Saturday, March 01, 2008

Kadhi- Khichadi : Comfort Food!

I missed it again!! Darn! I am getting so absent minded!! I wanted to send in my entry for RCI - Gujarat and had this sitting in the draft for ever so long! all I had to do was review it once and publish!
What with my last day at work .. yep, I resigned.. want to take a break, some 'me' time is what I want! and then savouring every minute of my 'return to the housewife' days, I got terribly lazy and did my daily round of peeping into all blogs, but neglecting my own!
So when I saw RCI Gujarat.. I was all of Kem cho? Maja ma? Jamva mate shu che ( ok, overlook all the mistakes here..) I am a fan of Gujarati food and Mumbai offered a fantastic spread of Gujju food! I would literally starve myself for a day and then go in to Rajdhani or Surti or Kamath' s and then feast! Fortunately, everyone in my family loves Gujarati food, specially my Father and so there was no argument when going to a Gujarati restaurant was concerned!

When we did not eat out, my Mother or Father would make a trip to Dadar (W) to a famous shop, 'Surti Farsan' where they sold the yummiest 'Undhiyu'. Mom or Dad, would get up early on a Sunday morning ( yes that is the kind of love we have for this cuisine!) get ready, pick up a large size steel 'dabba' .. they are not fans of plastic take alongs and indeed those were not available in India then. Catch a bus to the market and then jostle among the hundreds (not kidding !) who were already in line to buy the undhiyu which would be sold out by 10:00 am!! I would on some occasions tag along and would be amply rewarded for my patience with a packet of dholka or kachori.. plus not to mention, the 'taste' of a khandvi or a jalebi the shop-keeper would give me in return for my sweet smile! Oh yes! I used to do that when the parent was not looking! Nothing like getting a little tidbit from the mouthwatering mounds of yummy stuff sitting right in front of your nose and the aroma wafting to your nose and making you drool!

Though M likes to call me a 'spicitarian', I really enjoy the slightly sweet taste of Gujarati food and enjoy all the varieties that it offers.

Among all the delicious dishes that this cuisine has, one extremely simple and comforting dish stands way out, Kadhi Khichadi combination! The simplest of ingredients and no spices make this combo a hit with me. This is so nourishing and perfect for bleak evenings and a perfect remedy for a sniffly nose (in my case)!!

For many months now, M would not touch Kadhi and khichadi.. he would turn up his nose at it , called it food for invalids! .. that just made things difficult for me as I can enjoy kadhi for any meal! On one rare occasion, however Mr. Picky obliged and sipped a spoonful of kadhi.. hhmmm... not bad.. not bad at all! That disdainful look vanished from his eyes and they showed a good deal of interest in what lay before! I was thrilled! He still likes kadhi, I had my doubts that the initial liking was a flash in the pan, and has even progressed to enjoying sipping kadhi like soup!!

The recipe is as simple as ABC..! All you need is :
2 cups Sour Yogurt
2 tbsp Besan
2 tbsp ghee /oil
1 inch ginger (grated)
2 green chillies
Few curry leaves
1 Red chilli halved
1/2 tsp mustard Seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1/8 tsp Asafetida
1/8 tsp Turmeric
Salt to taste
2-3 tbsp Sugar
2 cups water
Cilantro to garnish

Add the besan to yogurt, add water and blend , make sure there are no lumps. Add sugar and salt and keep aside.

Heat ghee / oil, add the mustard seds. after they pop, add cumin seeds, chopped green chillies and halved red chilli, curry leaves and asafetida, turmeric and ginger. Pour the yogurt mixture. Stir well. Add more water to attain the consistency you want ( the besan makes the kadhi thicker) and let it come to a rolling boil. Switch off the heat. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with hot Khichadi .


To make khichadi
1/2 cup Mung daal
1/2 cup rice
1 green chilli
Few curry leaves
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Ghee
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/4 tsp
2 1/2 cups water
Wash the mung daal and rice, drain all water and set aside. Heat ghee, add mustard seeds, after they pop, add cumin seeds, asafetida, chilies and curry leaves, turmeric. add the washed rice and daal, saute till all the grains are coated.

