Had I been on my own, I would have done just that, that is, eat plain rice!  Maybe some plain yogurt with that.  However, V and amma also need to be fed, so I decided to make a one-pot rice and lentil dish called “Khichdi”.  It is the quintessential Indian comfort food, typically made when one’s stomach is too delicate to digest regular food.

Khichdi with rice and lentils topped with ghee

I adapted this recipe from The Higher Taste, an affordable book with awesome vegetarian recipes that pulls no punches on using ghee and other ingredients that taste divine! Speaking of divine, I picked up my first copy of the book a while back when my best friend took me to “Kalachandji’s“, a vegetarian restaurant in Dallas run by ISKCON.  I can still vividly remember the amazing food and the beautiful setting.

Khichdi with rice and lentils

So here’s the recipe.

Recipe for Khichdi: A one-pot rice and lentil dish with ghee
Adapted from The Higher Taste
[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients (see pic below):

Khichdi ingredients

• 1 cup rice (I used brown, feel free to use white rice)
• 1/4th cup full moong (green gram)
• 1/4th cup yellow split moong dal (moong dal, that has been skinned and split)
• 2 small tomatoes, diced
• Vegetables* (yields about 3 cups or a bit more):
• A small bunch of broccoli, chopped
• 10 small baby brussel sprouts, halved
• 1 small carrot, chopped
• 1 small beet, chopped
• 1/4th cup green peas
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 4 Tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 4-5 green chilies, slit down the middle
• 2 sprigs of curry leaves
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• A pinch asafoetida (optional)
• Salt to taste

* You can also add green beans, or potatoes if they are available

Method:

• Wash and soak the rice and lentils together in warm water overnight, changing the water out if possible once or twice
• Drain the water from the rice and lentils. 
• Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a large pot.  Then add the rice and lentils and bring it to a boil again and lower the heat
• Add the tomatoes and the vegetables and turmeric.  Close with a lid and cook until the rice and lentils are completely cooked and super-mushy.  (You may need to open up the lid and give it a stir once or twice so that the water does not boil over.)
• Alternately you can just combine the rice and lentils with the tomatoes, vegetables and turmeric and pressure cook the whole thing
• In a small pan, heat the ghee 
• When ghee is hot, add the cumin seeds and after a minute add the green chilies and curry leaves
• Switch off the heat and add the coriander powder and asafoetida
• Dump the ghee in to the pot with the cooked rice, lentil and vegetable mixture 
• Add salt to taste and mix
• Serve hot