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Khichdi and Kadhi

February 6, 2008 |

“On days when warmth is the most important need of the human heart,
the kitchen is the place you can find it; it dries the wet sock, it cools the hot little brain.” - E.B. White

When there’s a chill in our bones and we’ve just returned from the ski slopes to an empty vegetable drawer, we find comfort in some hot khichdi and kadhi. In parts of western India, especially Gujarat, it’s the de facto meal to whip up on a rainy day, or when you’re back after a long journey and have yet to make a trip to the market.

The recipes are from two of our cookbooks - The Indian Kitchen by Monisha Bharadwaj (we have the 1998 edition), and The Complete Gujarati Cookbook by Tarla Dalal.

We’ve tried to tamper with these recipes various times, and came back to the original, ‘cos they are so easy and so comforting in any weather.

Khichdi (called khichuri in Bengal, pongal in Tamil Nadu, pulagam in Andhra), basically means a mish-mash of ingredients, mainly rice, lentils, often vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower or peas. There’s also a Maharashtrian version with prawns.

In a non-culinary context, ‘khichdi’ means a hodgepodge of items.

Khichdi differs in consistency, spice level and texture, depending on the occasion and who it is being served to. It’s likely to be mushy and bland for someone who’s ill, or as a starter solid for a baby.

If it’s being served on a rainy day, or to beat the chill, it may be spicy, and served with a dollop of ghee (clarified butter) and a hot mango or lemon achaar (pickle). Ours is the second version.

We’ve made this many many times, and love it. Served with a salad, it makes a delicious, low-fat meal.

Fresh, fragrant curry leaves elevate this dish to a whole new level.

Khichdi (right), kadhi (left) and lemon pickle

MOONG DAL KHICHDI (Spicy rice and lentils)
(from The Indian Kitchen by Monisha Bharadwaj)

Wash and drain
300 gms rice (any type) - about 1.5 cups (we used basmati)
150 gms split moong beans (moong dal) - about 3/4 cup

The split moong can be with or without skin. Chana dal, split yellow or green peas work too. If using a variety of rice that takes longer to cook (like rose matta), we often substitute the moong dal for whole moong beans, since they can handle the extra cooking without turning mushy. The point is to use a combo of rice and lentils that have approximately similar cooking times.

Keep 4 cups water to boil in a kettle or on the stovetop (or more depending on which rice you use).

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or ghee (clarified butter) in a pan.

Add
1 tsp cumin seeds

When they get toasty, add

6 black peppercorns lightly crushed,
4 cloves, lightly crushed
a large pinch asafoetida,
16 curry leaves lightly bruised,
4 green chillies slit lengthways to expose the seeds.

Fry for a minute and add the rice and moong dal. Stir for a couple of minutes until the grains are shiny.

Add
the hot water
and salt.

Bring it to a boil, stir once, cover and reduce the heat to the lowest setting.

Simmer until the rice is fluffy and dry (about 15 minutes)

Serve hot drizzled with 2 tsps melted ghee.

Kadhi is spiced, thickened buttermilk with or without dumplings or veggies. Chickpea flour (gram flour/besan) is used as a thickening agent. (The south Indian version - mor kuzhambu - uses coconut and/or rice flour.)

In Rajasthan and Punjab, fried or steamed dumplings are added. Gujarati kadhi is often plain, and a tad sweeter with the addition of sugar or jaggery. Kadhi is to the Gujarati what rasam is to a southie. It’s such an ubiquitous part of the menu, that no one really notices it on the table, but if it’s missing for a couple of days, something’s not quite right.

This is Tarla Dalal’s mother’s recipe from The Complete Gujarati Cookbook. (That book also has a khichdi flavoured with turmeric and peppercorns, but we prefer Bharadwaj’s version.) This is one of the easiest recipes you will encounter, and a great way to use up yogurt that’s about to turn very sour.

GUJARATI KADHI

Beat together
2 tablespoons chickpea flour (gram flour/besan)
2 cups of plain yogurt
and 3 cups of water

with a whisk until no lumps remain.
If using low-fat yogurt, like we do, use 3 cups of yogurt and 2 cups of water, and increase the chickpea flour by a tablespoon.

Add
1 teaspoon green chilli-ginger paste
4 curry leaves
2 tsps sugar (we use none)
salt to taste

and let it come to a light boil, then reduce the flame and simmer (do not boil on high, it may curdle and separate) until the raw smell disappears.