Add water, salt and pressure cook (as you would cook rice) . I usually add extra water to get a soft and slighty mushy khichadi. Serve with a dollop of pure ghee kadhi , pickle and papad for a thoroughly satisfying meal!!

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19 comments:

Unknown said...

This sure is comfort food..I make this combination vey frequently..yours look delicious

Anonymous said...

Hi Manasi, you bet Kadhi khichdi is my fav comfort food too!! Kadhi in any of its avtaars; marathi, gujrati or punjabi is just yummy, and I'm craving for it right now after reading your post.
I've read so many posts in this blog of yuor and I must congratulate you for maintaining such a wonderful blog. Your narration style especially is amazing. And btw first time in my life I tried making cookies thanks to you and guess what, they turned out very well. Thanx a ton!!

Finla said...

I love this, when i make them i add a bit of turmeric

EC said...

Truly a comfort food...

FH said...

Send it to her anyway, rules are not written in stone. We do take time sometimes!:)
Comfort food indeed, looks yummy.

Bharathy said...

Khadi is some what like the south Indian Majjige huli or morkuzhambu or moru curry..Any ways it is surely comforting!..
I made Khichdi the same way after one my distant Gujrathi relatives!:)..Love it!:)

Mythreyee said...

Looks delicious. The ginger, cumin and other ingredients sounds very south Indian. I just love the recipe. Thanks for sharing.

TheCooker said...

chawat mulgi....smiling at the shop keeper behind your father's back.
K & K has comfort food written all over it.

bee said...

i remember that undhiyu. one kilo undhiyu had half kilo oil. and it was lip-smacking good.

Mansi said...

hey Manasi! that looks great irl! nice to see that you are a fan of gujju food:)

KayKat said...

Mmm ... comfort food indeed. This looks delicious!

musical said...

This is THE comfort food! One can polish it off the plate in minutes :-D. The Cooker had me in splits with her "chawat mulgi" comment :).

Viji said...

A pure comfort meal Manasi. Viji

Uma said...

wonderful kadi and kichidi. Love the way you presented it.

Lakshmi said...

Kadhi-Khichdi is my fav gujju comfort food. Loved it.

Manasi said...

Thank U Sowmya!!

Hi Vaishali Thank u so much for ur encouraging comment!! made my day!! Glad the cookies worked out.. now I'm planning another baking escapade!

Hi Happy cook!! I too add turmeric, but it is minimum and does not show up in my pics at all!

Thank U Easy crafts!!

Hi Asha!! thanx! I guess I will linkit to the round up, don't want to bother her at this late stage.

Hi Bharathy!! How different our states are yet we have smilarities in food!!

Hi Mythreyee!! this is total Gujju, but as bharathy mentioned morkhuzambu, there ae similarities.

Hehehehehe!! the cooker!!hehehe, u had me rolling on the floor with that expression! I have heard ot a million times in my childhood!!

Bee, ya said it! half kg oil was a must but OH SO yum!!

Hi Mansi!!Yes indeed!!

Thank U Kaykkat!!

Hi Musi!!hehehee!! that one was so apt from the Cooker!

Thank U so much Viji!!

Thank U Uma!!

Hi LG!! nice to know that it is ur fav too!

Pooja V said...

Hey Mana Kadhi -Khichadi looks so very gorgeous. This sure is comforting in real sense of word.

Meena Shankar said...

Thanks for the Kadhi khichdi recipe Manasi..This looks so simple and yet yummy. I need to try this out.

Meena Shankar said...

Hello Manasi,
After a long long time, I opened my laptop and immediately started looking at my fav blogs...I am unable to check regularly as I am now in B'lore and also, I am pregnant with my second baby.
And you know what, I was craving for kichadi...which I didnot know to prepare and now I even saw the kadhi recipe....which I like a lot. So, I am just going into the kitchen preparing the same now to satisfy my cravings...Thanks a lot.
---Meena.

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