Khichuri or खिचड़ी ( Khi-cha-dee)

Khichuri is a distinct recall on 3 occasions - One , on a beautiful pitter- patter rainy day - Second on Saraswati Pujo and third , anytime i am horribly lazy & sick . The beauty of her is is in her simplicity . I noticed that every part of India have their own renditions . My friends from north India have her memories in the strong hing ka tadka . In epicurean south India , she is the beautiful white Pongal ( which is in someway a Khichuri , as well ) but tempered with lots of ghee and peppercorns. In the east , however , we like to marry her with little bit of sweet and the good humored 'paanch phoran ' and some seasonal veges. Little said , she is pretty much a universal appeal.

For me , she is my every day ' go to ' quarantine food these days . Here i will be sharing the Bengal rendition , but before we get on to the recipe , one needs to understand the magical seasoning , namely - Paanch Phoran . I call him good humored as he pretty much gets along with everyone in the Bengal cooking fraternity...:)

Panch Phoron literally means “five spices'' and consists of the following seeds: Cumin, Mustard , Fenugreek, Nigella and Fennel - all mixed in equal proportions.

So here we go :

Things you will need

• ½ cup white rice ( Gobindo Bhog or Jeera Rice )

• ½ cup Moong dal ( Yellow )

• 1 small potato , peeled and cut in half

• Other assorted veges as per your preference

• 1 bay leaf - 2 green cardamom , 2-3 cloves , 1 green chilli

• 1 tbsp Paanch Phoran

• 1 tbsp grated ginger

• 2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

• 1 tbsp Turmeric powder

• Salt and Sugar to taste

Steps

• Dry roast the moong dal on medium flame till it starts to brown & you can smell its nutty aroma . Wash the dal together with the rice and keep it aside with water which is measured out as per below description .

• If you like the dry variety , the ratio of the dal-rice mix to water must be in 1:2 ratio . For the runnier porridge like consistency , the dal-rice mix to water ratio needs to be measured in 1:3 . Measure out the water and keep aside.

• Heat a pan or pressure cooker and add ghee and heat - throw in the bay leaf , paanch phoran , cardamom pods , chilli .

• Once everything starts to sputter, throw in the grated ginger and stir.

• Add all veges and stir fry for a few minutes , till u get a nice roasted smell of everything

• At this stage, add the dal + soaked rice + water and bring to a boil

• Add salt and sugar to taste

• Cook for 01 whistle if you are using a pressure cooker or for 30 mins if cooking in a pan .

• Devour with , well , another spoonful of Ghee !

Pro-tip : Match Fried eggplant , fried fish or jhurkhure aloo bhaji as sides