roasted cumin powder and coriander powder along with little water, wet Masala is ready, keep aside.

Method:

1. Take fry pan, heat 2 tablespoon of oil. Let this start emitting smoke. Then add cumin seed, bay leaf, red chilli and whole Garam masala.
2. Let this splutter for few seconds. Then add the desiccated coconut and fry for few seconds and add washed dal and fry on low flame for couple of minutes.
3. Add rice and continue to fry on low flame for couple of minutes. Then keep this mixture aside.
4. Take a frying pan. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and let the oil start to emit smoke. Add chopped potatoes and cauliflower. Fry on medium flame for 3-4 minutes or till the edges start to become light brown in colour. Add peas, yellow pumpkin and mixed wet masala and continue to fry further for couple of minutes.
5. Add ginger and tomatoes; fry for another two minutes, add fried rice and dal  into fried vegetables, stir  and add boiled water, add 1 ½  teaspoon of salt.
6. Cook on high flame till it starts to boil; lower the flame and cook further until it reaches the desired consistency as demonstrated in the pictures (About 10-15 minutes). Add ghee when the Khichadi is piping hot and also drizzle it with a dash of Garam Masala powder.  Put off the stove and keep this aside.
7. Now Bhog ki khichadi (Rice and Lentil porridge) is ready to be served.
8. Note: Pressure cooker can be used instead.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Bhog Khichadi (Bhoger Khichuri Rice and Lentil porridge) by Nag Ratna Sahu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.