“Mixed Vegetable Masala Rice-Moong Dal Khichidi” … here is a healthy- heartwarming khichidi/ pongal meal no one can say no to … all you need to serve along with this nutritional dish is some fresh homemade curds/ raita and it tastes excellent … I added on plenty of veggies along with coriander- pudina paste to make it tastier and aromatic ... turned out truly fantastic … Yummilicious …
** Spicy Khichidi and Pongal are both the same with minute difference and is immensely loved in my home. My hubby never tires of relishing this dish and never complaints if served on daily basis too. Over the years, I have started preparing different types of Spicy Khichidi with as many variations as possible making my own mix and match of ingredients. I began to add assorted veggies, non-veg or different dals, masalas etc. to make it tastier- nutritious and somehow it always turned out perfect, I guess this is one dish with which one can never go wrong, isn’t it???? I am sure many will agree..
** Here is another healthy version of Spicy Khichidi/ Pongal with inclusion of veggies, garam masala. The addition of ground coriander- mint masala brought out an unique taste in it. I kept the combo of rice- moong dal same as is the way it is normally cooked, though at times I love adding different pulses. As this one includes plenty of spices, I kept the serving simple with just homemade curds and it was an excellent. One small tip I would like to share is please do not cut down on inclusion of the amount of ghee/ toop, as it makes the dish not only tastier but also helps in proper digestion.
** Here is my own recipe for “Mixed Vegetable Masala Rice- Moong Dal Khichidi” ... my style, tastes fantastic, do try it ....
** Ingredients :
Surti Kollam Rice or any Ordinary Rice : 1 cup
Moong Dal/ Split Green Gram : 1 cup
Haldi/ Turmeric Powder : ¼ tsp
Green Peas/ Vatana/ Vatano : ½ cup (shelled)
Beetroot : 1 small sized
Carrot/ Gajjar : 1 small sized
French Beans : 6-8
Cauliflower : 100 gms
Tomato : 2 medium sized.
Mustard Seeds/ Rai/ Sasam : 1 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin Seeds :1/2 tsp
Cinnamon/ Tikesaali/ Dalchini : 1-2 (2 inch size)
Cloves/ Lavanga/ Laung : 3-4
Star Anise : 1 whole
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 10-12 fresh ones.
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder/ Laal Mirchi Powder/ Mirsange Pitti : 2 tblsp
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : ½ tsp
Ghee/ Toop : 2-3 tblsp
Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 3-4 tblsp
** To be Ground into Paste :
Coriander Leaves/ Kottambari Pallo/ Dhania : 1 cup fresh leaves
Pudina/ Mint Leaves : ¼ cup fresh leaves
Green chillies/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 2-3
Losun/ Lehsun/ Garlic : 3-4
Ginger/ Adrak/ Alle’ : ½ inch pieces
** Wash both rice and moong dal together changing into fresh water a few times. Drain and put into a colander and keep aside for 15-20 minutes for water to be drained well. In a pressure cooker pan add 2-3 tblsp ghee, when hot add the drained moong dal- rice and fry for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add haldi powder, ½ tsp of salt, 3.5 cups of water and mix well. Pressure cook on medium heat until softly cooked and done, say for about 3-4 whistles. Remove and keep this aside ready for the pressure to release on its own. Open the lid and check if softy cooked and done, mix well.
** Shell the outer skin, collect and keep the green peas in bowl. Peel the outer skin of beetroot and carrot and cut them into ½ inch sized pieces say about ¼ cup each. Cut french beans into 1 inch sized pieces giving a slant cut and the cauliflower into 1 inch sized florets. Wash and cut tomato into small sized pieces and keep it separately. Keep all the cut veggies ready before you begin to cook the khichidi.
** To be Ground into Paste : Pick, wash and add coriander- pudina leaves into a colander to drain off all excess water for 10 minutes. Add it into a mixer grinder along with chopped green chillies, peeled and cut to pieces ginger and garlic. Grind all together to a fine paste with a little bit of water. Remove and keep it aside ready.
** Add 2-3 cups of water in a vessel and bring to a rolling boil. Add all cut vegetables ie green peas, beetroot, carrot, french beans, cauliflower florets with a pinch of salt and cook until the veggies are 80% done. Now, add tomatoes pieces and continue to simmer on medium heat for a few more minutes, say 3-4 minutes only.
** Meanwhile heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai/ pan, when hot add mustard seeds, when they begin to splutter, lower the heat, add jeera, cinnamon pieces, star anise, cloves, curry leaves and fry for a few seconds. Add kashmiri red chilly powder and fry for another few seconds. Add the prepared and kept coriander- pudina paste and continue to fry all the ingredients on medium heat for another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle some water only if you find it necessary to avoid masala being burnt/ stuck to the kadai.
** Now add little by little the pressure cooked moong dal- rice, mixing it well with masala as you keep adding it. Now gently add the simmering veggies in water along with water in which it is cooking and mix all the ingredients well. Bring all ingredients to a rolling boil on high heat stirring it to avoid being burnt. Lower the heat, add salt as is necessary only, mix well, cover with a tight lid and cook until soft and done.
** Remember the texture of good- tasty khchidi should be as shown in picture, ie thick and mushy (in konkani we would say dab dabi jaavuka). The texture should be such that when you serve it on plate, there should be no liquid leaving out from the sides of the khichidi, yet there should be enough to scoop up and relish the same, that is the perfect texture of a soft- mushy cooked khichidi, perfect and delicious. In case you need to serve it after few hours and on resting it thickens up, boil some water, add little by little while you keep mixing it and bring it to the perfect consistency desired for serving.
** “Mixed Vegetable Masala Rice- Moong Dal Khichidi” is done and ready to be served. Always serve khichidi steaming hot topped with a generous helping of homemade ghee (about 1 tblsp for each person) along with plain curds or raita as an accompaniment. There is absolutely no need to serve this khichidi with any spicy gravy dishes, dal or chutney etc. In my opinion the taste will be lost on doing so, the simple way it is served is the best way it tastes. Khichidi is one of the best comfort meal and when veggies are included it increases its nutritional value. It is great to relish it anytime of the year for meals. Do include this simple veggie khichidi into your diet to make your family fit and healthier.
** I am sharing a common link below where in you will find both sweet and spicy “Khichidi” recipes shared before in the Blog, do try them out …
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