Kichadi is one of my all time favorite dishes.
It is so warm and comforting and reminds me of home.
This amazing Indian comfort dish doesn’t just taste good, but has many health benefits. It is full of turmeric, an anti-inflammatory agent, is soothing for the intestines with it’s easy digest, is gluten-free, and is perfect to eat at any time of day. It balances the body’s dosha, mixing basic elements, earth and water to increase energy and immunity, which is fire for stimulating digestive enzymes. Who knew Indian food had so much to offer!
That being said, Kichadi can be enjoyed at any time. No need to wait until you are sick!
Kichadi is traditionally a rice dish and can be served numerous ways. I was raised on Kichadi with moong daal, better known as split-yellow lentils.
It can be served with a porridge like consistency, or a more heartier version with full grains of rice. Often this dish is served with yogurt, raita and some type of pickle, usually mango or carrot.
- 1 large onion, sliced thin
- 4 green chilies (or to taste), sliced or minced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup washed, uncooked rice
- 1/2 cup, washed and soaked moong dal
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 4 tsp ghee
- Heat ghee in pressure cooker over medium heat until hot. Add cumin seeds, once they crackle add onions and sauté until soft.
- Add chilies and garlic, sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add rice and dal. Mix thoroughly.
- Add turmeric, salt, 2 1/2 cups water and close lid. Let cook for 2 whistles.
- Take off heat and let pressure go down, around 15 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve with yogurt and pickle.
- You may need to adjust the water to the amount of rice and dal. Pressure cookers can be tricky some time. If a lot of steam is coming from the cooker, remove off heat, wait until the pressure comes down and check the consistency of the dish.
