Bhuni Khichuri / Bhuna Khichdi - Bengali style flavoured rice and Lentil preparation

On last weekend, I was looking lazily over the window to the cloudy sky outside. Frankly speaking, I was planning to skip cooking and about to propose to have lunch outside.

But rain god has spoiled my idea and it started raining cats and dogs in few minutes. Since my li’l daughter already had runny nose I cannot take the risk of making it worse by going out in such weather. So involuntarily I started to ponder over my options for cooking. The idea of Khichudi /khichdi is almost synonymous with rainy season and my husband, being a fan of Khichudi insisted on it. He always loves Khichudi in thick dry form and Bhuni Khichuri fits to his taste. This recipe is little lengthy one but the aroma and taste is worth taking the extra time and effort.

Preparation Time: - 20 mins

Cooking Time: - 25 min 

Servings: - 3~4 persons

Ingredients:- 

1. 1 cup (~250gm.) Gobindobhog/ jeera/ basmati rice (Gobindo bhog is best but I used Jeera rice in Bangalore due to non-availablity)
2. 1 cup (~250 gm.) moong ki dal (skinless yellow dal or moong)
3. 1 ½ tsp cumin seeds/ Panchforon (Bengali 5 spices mix) – I used cumin seeds
4. Three  1” stick of cinnamon divided into 4 pieces (you can use two if you do not like cinnamon that much)
5. 4 pods of green cardamom
6. 4 cloves / laung
7. Pinch of asafetida (Hing)
8. 1 tsp coriander powder
9. Handful of peanuts ( optional) – I like it for Bengali preparation
10. Handful of cashew nuts
11. 3 dried red chili
12. 1 tbsp Mustard Oil
13. 2 tbsp Sunflower oil (you can use any vegetable oil)
14. 2 tbsp ghee
15. 2 bay leaves,
16. 1 large sized potato
17. 6 Florets of Cauliflower (optional if available fresh – may be in winter)
18. 1 tsp. ginger paste made from fresh ginger
19. ½ tsp garlic paste
20. 1 medium onion chopped
21. 1 medium juicy tomatoes chopped
22. Salt to taste
23. ½ tsp. sugar
24.  ¾ tsp turmeric powder
25. Fistful of brown raisin (8~10 small pieces)
26.  Sufficient water

Preparation:-

1. In a dry pan/kadai, roast moong dal dry. You will get a nice smell of roasted dal in medium flame. When the colour becomes dark yellow, turn heat off and keep aside.
   
2. Wash rice and keep aside.
   
3. Dry roast the following spices in a non-stick Kadai

a)      1 ½ tsp cumin seeds

b)      Two  1” stick of cinnamon divided into 4 pieces

c)      Two pods of green cardamom

d)     2 cloves

e)      Pinch of asafetida

f)        Coriander powder

g)      2 dried red chili

Once roasted, grind to a fine powder and keep aside. Instead of this you can use Garam Masala but the flavour and taste will be better if you take this extra pain.

4. In a frying pan heat 1 ½ sunflower oil or any vegetable oil and fry cashew nuts and peanuts until golden brown. Keep aside.
   
5. Use the same oil to fry the potatoes and peas in medium flame. You can add cauliflower here if you want. Fry and keep aside.
   
6. Heat a mixture of 1 tbsp ghee, 1 tbsp mustard oil, ½ tbsp vegetable oil in a pressure cooker.
7. Add bay leaves, 2 pods of cardamom, 2 cloves, 1” stick of cinnamon and 1 dry red chili in it.
   
8. When the spices splutter add the chopped onion.
9. Sauté for couple of minutes till the onion turns golden brown.
10. Add ginger and garlic paste. Stir and mix for a minute.
    
11.  Put chopped tomatoes and stir fry until mushy.
    
12. Add the already fried potatoes and peas. Mix well.
    
13. Now add the roasted dal and of course, the rice. Add turmeric powder and 1 ½ tbsp dry roasted spice mix prepared earlier. Mixture should be thoroughly stirred to make a smooth one.
    
14. Introduce the raisins, add sugar and salt. Add 4 cup warm water and stir.
    
15. Cover the cooker lid and cook till first whistle. Now it may be different in your cooker. Idea is when khichuri is ready; it should be like porridge, not too liquid-y not too dry. Of course, you can adjust to your taste.
16. Add rest of the ghee and put the already fried cashew nuts and peanuts.

Keep it covered and serve it hot with fried stuff and meat/fish/egg. An ideal combination is with Brinjal fry, Omlet and papad like my picture above.


As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.