Ingredients:
1 cup washed rice,
10-15 spinach leaves,
1/4 cup moong dal (green gram without skin), soaked for over 2 hours,
1/4 cup tuvar dal (yellow split peas) , soaked for over 2 hours,
1 onion, cut into 2 halves and then sliced,
1 long carrot, chopped,
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves,
8-10 cloves garlic, finely chopped,
1″ ginger, finely chopped,
1-2 green chillies, chopped,
1 tsp lemon juice,
Salt to taste,
Oil and Water.
For tadka –
2 tbsp ghee,
1 tsp cumin seeds,
3-4 red chillies,
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed.
Method:
Blanch spinach* and grind along with green chillies to form a paste that exactly measures 1 cup. Add enough water while
grinding to get that quantity. Heat oil in a pan, add ginger and garlic, when they are fragrant add onion and saute till they turn transparent. Then add carrots and again saute for 2 minutes. Add the dal and mix well, fry for 5 minutes. Then add in the rice, cook for 5 more minutes. Now add spinach puree and 2 cups of water. Mix properly and then cover with a lid. Uncover and stir at regular intervals and add water if needed to get the khichdi consistency, i.e. watery, soft and liquid than our normal rice. When rice is cooked add lemon juice and salt.
Just before serving prepare the tadka by heating ghee in a small saucepan, add cumin, red chillies and crushed garlic. Fry
till garlic turns brown and fragrant (not burnt). Pour it on the khichdi, cover it for a minute, so that the flavors of tadka mix with rice. And serve immediately with papad or popadum and pickle.
* Blanching is a process where vegetables are put in boiling hot water for some time and then removing them. This helps to retain their flavor, color, texture and more importantly the nutrients. Since spinach cooks quickly, this method helpsto retain its green color.
TIPS:
1. If dals are not presoaked then pressure cook them with less water and then add to the khichdi when rice is almost
cooked.