Easy Dal Khichdi Recipe (Hotchpotch)

This Dal Khichdi (Hotchpotch) is delicious, easy, and simple to make! It’s a healthy recipe perfect for lunch or dinner. Let’s have a look at this Easy Dal Khichdi Recipe!!

When you are low on groceries but high on hunger, Khichdi is your new BFF!!

This dish is a total lifesaver – it’s easy, filling, and oh-so-tasty.

And the best part?

You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already! I make Khichdi all the time because it’s so simple and versatile – you can customize it with your favorite veggies and spices to create your own flavor combo. It’s like a warm hug in a bowl!

So when you are feeling lazy or low on supplies, turn to Khichdi. It’s a dish that’ll have you feeling full and happy in no time.

What is Khichdi?

To make it, all you need is rice, lentils, and spices.

You take rice and lentils and spices in a pressure cooker, mix them together, add water, and cook for good 10-15 minutes. You have got a meal that’s hearty and healthy.

If you are feeling fancy, add some veggies for a nutritious twist! And don’t forget the tempering (also known as tadka) – it’s what takes this dish from tasty to wow in just a few simple steps.

This is what Khichdi is! Sounds easy right?

What does Khichdi taste like?

Khichdi is a staple Bengali dish. But as it is extremely tasty and easy to make, people throughout India and Bangladesh make this dish every now and then.

Talking about the taste of Khichdi, dominantly you will get the flavors of aromatic rice and lentils.

Followed by flavors of various kinds of spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, and ginger-garlic. Being an Asian dish, of course, you gonna get some heat from garam masalas and chilies.

Finally, you will get the beautiful aroma and taste of clarified butter or ghee, etc.

How Khichdi is served?

Most of the places in India, it is served with Pickles, papadam, and curd.

Traditionally Bengalis serve Khichdi with raw onion slices, fried dry red chili, sweet and sour mango pickles, and drizzles of Chili infused clarified butter on top.

What side dishes can be served with this khichdi recipe?

Actually, you can eat khichdi as it is. This dish is so tasty and fulfilling that no need to pair it with other dishes.

Though classic Bengali style fried egg just goes perfectly with khichdi. Fried eggplant is also a popular choice.

On occasions, we love to have fried “Hilsa fish” and “Mutton curry” along with this amazing recipe. Khichdi and fried Hilsa fish is a combination made in heaven.

How many types of Khichdi we can make?

• Plain khichdi or khichdi with meat and veggies
• Khichdi with or without tempering
• Dry or semi-liquid gravy kind of khichdi

Today I shared the Plain Khichdi recipe.

What type of Rice you can use for the Khichdi recipe?

1. Normal or regular rice from your pantry
2. Basmati/Biriyani rice
3. Aromatic Chinigura/Pulao rice

I have used Aromatic Chinigura rice. It will give perfect texture and a nice flavor to your khichdi. You can use any of the above rice for your liking and preference.

What type of Lentil you can use for the Khichdi recipe?

• Red Lentil/Masoor dal
• Yellow split gram/Moong dal
• Split Bengal gram lentil/Chana dal/sholar dal
• Yellow split pigeon peas lentil/Arhar dal/Toor dal/Motorer dal

Usually, I mix 2-3 kinds of lentils to make my khichdi. Mixing different kinds of lentils can give your khichdi a nice and rich flavor.

You can make khichdi with only Red lentils or with only Yellow split gram lentils as well. I have used both red lentils and yellow split lentils in equal quantities in the recipe.

What is the ideal Rice-Lentil-Water ratio?

The Rice-Lentil-Water ratio depends on the consistency you want in your Khichdi.

If you like a dry kind of consistency you can use the Rice-Lentil-Water 1:1:4 ratio(1 cup rice, 1 cup lentil, 4 cups warm water). If you want a liquid-gravy kind of khichdi you can use the 1:1:6 ratio(1 cup rice, 1 cup lentil, 6 cups warm water).

I have used 1 cup rice, 1 cup lentil (½ cup Red lentil, ½ cup Yellow split gram), and 5 cups of warm water. Later, added 1 cup of hot water to get my desired consistency. So, the total quantity of water was 6 cups.

Equipment used for the Dal Khichdi Recipe (Hotchpotch)

• Pressure cooker
• Curry pot set
• Wooden spatula set
• Measuring cups
• Grain storing containers/jars
• Tempering pan
• Strainer
• Serving dish set

Ingredients used for the Dal Khichdi Recipe (Hotchpotch):

Let’s see the procedure of making Khichdi. I have divided the cooking process into 3 parts. Don’t panic, it is just for your better understanding. Making Khichdi is actually very easy.