In 2 teaspoons ghee (clarified butter), fry
1/2 tsp each cumin and brown mustard seeds until they crackle.

Add
a pinch of asafoetida
one broken red chilli.

Add it to the kadhi, simmer for a couple of minutes.

Add
2 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves.

Khichdi and Kadhi is our entry for the Regional Cuisine of India: Gujarat event hosted by dear Mythili @ Vindu.

besan, BOOKS, buttermilk, chickpea-flour, Chilli, Curry leaves, dal, gram-flour, Gujarati, India, kadhi, khichdi, Lentils, Monisha Bharadwaj, moong, mung, Rice, soy-yogurt, tarla-dalal, the-complete-gujarati-cookbook

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45 Comments so far

Asha on February 6, 2008 12:28 pm
Ooh, guess what’s coming up at FH tomorrow!! I used one of those books for my thali! HeHe!!

Love the Kichdi and Kadhi combo.
dee on February 6, 2008 1:08 pm
Great combo bee.. its comfort food for me!
Chennette on February 6, 2008 1:19 pm
The Khichdi seems to have transferred across to us in the West Indies too - we make a version in Trinidad, we call Khichree, with rice, yellow split peas, then sometimes any ground provision on hand, or even saltfish. The basic version looks a lot like your picture, except it tends to be a bit mushier.

yep, and there’s a brit version called ‘kedgeree’. - b.
aa on February 6, 2008 1:45 pm
My favorite foods of all time! I’m a little surprised though that the kadhi recipe doesn’t call for turmeric. For a unique (still gujarati) flavour twist, try using quarter teaspoon of methi seeds in the tadka, and slightly increase the quantity of sweetness (maybe another 1/2 sp jaggery) - the methi plumps up, and the bitter-sweet combo is delicious, especially the next day.

we do the methi thing when we remember, and it does enhance the flavour a lot. - b.
Sweta on February 6, 2008 2:11 pm
Hi Bee and Jai,

I’m a frequent visitor on your blog (and even voted for CLick this time after the dressing down you gave us “visitors”), I totally love your space, the pictures ..the recipies everything..:bow:

Being a gujrati, I vouch for the fact that we make this food after coming home from long journeys..its definately our comfort food! Your recipe for the khichdi is a little different from how my mom/I make it, we use turmeric and red chilli powder (instead of green chillies), to get a lovely orange colour.

As for the kadhi, its exactly how we make it..though I never imagined sugar to be optional in any gujrati food
evolvingtastes on February 6, 2008 2:20 pm
very nice pots, especially the one of the khichadi!
btw, looks like khichadi is in the air! I posted a maharashtrian one most recently.
Latha on February 6, 2008 2:30 pm
Good combo guys. We make our khichdi slightly differently. My mil’s recipe - includes cloves, cinnamon, lots garlic and onions and rice and moong dal… served with spicy mint chutney! Our comfort food too!
Mansi on February 6, 2008 3:27 pm
I recently blogged about vaghareli khichdi and gujarati kadhhi on my blog too!:) your chhaas looks great! and thanks for reminding me about RCI:)
musy on February 6, 2008 3:42 pm
This indeed is a comfort food!
Suganya on February 6, 2008 3:56 pm
My pongal is always ooey gooey. And thats the way we like it. I find kadhi and mor kuzhambu very similar, that I stick to my regional version :). But I have been wanting to try Anita’s Punjabi kadhi for a long time now.
enjay on February 6, 2008 4:12 pm
Love the kadhi recipe! Interesting that we turn back to our started mushy foods for comfort..in my case, khichdi and daliya.
dhivya on February 6, 2008 4:25 pm
hey first time here..ur blog looks really great..nice fotos…this recipe sounds great too.
Pooja on February 6, 2008 5:22 pm
OMG ! you make gujarati food also nice way :no:. Whats on this earth that you cant cook J & B ?
you made it a perfect way. Being a Gujarati I love this soul food combo. A very comforting food too .
Mona on February 6, 2008 5:34 pm
Hi Jai and Bee! I had prepared my version of Khichdi today at my house, this version looks good too. Will post my recipe the coming week. Kadhi is my favorite, its a delicious comfort food.
Rachna on February 6, 2008 5:36 pm
Hey I love gujarati kadhi and khichri…yum yum yum ….
Siri on February 6, 2008 5:43 pm
Yummmmyy!!! same question - ‘What on earth do u ppl don’t cook?’

