K is for (nutty, toovar) KHICHDI and (gujarati) KADHI….

Khichdi (also khichdee, khichadi, khichuri, khichari and many other variants) is an Indian dish that contains a combination of rice and lentils. It is commonly considered to be India’s comfort food. Khichdi is also the first solid that babies are introduced to. Rice and lentils are simmered till mushy, seasoned with turmeric and salt and fed to infants to introduce them to “people food”.

This simple food can be cooked in a variety of forms…… While some cook khichdi as a rather rich and delectable delicacy, some cook it very differently - a very plain dish that is normally associated with bland taste and diet for people when sick.

 Khichdi is commonly served with another dish called “kadhi” and other accompaniments are papads, ghee, achar, and yoghurt. And today I serve this to you in its nutty variation with lip smackingly delicious gujarati kadhi on special request by Mallika!!!!! :)

The lentils used for making khichdi can also be of a huge variety. Some prefer the yellow moong dal, some with green split moong or even with toor dal. All taste different and have its own varied taste.

This particular one is made with toor dal and fresh green toor (the ones which are used in ‘Undhya’) if you don’t get fresh, use the frozen ones….. and if you don’t get frozen ones as well, just use green peas as I did !!! :)

Take rice and toor dal in equal quantity, wash and let it soak till you prepare the rest of the things.

1/2 cup Basmati Rice
1/2 cup Toor Dal

Freshly pound 3-4 cloves of garlic, 1/2 inch ginger and 2-3 green chillies. (You can also use frozen paste if you have, but fresh ones give a different fresh taste to it altogether.)

And now when the title says its nutty, take some raw peanuts and grind them coarsely.

In a pressure pan heat 1-2 tsp oil and let the cumin seeds brown, add 2-3 cloves and 1 inch piece of cinnamon for that extra flavour.

Add the coarsely ground peanuts and the freshly ground ginger-garlic-chilli and cook for 2-3 mins stirring in the middle.

Now add the soaked rice and lentils, green toor/peas, haldi, garam masala and salt to taste. Add water in 1:2 proportion. Here rice and lentil (together) is one cup so we add 2 cups of water.

Cover and cook for 2 whistles.

====================================

Now for the kadhi…….

Gujarati kadhi has a very mild sweet and sour taste to it. The sweetness comes from sugar/jaggery/both and sourness from the curd/yogurt. For enhanced taste, if your curd/yogurt is not sour, then remove it from the refrigerator and keep it outside for 1-2 hours before you start making kadhi. This will bring some amount of sourness to the not-so-sour-curd and enhance the taste of kadhi.

Some people prefer it thick, some thin and some with the in between consistency. The choice is yours…… and accordingly you will have to adjust the proportion of besan to curd. Also, the more you keep heating and reheating it, the kadhi will start to thicken. To avoid this if you are not going to sit to eat immediately, follow the tip I have mentioned below…..

For a medium consistency kadhi, the proportions are…… 1 cup curd/yogurt to 2 tsp besan.Â

Add water as per the requirement (depends on how thick or thin you want) and mix it all together, breaking any lumps which form along the way. Add about 1 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp jaggery. You can use both or either of them for sweetness. Adjust the quantity as per your requirement. (There is no heating uptill now!!!!! )

In a small kadai, prepare the tadka. Heat 1-2 tsp oil, pop the mustard seeds and brown the jeera. Add 1-2 cloves and 1 inch piece of cinnamon for enhanced flavour(optional). Switch off the gas and then add 2-3 cloves of grated garlic and chopped green chillies. The reason you switch off the gas and then add garlic and chillies is that you don’t want to burn them and reduce their flavour by throwing them in the oil which is still heating!!!!! Wait for a minute till you start getting the smell of garlic and then pour it over the besan-yogurt mixture.

Leave it till this stage until you sit for your meal. There is no heating done except for the tempering!!!!!!

Just before you sit for your meals, give it a good boil and add freshly grated ginger to it.

Garnish with fresh corriander and your kadhi is ready!!!! :)

Relish it with this nutty khichdi or any other accompaniment and enjoy the mild sweet and sour flavour with a dash of ginger and smoked garlic……… :D

 And this goes to Nupur for letter K this week!!!!!!! :)

 

 

Comments

34 Responses to “K is for (nutty, toovar) KHICHDI and (gujarati) KADHI….”

  1. Nupur on April 6th, 2007

    Just reading this entry was like a delicious, comforting meal! What a wonderful entry…so informative with the step-by-step instructions to make the all-time favorite comfort food!

  2. Nina on April 6th, 2007

    You have a great website i just love your easy to follow instructions. The photos are just great.Your recipe of kichadi and kadi bring back so may good memories , will try it on this long weekend . Thank you

  3. Trupti on April 6th, 2007

    Khichdi-Kadhi is a classic pair….love this stuff with some papad and pickles…adding peanuts is new though….must try this.

    read your comment on my Tikhi puri post….dando layine nahi aavti mari maa! ;)
    Pulao-Kadi paan sara lage nahi?

  4. Asha on April 6th, 2007

    Both look fabulous.I made Kadhi too for Kalyn’s WHB.I love your recipe though.Kichadi is so yummy.I will try it.Thanks Coffee!:))

  5. seema on April 6th, 2007

    Coffee, my hubby has asked me N number of time to make Kichdi and somehow I am confused with kichdi and khara(spicy) pongal and end up with kichpo( haaha thats what my hubby calls it as it always tastes like neither kichdi not pongal). Will try out your recipe and let you know. Khadi looks nice too. I admire you to post the recipe with step by step depicting pictures. Love ya girl.

