Spicy Lasooni ~ Fresh Methi Leaves ~ Rice ~ Moong Dal Khichidi.

Hot And Spicy "Lasooni ~ Fresh Methi Leaves ~ Rice ~ Moong Dal Khichidi" ...... Served With Deep Fried Nachani Vodi / Vadi ....... Onion ~ Curds Raitha ...... Deep Fried (Sun Dried) Chilly And Amla (Gooseberry) Pickle ....... Yumz ...... Healthy Food .....

Any type of khichidi is a soul food that is best served during dinner time. Somehow I always find khichidi a lovely dish to be had at night besides my other choice of peja / conjee / rice porridge. Both of these go well with some spicy pickle and some fried fryums / vodi / papads etc. But khichidi should always be relished hot or else it somehow looses its taste. Without running in much details about Khichidi a common food in India I would like to add here that for added health benefit, I have put in finely chopped fresh methi leaves which is abundantly available in the the market now. Methi / Fenugreek leaves have their own health benefits and are extremely good for health. They should be included as much as possible during season in our daily diet. I have seasoned with garlic as methi and garlic are always a great combination. Here is my simple but nutritious khichidi that’s sure to be appreciated by your family when you serve it really hot with added side dishes.

Wash and soak 1 cup of Jeera Rice / Basmati tukda rice or any other of your choice and 1 cup of Moong dal together for 15-20 minutes. Wash well and drain it on a colander. Keep this ready aside. Pick, clean and chop finely about 3-4 cups of fresh methi / fenugreek leaves. Wash them in plenty of water. Squeeze out the water properly and keep them ready aside.

Peel and roughly chop about 15 – 20 garlic cloves. Keep them ready aside.

Now in a pressure cooker pan add about ¼ cup of fresh homemade ghee, when it melts add in the garlic cloves and fry till they turn slightly in colour. When the colour changes add in 8-10 pepper corns, 1 tsp coarsely ground green chilly, 4-5 cloves, 2 pieces of 1” stick of cinnamon, 2 slit green cardamom and fry for a few seconds. Now add in ½ tsp of haldi / turmeric powder and ¼ tsp of red chilly powder and stir for a minute or two.

Add in the drained rice – moong dal mixture and the methi leaves. Add about 4 cups of water, salt to taste and mix well. Cover the pressure cooker lid and pressure cook on medium heat to 2 whistles. Lower the heat and cook further for about 5-7 minutes. Increase the heat and cook to 2 more whistles and then remove from fire. Let the pressure in the cooker fall on its own. When its cool enough, open the lid and let the steam pass off. Leave uncovered ~ untouched for 5-7 minutes. Gently mix with a large fork all the ingredients.

The Spicy and Lasooni / garlic flavoured khichidi with the added goodness of fresh methi leaves is ready to be served. Serve this really hot with any raita or salad of your choice with some pickle and deep fried vodi / fryums of your choice. This is an excellent choice of dish for dinner. When served hot during winter it really spreads in warmth in the body and relaxes the body to good undisturbed peaceful sleep in the night. So go ahead and enjoy the khichidi but remember to always serve khichidi hot.