Main part Ingredients list:

• Rice 1 cup
• Red lentil (Masoor Dal) ½ cup
• Yellow split gram (Moong Dal) ½ cup
• Warm water 5 cups + 1 cup (later)
• Onion 2 medium size (Finely Chopped)
• Ginger 2 tsp (Finely Chopped)
• Green chili 2 medium size (Sliced or Chopped)
• Turmeric powder 1 tsp
• Salt to taste (1-1½ tsp approx)
• Whole spices: Cinnamon 2 medium sticks, Green/Small Cardamom 3 pieces (splitted), Cloves 4 pieces, Bay leaf 2 pieces
• Oil 2/3 tbsp

Main Tempering Ingredients List:

• Clarified butter/Ghee 2-3 tbsp
• Whole Cumin seeds 1½ tsp
• Garlic pods 10-15 pieces (small size)
• Red Chili powder ½ tsp
• Coriander powder 1 tsp
• Salt ½ tsp (Please taste your khichdi before adding further salt)
• Sugar 1 tsp

2nd Tempering Ingredients List (optional):

• Clarified butter 2 tbsp
• Dried Red Chili 4 pieces

What is Tempering and why do we use it?

Tempering is hot oil infused with herbs and spices to add extra flavors and textures to food dishes. We make and add tempering at the last stage of cooking to finish up and complete the dish.

For making tempering you add oil in a hot pan and add various spices like dried red chili, curry leaves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, Bengali 5 spices, etc. fry for a few seconds. Then add this infused oil with the rest of the food and mix well.

People use different kinds of tempering in different dishes to spice and brighten up their recipes.

How to cook Dal Khichdi Recipe (Hotchpotch)?

Let’s see the procedure of making Khichdi. I have divided the cooking process into 3 parts. Don’t panic, it is just for your better understanding. Making Khichdi is actually very easy.

Instructions for Main Part Cooking:

1. Take 1 cup of rice, ½ cup of Red lentil, and ½ cup of Yellow split gram in a big size pot. Wash 3-4 times. Add water and soak for 30 minutes.
2. Heat up a Pressure cooker. Add 2/3 tbsp mustard oil. Add whole spices like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and bay leaves. Fry them for a few seconds.
3. Then add other ingredients one after one; like onion, green chili, ginger, salt, and turmeric powder. Fry them until the onion turned golden in color.
4. Now add socked rice-lentil mixture to the pressure cooker. Fry for good 2 minutes.
5. Add 5/6 cups of warm water. Give it a stir.
6. Attach the lid on the pressure cooker and cook for approx 10 minutes or till you get 3 whistles.
7. After 3 whistles turn off the heat but don’t try to open the lid immediately. Wait till its pressure is completely released.

Instructions for Making 1st Tempering:

1. Heat up a pan and add 2/3 tbsp Clarified butter/Ghee in it.
2. Add 1½ tsp whole cumin seeds and 10-15 pods of garlic to the oil. Fry for a few seconds.
3. Add sugar, salt, coriander powder, and Red chili powder to the oil. Fry for a few seconds. Keep the heat low to medium while making tempering.

Assembling 2 parts:

When you will feel all the spices are fried and mixed well in the oil, lower down the stove heat and Put the Khichdi in this hot oil. Give a good mix. At this point, you can also add 1 cup of hot water to the khichdi to adjust the consistency. Don’t overcook or burn your tempering.

Instructions for making 2nd tempering (optional):

1. Heat up 2 tbsp Clarified butter/Ghee in a pan.
2. Add 3/4 dried red chilies in the clarified butter and fry until they turn brown in color. Serve this chili-infused oil on top of khichdi. Trust me, It tastes so good.

More Recipes to Try:

• Mango Smoothie Bowl Recipe
• Homemade Dumplings Recipe
• Creamy Lemon Chicken Recipe
• Thai Soup Recipe (with Chicken, Prawns, and Mushrooms)
• Pepper Garlic Prawns Recipe
• Bulletproof Coffee Recipe
• Old Fashioned Pancake Recipe
• Lulu Cake Recipe
• Masala Chai Recipe (Spiced Milk Tea)

Wa-lah your Khichdi is now ready to serve!