Ghee Khichdi: A One-Pot Comfort Meal

• 10 minPrep
• 25 minCook
• 3 to 4Serves

Khichdi is what many of us ask for when we are tired, unwell or just home after a long trip. It needs very little, and ghee is what makes it taste like home.

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
• Half a cup of yellow moong dal
• 2 tablespoons ghee, plus more to serve
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• A pinch of hing
• Half a teaspoon of turmeric
• Salt to taste
• 5 cups water

Method

1. Wash the rice and dal together and soak them for 15 minutes.
2. Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker or a heavy pot. Add the cumin and let it crackle, then add the hing.
3. Add the drained rice and dal, the turmeric and the salt. Stir for a minute.
4. Pour in the water. Cook until soft: 3 to 4 whistles in a cooker, or about 25 minutes covered in a pot.
5. Mash lightly with the back of a spoon and loosen with a little hot water if you like it soft.

To serve

Top each bowl with a generous spoonful of ghee and serve with curd, pickle or papad.

Tip: Add the last spoonful of ghee at the table, not in the pot. You get all of the aroma that way.