“My Solo Meals : Kerala Matta Kani Red Boiled Rice- Moong Dal (Green Gram Dal) Spiced Khichidi (Pongal), Ambuli Nonche (Raw Mango Pickle), Air-Fried Potato (Batata/ Aloo) Fries” … khichidi served topped with a tablespoon of homemade ghee is an all time favorite heartwarming meal for most of us and in my home we are game any day for this awesome meal … there are plenty of combinations to try out from and here is another version I tried today … I would say this is a healthier version as I have replaced normal rice with Kerala Matta Kani Red Boiled Rice, while rest of the recipe remains same … Yummilicious …
** Spiced Khichidi is a most sought after dish throughout India and each region prepares it with minute difference. However, by and large khchidi is prepared with rice and moong dal, though nowadays many of us have begun experimenting and trying out new methods for change from routine ones. Addition of millets or change in dals/ rice/ veggies/ spices etc. is something I started experimenting with about a decade back and have come up with many successful combinations, which I have shared in the Blog.
** Today I prepared a simple spiced khichidi for meal with addition of Kerala Matta Kani Red Boiled Rice- Moong Dal (Green Gram Dal) for a change instead of normal rice, while rest of the recipe remained almost same. This rice is much healthier and easier to cook than the whole red boiled rice and after coming across it a few years back, I have begun using it extensively for porridge, dosa, bhakri etc. This is the first time I trying out khichidi with red boiled rice and I was pleasantly surprised with its taste.
** Come monsoon/ winter and I am more into relishing hot soups, khichidi as they are comfort meals when there is chill in air. I will be trying out more options, so do try these out till then, I will not run into much details, but will be sharing a common link to all khichidi recipes which include both sweet and spicy ones at the bottom of this recipe, please browse through the same and try out that which appeals you and remember to give me a feedback, it gets me motivated. Stay Blessed, Stay Safe.
** Here is my recipe for “Kerala Matta Kani Red Boiled Rice- Moong Dal (Green Gram Dal) Spiced Khichidi (Pongal)”, … My Style …
** Ingredients :
Kerala Matta Kani Red Boiled Rice: 1 cup
Moong Dal/ Green Gram Dal : 1 cup
Black Pepper Corn/ Mire/ Miri Powder : 1 tsp (Coarse)
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
Water : 4 cups
** For tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka :
Ghee/ Toop : 3-4 tblsp
Jeera/ Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp
Black Pepper Corns/ Mire/ Miri : 1 tsp
Hing/ Asafoetida Powder : 1 tblsp
** Put both kani boiled rice and moong dal in a bowl and wash well. Drain and add into a pressure cooker pan along with 3-4 cups of water and a teaspoon of ghee and salt. Pressure cook on medium heat to 2-3 whistles. Let the pressure drop on its own, then open and check out if cooked well and then keep it ready aside.
** Heat ghee in a kadai/ pan, add jeera, black pepper corns and fry for a few seconds. Add hing powder and then add in the pressure cooked kani boiled rice- moong dal and mix well. Check and add more water if necessary and cook on medium to low heat stirring often until you see bubble appearing on surface of the khichidi.
** Note : Always keep some boiling water beside while cooking to be added on if necessary, ie if you find the khichidi too thick. The amount of water depends upon the consistency and the rice and dal and above all individual preference of texture.
** Lower the heat, mix well and cook stirring often to avoid it being burnt at the bottom. When khichidi thickens, add salt to taste (after checking, remember we have added some while pressure cooking), mix well, remove from heat and keep it aside covered for a few minutes and it is ready. If you find the khichidi too thick while serving, just add in half a cup of boiling water, mix well and its perfect to be served.
** Note : Always use ghee/ toop for khichidi for best in taste and health benefits. I have kept this khichidi/ pongal simple in spices as I would be serving it with some pickle, however you can add some chopped green chillies, mustard seeds, curry leaves etc. while seasoning. You can even add any curry powder as is your choice, just browse through common link shared and you will find plenty of variations.
** “Kerala Matta Kani Red Boiled Rice- Moong Dal (Green Gram Dal) Spiced Khichidi (Pongal)” is done and ready to be served. I served it for lunch with some air fried potato fries and raw mango pickle/ ambuli nonche. I would have loved to add on some curds which is my favorite combo with khichidi, however, I did not have any at home and somehow I don’t like the packed ones. Again, when it raining heavily, I avoid having curds or anything cold to avoid catching on cold, so just skipped it, but do serve it with a bowl of curd or kokum kadhi, they both taste excellent in their own way.
** A delicious and fantastic combo of dishes that tasted heavenly and we enjoyed the meal. Do try this combo if your family loves khichidi, especially during monsoon/ winter when you want to have hot dinner and nuzzle up in the bed feeling warm when there is cold outside or it is raining heavily. It is one of the healthiest dishes and can be consumed for lunch or dinner by one and all, be it young or old. Addition of kani red boiled rice makes it much more healthier and if its available do try using it or any other variety of easy to cook red rice or broken red rice, I am sure it will taste great too.
** Remember, not to leave the cooking khichidi unattended as there are chances of it being stuck/ burnt at the bottom of kadai/ pan in which case the the lot of khichidi will be spoilt with inedible flavor. Always keep some extra boiling water handy to add in if required ie. if you find that the khichidi is drying up as it gets cooked, that way you will cook it faster without any hitches. When the khichidi is cooked well and turns soft, mushy and slightly thinner textured remove from heat, add 1 tblsp of ghee/ toop (optional), just before serving or you can serve ghee individually too, it is much healthier.
** Consuming hot spiced khichidi is extremely good for health when recovering from illness or if not keeping well. It keeps the body warm during monsoon/ winters when there is chill in air or its raining heavily. Again, if you want to go light on meals after back to back festive occasions/ celebrations days/ any other reason, wherein sometimes we tend to go overboard with relishing snacks, sweets, fries, heavy gravy dishes, drinks etc. It’s one of the safest dishes to be relished a few times in a month to balance on food/ gut/ or any other issues to bounce back on health, try it, works wonders.
** Khichidi tastes best with curds/ raita or besan kadhi, however during winter/ monsoon many prefer not to consume much of curds to avoid cold food, that is the very reason I serve it slightly thinner textured as it is with spicy pickle to tickle the taste buds. During warm days, you can easily add on kadhi or any other mildly spiced gravy dishes for best of taste. Again, these are all individual choices, you can always try your own combination of preparing and serving dishes as your family prefers. I am sharing a common link to all pickle recipes shared in blog below, you may browse through and try them if desired.
** Coming to fries, you may choose to serve any type of bajos/ bajias/ fritters, as is your choice. It tastes great served during monsoon/ winter, be it with any combo meals you want to serve it with. I must confess I am addicted to fried dishes and though I do realize that I must cut down on them to avoid health issues, I just cannot hold myself back. Air fried dishes come to rescue during such phases as its almost oil free and I must say guilt free too. I always make a resolution to try more air fried items, but somehow never getting round to really trying out and end up with simple potato fries the easiest and tastiest.
** Sharing below a common link to both sweet and spicy khichidi recipes shared in the blog before, you may browse through the same and try them out any you prefer, I will be trying more combos, so always stay tuned and do give me a feedback .....
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