A delicious, nutritious, easy and quick lentil and rice preparation from the state of Himachal Pradesh, that is especially made during makar sankranti.
I love khichdi, because for me it is the ultimate comfort food. For those who don’t know, khichdi is an Indian recipe where rice and lentils are cooked together. You could imagine it to be the vegetarian version of a Spanish paella. And as it happens in India, various regions have their own recipes. In fact, we have meat-based khichdi recipes too. However, I am sharing with you a very popular, Himachal urad dal khichdi recipe. As the name suggests, this belongs to India’s beautiful, northern state Himachal Pradesh. This rice prep is especially had, during the Indian winter festival of makar sankranti. It was my research on foods from the state that led me to this yummy, easy and quick recipe.
For this dal khichdi recipe, you will need sabut urad dal or black lentils. This is very easily available in India and in Indian grocery stores here. And as far as the rice is concerned, any long grain variety works. Besides being an easy recipe, this is also a one pot meal. However, you will first need to cook the dal, and then continue cooking it with the rice. All in the same pot. The combination of dal and rice cooked together, itself is so amazing. But, the jewel in the crown of this Himachal urad dal khichdi is in its tempering. This delicious rice is topped off with ghee laden cumin seeds, chilis and hing! I can’t explain, until you taste this yourself, what further magic this tempering does.
Also check:
Moong dal with tempered garlic
Moong dal and daliya khichdi
Healthy recipe
This is a super healthy rice recipe. Since you will be mixing the rice with dal, you have an equal mix of proteins with carbs. Moreover, since we are using sabut urad dal (lentils with its skin), there is a good deal of fibre in here too. Moreover, I have made the entire khichdi in ghee and not oil, which is again good for the body. Additionally, I have used equal parts of rice and lentils for my Himachal urad dal khichdi. While a lot of recipes suggest half the quantity of dal , compared with the rice, I prefer it this way. So, you can take a personal call on that.
What to pair it with?
This khichdi is made so fragrant with the tempered ghee and whole spices that, you won’t really need a side dish. I love pairing it up with some chilled yoghurt and you could try that, as well. Try this for your weekday meals or when you are back from your travels. Also, this is perfect for a rainy day or a chilly evening. So, when you do try this one, let me know if it feels as comforting to you, as it does to me.
Do give this urad dal khichdi a try and send me pictures! And here goes the recipe.
Eat hearty!
Himachal urad dal khichdi
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
Ingredients
- ½ cup long grain rice
- ½ cup sabut urad dal or black lentils
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 3-4 cloves
- 1 tbsp ginger finely chopped
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves chopped
- pinch of turmeric powder
- salt to taste
For the tempering
- 2 tbsp ghee or clarified butter
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 dried red chilis
- 1 tsp hing or asafoedita
- 1 green chilli
Instructions
- Soak the urad dal for 30 minutes
- In a pressure cooker, add the urad dal, turmeric and the bay leaves with 1 cup of water
- Pressure cook until the dal is completely done but still whole
- Heat a shallow cooking pot, and add a tablespoon of ghee. Once it melts, add the whole spices and ginger
- When they turn fragrant, add the washed rice and mix well*
- Now add the cooked dal and mix well
- Add 1 cup of water and salt, mix and cook on high flame until you don't see any water on the surface
- Then on a low flame, cover n cook until the rice is cooked
- Prepare the tempering by heating the ghee in a separate small vessel. Once it melts, add the tempering ingredients and wait until fragrant
- Drizzle this over the cooked khichdi and mix well. Keep covered for five minutes
- Sprinkle the coriander leaves and serve the Himachal urad dal khichdi hot with some chilled yoghurt. Enjoy!
Notes
- *You can add the rice and the whole spices, along with the ginger in the pressure cooker, once the dal is cooked. That makes it a one pot meal. However, I have chosen to cook the rice and lentils together in a separate pot
- 1 cup = 250 millilitres
- tbsp - tablespoon
- tsp - teaspoon