Siri
ss on February 6, 2008 5:47 pm
excellento
Superchef on February 6, 2008 5:52 pm
this is an awesome easy comfort food…the combo is gr8!! u guys are simply gr8!!
bhavani on February 6, 2008 7:32 pm
the khadi looks great will try it later. right now, i’m sticking with your fajeto
Miri on February 6, 2008 7:36 pm
Love khichdi, but well blended - no separate grains of rice and dal! Any yoghurt based food is my favourite and I used to gulp down katoris of the kadhi at Thakkers - the poky thali place in Girgaum…great entry for RCI!
Meera on February 6, 2008 8:23 pm
Khichdi - Kadhi combo looks so wonderful. I just saw Monisha Bhardwaj on “Iron Chef” the other day. She was one of the judges.
Nags on February 6, 2008 8:35 pm
Ohhh RCI is gujarati cuisine this month? Didn’t know that! awesome!!
Ramya's Mane Adige on February 6, 2008 8:58 pm
We had khichdi-kadhi too yesterday!! Love the pic.
Smita on February 6, 2008 9:21 pm
Love your pottery :-) Gujju food rocks :-)
jnirmala on February 6, 2008 10:49 pm
We make pongal as a “finger lick” consistency and we love it that way. And a simple dal sambar is the best combo for us. At home when the idli batter is emptied then this is the next breakfast that comes to mind. I love hot pongal with ghee…This kadhi is more like the mor kuzhambu we make.
rachel on February 6, 2008 11:11 pm
great combination!
raaga on February 6, 2008 11:50 pm
my entry too :-)
Shella on February 7, 2008 12:35 am
Aaah thats so perfect. I love my khicdi the dry way, unlike my pati who loves it goooey. I really wonder how we got married to each other - we are not “poles apart” we are probably “planets apart” in terms of liking stuff.:huh:…i always take out my plate after the first steam lets out, n & then add more water to make his mushy!!! Phew….what all I have to do to please him……but you know what, I’ll still have him picking at my plate often
sia on February 7, 2008 4:40 am
my soul food i follow trupti’s kadhi recipe which has never let me down.
Kamini on February 7, 2008 8:15 am
Lovely writing and photographs, as always.
I clicked on the link to Dhal Dhokli (Tripti’s site) and alas, it is now open only to invited readers. Is there any way you could post that recipe on your site? I have a serious craving for the stuff after reading about it!
Kamini
Núria on February 7, 2008 9:10 am
Is there a little chair in the corner where I could sit and have some of your delicious dishes? I promise I won’t disturb you!
kalva on February 7, 2008 9:47 am
Awesome Jai and Bee, loved the khicdi version, pulagam looks great!!!
TC on February 7, 2008 10:34 am
K&K is our favouritest combo too.
Lovely pots.
I, too, plan on adding methi but don’t always remember.
sagari on February 7, 2008 11:40 am
Bee love your khichidi with peanut chutney and ghee yummmmmmmmmmmmm
vanamala on February 7, 2008 12:10 pm
Jai & Bee

Good looking combo
Anuzi on February 7, 2008 1:16 pm
In our household Kichdi is considered “sick food”. My mom always made it when we were sick but yours look soooo yummy I wouldnt mind being sick for some of that
RedChillies on February 7, 2008 6:47 pm
I am still drooling looking at the lemon pickle of all the things. That along with butter milk drizzled over the khichdi makes a deadly combination.
my comfort food on February 8, 2008 6:19 am
J&B,

The Khadi and Kichidi looks good. I have never made khichidi with all these spices, so this is a must try.

Good Stuff!
Seema on February 8, 2008 8:03 am
You got a perfect combo set there & tempting your friend bloggers!
Deepa on February 8, 2008 7:56 pm
Excellent post !!!Perfect combhination …..I will try it soon
Coffee on February 8, 2008 9:25 pm
Gujju food without sugar in the kadhi! You aren’t eating gujju food then
mango power girl on February 9, 2008 4:48 pm
your photos are so nice, i don’t even like kichdi & my mouth watered!
bird's eye view on February 11, 2008 1:37 am
This is an interesting khichdi - the karnataka version is called huggi and is very different - more spices etc. we est it with a finger-licking tamarind sauce called gojju - yum…
enjay on February 13, 2008 7:10 pm
We made the kadhi tonight..So good.
Vindu » RCI - Gujarat : The Round Up on March 9, 2008 6:59 pm
[…] Jai and Bee (Jugalbandi)- Khichdi and Kadhi […]