Khushbu's Khichdi

Photo by:

Sana Javeri Kadri

Khichdi is Ayurvedic comfort food at its finest. Any time my stomach needs a reset, or I need the familiar taste of home, this is what I turn to. Cooking the lentils and rice together with minimal spices and a nice chunk of ginger produces a nourishing and tasty khichdi that is best made in large batches. Khushbu's oven-finished version is genius!

Ingredients

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes

1 cup dried long grain white rice
1 cup dried whole moong dal
3 tablespoons ghee
⅔ teaspoon Bindu Black Mustard seeds
2 whole Kandyan Cloves
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
~2 small Wild Cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon Pragati Turmeric powder
2 whole dried Guntur Sannam Chillies (Kashmiri Chillies are the norm, but go wild, I’ve even used dried chipotle)
pinch of freshly ground Aranya Black Pepper

Methods

Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large bowl combine the dried rice and lentils. Rinse the mixture well with water at least three times until the water runs nearly clear and then drain.
In a cast iron pan or shallow dutch oven, heat the ghee over low heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to crackle, add in the finely chopped ginger, cloves, turmeric, whole dried chillies, pepper and the cinnamon sticks. This cooked ghee and spice mixture is known as a tadka, a central part of Indian cooking with spices. The hot fat helps the flavors of the spices to "bloom" if you will.
Add the rice, dal, and about 2-2.5 cups water to the pot. Add salt to taste. Stir to combine and then increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a rapid boil. Allow to boil for one minute.
Then cover tightly with an oven-proof lid (or baking sheet if you don't have one!) and place the pot in the preheated oven. Cook for 20 minutes and then turn off oven but do not open the door. Let the pot sit in the closed oven for another 15-20 minutes until the rice is fully cooked, the lentils are soft, and there is no water left.
Eat the khichdi with a big scoop of thick, full fat yogurt, and some home-style okra or pickles of your choice (but we highly recommend the Brooklyn Delhi garlic achaar)