  6. bee on April 6th, 2007

    this has got to be the most comforting combo of all.

  7. Swapna on April 6th, 2007

    There is nothing more comforting than khichdi-kadhi..I love to have this combo after a tired day:)

  8. sandeepa on April 7th, 2007

    Now this is definitely a different Khichadi from what i am used to. But I like the idea of the green toor. Your step by step pics are always great

  9. Smita on April 7th, 2007

    This recipe has got to be patented - how can something so simple be so delish and comforting!!! Thank You Coffee!!

    Smita

  10. Latha on April 7th, 2007

    I love your step by step pictures Coffee! What a lovely entry. I mostly make my khichdi with moong dal. Will try your recipe next time :-) Cheers
    Latha

  11. Musical on April 7th, 2007

    Coffee, just the perfect thing for lunch time :)
    The khichri and kadhi look amazing! Love it, love it, love it. Never tried my khicri with peanuts: and so this makes my weekend lunch :)
    Hugs…..you dish up irresistible food every time :)
    i have another khichri (guess which daal), coming up with a raita.

  12. Richa on April 7th, 2007

    beautiful step by step pics, coffee!
    i too love my khichadi-kadi and the kala chana (which i posted today) combo! usually hu kadhi ma lasan nathi nakhti, pan bhinda ni kadhi ma, lasan nakhu. Will try your version too.
    thanks for the recipe.

  13. viji on April 7th, 2007

    Mouthwatering Coffee. Viji

  14. sra on April 8th, 2007

    i’ve had the khichdi, love the kadhi that goes with it. Where I eat it, it’s like silk!

  15. mandira on April 8th, 2007

    kichadi and kadhi, the combination sounds wonderful. will have to try it soon coffee :) thanks for sharing.

  16. Prema on April 9th, 2007

    Both the recipes are lovely coffee. Nice of u to post with step by step pictures. Peanuts in khichdi is new to me but it sure is a good combination with kadhi.

  17. Mallika on April 9th, 2007

    WOW. Thank you sooooooooo much. I will definitely try this and get back to you.

    My husband is also eternally grateful! :-)

  18. outofthegarden on April 9th, 2007

    Hi Coffee, what a wonderful post with great instructions and beautiful photos! I can’t wait to try these traditional dishes :)

  19. Menu Today on April 9th, 2007

    Hi Coffee,
    Kichadi and Khadi looks Fantastic!!! Thanks for the step by step recipe.

  20. Reena on April 9th, 2007

    Love the kichadi. Never seen step by step pictorial of any recipe. Makes the dish more tempting. I have to try this now.

  21. just for fun on April 10th, 2007

    Very nice comforting Khichadi and Kadhi. Nice Combo. Nice step by step presentation coffee:)

  22. archana on April 10th, 2007

    Hi Coffee,
    I am back:)
    I missed out on so many posts!and missed you all too:)
    Khichdi and kadhi is my fav and gujarati kadhi luv it :)Thanks for this lovely post.
    I liked the green toor dal idea, will try it some time:)

  23. padmaja on April 10th, 2007

    My favourite combo, very simple meal and so delicious as well!!!

  24. sia on April 10th, 2007

    i got recipe of making green gram kichidi from my friend and i absolutely loved it with kadi. now i am gonna try ur version this week:) wait for the verdict sweetie:)

  25. swapna on April 11th, 2007

    Hi coffee
    wonderful step by step procedure…

  26. dhanya on April 11th, 2007

    Coffee, while in college i was in a hostel & had joined a gujju mess. We used to wait for wednesdays as the menu for that day was Kichadi Kadi!! Love ur presentation, makes the recipe so simplified!!

  27. soumya on April 11th, 2007

    Hey Coffee,
    good to know authentic gujju style cooking.thanks for sharing.Love the kichdi color

  28. Jyoti on April 12th, 2007

    was really confused abt how to make d perfect khichdi….i think i will be able to now :)…gr888 going wid d pictures in between, gives us a step to step idea….thnks…ciao

  29. resham on April 18th, 2007

    Hi coffee :razz: Just wanted to let you know i tried this recipe and it came out great. My new comfort food!!Thank you

  30. Kitchadi Revisited « Bowl Food on May 9th, 2007

    […] One Hot Shove has two articles on Kitchadi, one one a moong dal based recipe and another that discusses the joy of the dish Then there’s the Ayurvedic Kitchadi recipe I mentioned in the older post Indian Food and Andhra Recipes posted Masala Khichdi Finally, the Spice Cafe offers up the Nutty Toovar Khichdi […]

  31. Cool kadhi and nutty khichdi at Quick Indian Cooking on June 26th, 2007

    […] anticipation of the hot months lying ahead, I requested Coffee for the recipe for kadhi. Both Trupti and hers, combined with some experimenting, gave me the perfect result I […]

  32. The Spice Cafe » Blog Archive » Sakariya nu Shaak on July 27th, 2007

    […] started with K for Khichdi and Kadhi - Neither of them being […]

  33. Peanuts » jugalbandi on August 21st, 2007

    […] Gujarati Kadhi (The Spice Cafe) […]

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    Testosterone enanthate….

    Testosterone boosters with androstenedione. Mature men aging amp testosterone. Zinc testosterone. Testosterone. Low testosterone….

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