Kichidi(Rice,Lentils and Spinach)

Hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving.We had a nice quite one this year,as a few of us were under the weather,and are now on the road to recovery after a few bouts of cold and sore throats!

The holiday season calls for rich decadent meals and after a few meals like that we crave simple comfort food,and nothing is more satisfying to us than a steaming cup of kichidi and a dollop of ghee.Kichidi is a rice based dish;the rice and lentils are cooked together along with aromatic whole spices and a good serving of vegetables of your choice (I added spinach in this one!).

Recipe Source : My Mother-in-law

Ingredients

• 2 cups of Basamati Rice
• 1 cup of Lentils ( I used masoor dhal,you can also use the small spilt yellow dhal)
• 1 and 1/4 cups of Spinach (tightly packed,I used frozen chopped spinach,you can use vegetable of your choice,carrots,peas or potatoes)
• 2 Large Onions(sliced)
• 1 tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste
• 2 green chillies (slit,add more if you like it spicier,adjust to spice level)
• 1 inch Cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 6 Green Cardamom pods
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons of ghee or oil of your choice
• 4 cups of hot water
• Salt to taste

Method :

1. Wash the basamati rice in couple of changes of water.(drain all the water,from the rice and set aside)
2. Wash the lentils in couple of changes of water and drain all the water.
3. Heat a heavy based pan,add two tablespoons of ghee,when the ghee is heated add the cumin seeds,and they will sizzle.
4. Add the whole aromatic spices (cinnamon,cardamom and cloves) and fry this for a quick minute.
5. Add the sliced onions and saute them till they become translucent.
6. Add the ginger and garlic paste and saute this till all the raw smell goes away.
7. Add the green chillies,saute for another minute.
8. Add the turmeric powder,add rice and fry the rice for a quick minute
9. Add your lentils and fry this for another minute.
10. Add the vegetables,I added frozen spinach,sauted it for another quick minute.
11. In another pot boil 4 cups of water.
12. Add 4 cups of hot water to the rice,lentil and vegetables,add salt and taste the water,it should taste a little salty.
13. Cover the pot with a fitted lid and cook for 15-20 minutes till all the water has evaporated and the rice is cooked.( stir once in between)
14. When the rice is cooked you can add a dollop of ghee prior to serving,enjoy the kichidi with your favorite curry,our favorite combination is kichidi and meatball curry,click here for the recipe: Meatball Curry (just the way my mother-in-law makes it!)
    
    I'm taking part in the Cooking with Seeds (CWS)-Rice event,hosted by The Big Sweet tooth,here
 

 

Dhal (Lentil Curry)

This is a simple Lentil dish,a staple in most Indian households and our favorite comfort food,served with a steaming cup of rice!Its a quick easy recipe with very little prep time and the cooking time is pretty fast thanks to the trusted pressure cooker.

The kids love this and I love adding spinach every once in a while to my lentils,the combination of lentils and spinach is delicious.We like our dhal cooked a little extra and the end result is a thicker, creamier dhal.

Dhal

 Ingredients :

• 1 cup Masoor Dhal ( Red Lentils)
• 2 Medium sized tomatoes,chopped
• 5-6 cloves of garlic,sliced
• 1-2 green chilly slit
• 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon sambar powder (optional)
• Salt to taste

Seasoning :

• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• a pinch of asteofida (optional)
• 5-6 curry leaves
• 3 cloves of garlic,crushed
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• Oil

Method :

1. Wash dhal in 2-3 changes of water. Drain thoroughly and transfer to a pressure cooker (if you dont have a pressure cooker you can use a deep dish pan).
2. Add sliced garlic to dal along with turmeric powder, green chillies,chopped cilantro,sambar powder and about 3 cups of water.
3. Pressure cook this for 3 whistles.
4. Heat some oil in a small pan,add your mustard seeds,once the seeds start to splutter,add the cumin seeds and the crushed garlic till it turns a light brown.
5. Add your curry leaves
6. Reduce the heat,add your chopped cliantro (I like the taste of seasoned cilantro leaves) Fry for 30 seconds to a quick minute and take off the heat.
7. Add this seasoning to the cooked dhal.
8. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.
9. Serve with steaming hot rice!