Bengali Khichuri

About this Recipe...

Bengali Khichuri or roasted Moong Daal khichuri is a classic bengali rice dish, made during durga puja festival and served as a bhog to Ma Durga. Traditionally on durga puja,  it is made without onion garlic but today I used onion along with some other vegetables like potato, cauliflower and green peas.

As a Bong, it is my ultimate comfort food in rainy days. During childhood days, I would often request my mother to make khichuri on rainy days. She used to serve khichuri with begun bhaja (eggplant fry), papad, pickle and sweet tomato chutney.

I love to have khichuri with these combination a lot, so whenever it is a rainy day, I get the perfect excuse to make this dish and serve it to my family.

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Moong daal
• 1 Cup Rice
• 2 Tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp Paanch foran
• 1 Piece Bay leaf
• 1 Piece Dried red chili
• 1 Tbsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Ginger paste
• 1 tsp Green chilli paste
• 1 tsp Coriander powder
• 1 tsp Cumin powder
• 1 medium size chopped tomato
• 1 potato cut into cubes
• Water as required
• 2 Tbsp Green peas
• 2 tsp Clarified butter
• Some cauliflower florets
• 2-3 Slitted green chili
• 1 medium size Chopped Onion
• Salt as per taste

Directions

1. First of all dry roast the moong daal to light brown color and set it aside.
2. Now wash the rice and the daal and soak it in water for 20 minutes.
3. Now heat up oil in a pan, add bay leaf, dry red chili and paanch foran for tempering and fry it for 30 seconds.
4. Now add the chopped onion and fry it till it gets translucent and then add ginger-green chili paste and all the other dry spices and sauté it.
5. Now add chopped tomato, sauté it with the spices and then add potato, green peas and cauliflower, sauté it for a while. If required then add little water so the spices won't burn.
6. Now add the soaked rice and daal followed by salt and mix everything all together and sauté it for sometime. Now add 3 cups of water and cover the lid of the pan for 10-15 minutes in medium flame.
7. After 15 minutes check the rice and the daal if it looks uncooked then add some more water, cover the lid and cook it for some more time.
8. After sometime open the lid, if you see everything gets well cooked: the rice, daal and the veggies, then add the clarified butter, mix it and switch of the flame. Your hot khichuri is ready to enjoy.
9. Notes: Paanch Foran is five spices, it consists of mustard seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds,fennel seeds and fenugreek seed. If you don't have this then add cumin seeds instead of paanch foran.
   
   If you don't like veggies in your khichuri then you can simply omit it or if you like then add other veggies of your choice.