“My Simple Solo Meals- Thali No~ 406 : Bajjile Pappodu (Roasted Pappad), Taushe (Kakdi/ Cucumber)- Tomato Raita, Moong Dal- Matki Dal- Rice- Beetroot Khichidi (Green Gram Dal- Moth Bean Dal- Rice- Pongal)” … khichidi is an all time favorite heartwarming simple meal for most of us and all you need to serve along is curds/ raita/ gojju etc. and it tastes excellent … there are plenty of combinations to try, sort of the list is never ending … it is easy to prepare coarse moth bean powder at home and I often do so when I decide to add it on to dishes … here is another recipe of khichidi prepared with inclusion of matki powder … it tastes scrumptious when prepared spicy, soft and mushy … tastes best served with simple raita/ salad … Yummilicious …
** As mentioned in one of my posts before I had come across moth bean dal/ matki dal in stores, but was reluctant to buy it as I had enough stock of whole moth beans at home. I just ground it to a coarse powder like that of lapsi/ bansi rava in mixer grinder and used it in preparation of khichidi and it turned out fantastic. I have prepared a few dishes using this powder and intend to try out many more, however I must mention that I have always used them by grinding in mixer at home. Frankly I have never purchased the dal and have no idea how it turns out, but for those of you who would like to buy it, go ahead and do so, I am sure it will taste much more delicious.
** There are a lot of variations with which a simple spiced khichidi can be prepared, and though rice with moong dal is the most sought after and one which is recommended even to patients, the same can be easily prepared and enjoyed with any other pulses/ grains/ beans like bajra, urad dal with skin, moong dal with skin, jowar etc. You can also add veggies like carrot, beetroot, tomatoes, beans, spinach/ palak, amaranth leaves etc., check my blog for more. 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 recipe for “Moong Dal- Matki Dal- Rice- Beetroot Khichidi (Green Gram Dal- Moth Bean Dal- Rice- Pongal)” … my style …
** Ingredients :
Moong Dal/ Green Gram Dal : ½ cup
Matki Dal/ Moth Beans Dal : ½ cup
Jeera Rice or Basmati Tukada Rice (Tandul) : 2 cups
Beetroot : 1 large
Cumin Seeds/ Jeera : 1 tsp
Black Pepper Corns/ Kali Mire/ Mire : 1tsp
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : few fresh ones
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder/ Mirsange PItti/ Mirchi Tikkat : 1 tsp
Haldi/ Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp
Hing/ Asafoetida Powder : 1 tsp
Sambar Masala Powder : 1 tsp
Coriander Leaves/ Kottambari Pallo/ Dhania : handful fresh one’s- finely chopped
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
Ghee/ Toop : 3-4 tblsp
Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela : 2 tblsp
** To Prepare Moth Bean/ Matki Powder : Rub required amount of moth beans/ matki with a clean dry cloth taking care to see that you evenly rub off any pesticide or dirt stuck to it. Then add only 2-3 handful of moth beans/ matki into a mixer grinder and using pulse mode coarsely powder them without running continuously. Do not add more moth beans at one time to grind or else you will NOT get coarsely evenly ground powder, so be careful. Remove and store in a air tight container and use as required.
** Peel off the outer skin of beetroot and cut into ½ inch sized cubes. Rinse and keep it aside ready. Also, keep ready any other veggies if desired.
** Wash and soak jeera rice and moong dal in plenty of water separately for 20-30 minutes. Drain off the water from both jeera rice and moong dal, add them together into a colander and rinse well under running water. Keep it aside ready.
** Heat coconut oil in a pressure cooker pan, when hot, lower the heat to medium and add the in the prepared and kept moth bean/ matki powder and fry well for about 2-3 minutes. Add a large pinch of haldi powder and fry for another minute.
** Add in drained jeera rice- moong dal and beetroot pieces into a pressure cooker pan along with 1 tsp of salt, coconut oil and 4 cups of water. Mix well and pressure cook on medium heat to 2-3 whistles. Keep it aside to allow the pressure to drop on its own. When cool enough, open the lid, fluff it a bit with fork and keep it aside ready.
** Note : You may find slightly reddish tinged ingredients when you open the lid of pressure cooker. Do not worry, it’s the skin of the moth beans that also is cooked and imparts the color to the dish, though this does not happen with store bought split moth beans, as they do not have any skin and is light off white in color.
** Add ghee/ toop in a thick bottomed kadai/ pan, when hot add cumin seeds, black pepper corns, wait for a few seconds and then lower the heat and add curry leaves, haldi powder, hing powder, sambar powder, chilly powder, curry leaves and fry all together for another few seconds only. Do not burn the masala powders.
** Loosen pressure- cooked ingredients and the above in kadai along with another 2 cups of boiling water and mix well, gently breaking lumps if any. Check and add salt to taste, (remember we have added salt while pressure-cooking too). Cook on medium heat stirring often until it comes to a good boil ie bubbles appearing on the surface. Lower the heat and cook covered for 5-7 minutes stirring in between.
** Remember not leave the cooking khichidi unattended at this stage as there are chances of it being stuck/ burnt at the bottom. A good- tasty Khichidi is always cooked to a soft- mushy consistency. So, do add in water accordingly depending upon the quantity of ingredients you have used. Always keep some extra boiling water handy to add in quickly while cooking if required, it saves on time and to get perfect khichidi.
** When the khichidi is cooked well and turns soft, mushy and slightly thinner textured remove from heat, add another tablespoon of ghee (optional) and mix well, this helps preventing the top of khichidi from drying up. Garnish with handful of finely chopped fresh coriander leaves, cover and keep it aside for 10 minutes to settle.
** “Moong Dal- Matki Dal- Rice- Beetroot Khichidi (Green Gram Dal- Moth Bean Dal- Rice- Pongal)” is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served with plain curds, any veggie raita/ salad or vegetable gojju. I served this delicious khichidi steaming hot with simple cucumber- tomato raita (curd salad), added on few roasted pappad and it was indeed a simple- fantastic- heartwarming combo. Be it any season khichidi is a one meal that is soul satisfying keeping the stomach in healthy condition especially if you feel a little bit uneasiness in stomach after repeated festive meals.
** In my home, I often prepare khichidi, atleast once in a week, each time in different combination and we love relishing it steaming hot with cold plain curds or raita. Before you begin to wonder and question, isn’t that a lot of ghee I have added, yes it is, a good khichidi needs that much depending upon the quantity cooked. Again, you are free to cut down on the quantity depending upon individual taste. I must mention that for this khichidi, I have added 2 tblsp of coconut oil and 2 tblsp of ghee only, as I personally need to cut down on fat. However, I have written the proper required amount of the same, which I used to follow until 5 yrs back and it would really turn out excellent.
** For “Bajjile Pappodu (Roasted Papad)” there is no recipe as such, all I did was, just used easily available store bought papads and roasted them on open flame and served
** 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 …
https://gayathrifoodbytes.blogspot.com/search?q=salad
https://gayathrifoodbytes.blogspot.com/search?q=raita
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Thanks.