Kichidi - An easy dinner for lazy days

I have had a busy day, and was lazy to cook dinner. I wanted to get dinner cooked by 5:00PM, but put it off until 7:00PM and it worked out well at the end, because I knew I wanted to make Kichidi, and this is one of those dinners, that is ready in 30 - 40 minutes from start to finish.

Since it is a one pot meal, doing the dishes after dinner is quicker than most days.

Kichidi is a simple dinner. And every Indian household has its very own variation of how it is cooked and the ingredients used. The below recipe is how it is cooked at my home.

Ingredients
Ghee (Clarified butter) - 1 tablespoon
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Cloves - 4 to 5
Red Onion - 2 Medium size
Green Chili - 4 to 5
Moong Dal (Yellow Split gram) - 1/4 cup
Rice - 1 and 1/4 cup
Turmeric - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt - As per your liking
Water

How to Make this easy Kichidi

Step 1: Wash and soak the yellow split gram and rice for 30 minutes.

Step 2: Slit the green chilis. Slice the onions.

Step 3: Add ghee in a pressure cooker. Add cinnamon and cloves. Add the green chilis and onions and saute till the onions turn soft and translucent.

Step 4: Once the onions turn translucent, drain and add the soaked rice and lentils. and stir for a minute or two.

***Step 5: ***Add salt and the turmeric. And give it a stir.

Step 6: Add water. Here I have added a little over 5 cups of water. A good average is 3.5 cups of water for every cup of rice. And for 1/4 cup of lentils, 1.5 cups of water.

Step 7: Pressure cook for about 2 whistles over medium flame. If your pressure cooker fails you, cook it for about 12 minutes over medium flame. Check all the water has been absorbed and keep it covered so it cooks further in the steam.

Yes, I have been trying to avoid cooking in aluminum but not today I guess 😀

If you use the pressure cooker, let the steam go off before attempting to opening the cooker lid. Serve Hot.