Masala khichdi is the ultimate winter specialty when the vegetables are in their freshest best! Get your quota of veggies in the tastiest way with this easy masala khichdi!
Winter is here with us to bid adieu the year of 2017 and this is my favorite time of the year. The festivities around us during this time are so contagious that you can’t remain in a gloomy mood. My today’s recipe celebrates that same festivity in the most pure Indian way! My masala khichdi is a celebration of all good things that nature offers us and you will simply fall in love with its simplicity. If you have partied too hard during the year end and have stuffed yourself with all the tasty yet sinful food, then it is the right time to get into this recipe of masala khichdi and start detoxing yourself.
My masala khichdi is a healthy one-pot meal which has all the elements of nutrition. It has loads of vegetable where all their goodness is retained; but don’t worry if you or your family do not like veggies. The veggies are kind of hidden in this masala khichdi since the concept of khichdi, as you know, is kind of amalgamation of rice, dal and veggies together; so you will hardly feel the vegetables in this masala khichdi but will gain all their nutrition. Khichdi in general is a very regular dish in our family; but since the time I discovered this masala khichdi, I always prefer this one over the plain version not only because of its goodness but also for its amazing taste!
My masala khichdi requires some pre-processing steps like chopping few vegetables, soaking rice and dal an hour in advance etc; but trust me all these efforts are totally worth it which you will agree with only after tasting this amazing healthy dish on your own. Winter is the best season to make this masala khichdi as you will get all the vegetables in their seasonal best. I used carrots, French beans, potatoes, capsicums and fresh green peas in my masala khichdi. You can omit if you don’t like some of these and add your favorite stuff e.g. cauliflower, beetroots, broccoli etc.
I love this masala khichdi for one more reason. This is my perfect one-pot go to meal when I am having quite a hectic day but still don’t wanna opt for take-aways. We both chop up the veggies together which makes thing much quicker and once all the chopping is done, rest all is done by the pressure cooker itself. It’s really a fun recipe to make with your partner and at the end you will be feeding each other something tasty as well as healthy. Once the rice, dal and veggies are cooked through, the final touch of that dollop of butter is simply the cherry on the icing. I strongly recommend not omitting that butter as it binds all the flavors together and completes the dish. Enjoy your masala khichdi this season and let me know how much you and your family liked it!
If you want to zest up your one-pot masala khichdi meal a notch higher, then fry up these crispy cauliflower fritters for a delicious side!
- Rice – ¾ cup
- Moong dal – ¼ cup
- Ghee / clarified butter – ¼ cup
- Hing / asafetida – ½ tsp
- Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
- Bay leaf – 1
- Whole black peppercorn – 2 tsp
- Ginger – 2-inch piece, finely chopped
- Green chili – 4, chopped
- Onion – 2, medium, finely chopped
- Tomato – 2, medium, chopped
- French beans – 15 to 28, chopped into 2-cm pieces
- Carrot – 2, medium, chopped into small pieces
- Potato – 1, large, cut into chunks
- Green peas – ½ cup
- Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
- Dry red green chili – 3
- Freshly chopped coriander leaves – 1 cup
- Butter – 1 tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Wash and soak the rice and moong dal in room temperature water for an hour. Set it aside until needed.
- Heat a large pressure cooker and add ghee into it. Once the ghee is hot, temper it with hing, cumin seeds, bay leaves and whole black peppercorn. Stir and let them become fragrant for few seconds.
- Then add the chopped ginger and chopped green chilies. Saute them on medium flame for 2 minutes.
- Once the ginger is nicely sautéed, add in the chopped onion and cook them on medium for 5 minutes until translucent. You don’t need to brown them but just let them turn soft.
- Then add the chopped tomatoes and stir well. Add the turmeric powder and season with salt.
- Once the tomatoes are soft, add in the French beans, carrots, green peas and potatoes. Stir them well to thoroughly mix with spices and aromatics.
- Now its time to add the rice and dal. Drain the water out from soaked rice and dal and add them into the pressure cooker. Mix them well. Add half of the freshly chopped coriander leaves too and mix them in.
- Then add about 4 cups of water and pressure cook it until 5 whistles turning the flame down to low after the very first whistle. Turn the flame off after 5th whistle and let the pressure release on its own.
- Uncover the pressure cooker and stir through the khichdi. Put the cooker on low heat and add about 1 to 2 cups of hot water depending upon how thick your khichdi is. Stir thoroughly.
- Add the chopped green capsicum and mix them in. Check and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Finally add the dry whole red chilies and the knob of butter. Garnish with remaining freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve the warm masala khichdi with papad and pickle. Enjoy!
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