Gujarati Khichdi

Kanan Patel’s Gujarati Khichdi is her plain rice-and-moong-dal component, seasoned with turmeric, salt and asafoetida. This selection follows the separately named khichdi portion of her published khichdi-and-shaak recipe, using short-grain rice and split moong dal with green skin, finished with ghee.

The rice and dal are washed in the Instant Pot liner with tap water while being massaged by hand. They soak in a separate portion of water before the soaking water is discarded.

Salt, turmeric, asafoetida and the main pressure-cooking water are added to the same rice and dal and stirred together. The Instant Pot is closed with its lid, the valve is set to sealing, and the mixture pressure-cooks before the pressure releases naturally.

The lid is opened after the pressure release. The cooked khichdi is stirred a couple of times; the rice grains break into the mixture, giving the author’s porridge-like consistency.

The selected khichdi is served warm, with a spoonful of ghee on top following the author’s serving instruction. The rice, skin-on split moong dal and their light turmeric-and-asafoetida seasoning remain together in this plain preparation.