Dec 2, 2010

Dalia khichdi

We returned tired and hungry after an exciting round of Diwali shopping. With just more than half an hour at hand, I had to rustle up a reviving meal for my family. This is what I made. Quick and easy to put together, no exotic ingredients, and healthy comfort food at it's best! Do try it out and let me know how you liked it.

You need
  1. Cracked wheat-1 cup (200 gm)
  2. Mung dal-1 cup (200gm)
  3. Carrot-2 small, chopped-(1/2 cup)
  4. Capsicum-1 medium, chopped (1/4 cup)
  5. Potato-1 big, chopped (1/4 cup)
  6. Large violet brinjal- 1/2 chopped (1 cup)
  7. Tomatoes-3/4 kg
  8. Asafoetida powder-a pinch
  9. Turmeric powder-3/4 tsp
  10. Salt-2 tsp
  11. Coriander leaves-3 tbsp chopped
For seasoning
  1. Oil + ghee-2 tbsp
  2. Jeera-1 tsp
  3. Whole black pepper- 1tsp
  4. Cloves- 7-8
  5. Cinnamon-5-7 small sticks
  6. green cardamom-3-4
To assemble
  1. Choose ripe red tomatoes, wash well and puree in mixer.You could also blanch them, peel skin and then puree.Retaining the skin or peeling it off is personal choice, I have not seen flavour change with either.
  2. Wash all other vegetables, dice into even sized pieces.
  3. Wash dalia and mung dal together, add three times the volume of water (that makes it 6 cups of water for this recipe), and pressure cook for 4 whistles.
  4. Meanwhile, heat oil, ghee mixture in a broad kadai/ saucepan.
  5. Add in order given, all the ingredients for seasoning.
  6. When jeera crackles, and you get a pleasant aroma of spices, it ts time to add hing powder, turmeric powder.
  7. Add chopped vegetables toss well and fry for 3 minutes.
  8. Add tomato puree and salt.Allow to simmer for atleast 10 minutes until raw smell of tomatoes are gone.
  9. When the pressure has released, add the simmering vegetables to the cooked dalia,  mix thoroughly and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
  10. Finally add chopped coriander blend in and serve hot.
  11. Serve with any raita / salad and papad.
Notes
  • You can fry washed wheat + dal in a tsp of ghee for a nice aroma.
  • You can add more vegetables like knol khol, peas, sweet potato, onion.
  • You can omit tomatoes entirely if you do not prefer the tang, or mix in juice of 1 lemon at the end.
  • You can serve this hot topped with a tsp of ghee to kids and omit for those with calorie restrictions.
  • Microwaved masala papad is a good accompaniment too.
  • Can add more water after mixing the vegetables and cooked dalia.
Now for  the nutri notes
  • This is a great one pot meal - combining cereal, pulse, vegetables and dairy allowance if served with raita.
  • Eating a cereal and a pulse in the same meal ensures that the amino acids missing in one is complemented by those in the other. This is great for vegetarians since they derive maximum benefit from plant protein by eating in combination like in this recipe.
  • Tomatoes, rich in lycopene take pride of place in this dish. Apart from fibre, vitamin A and vitamin C, that you get in tomatoes, the lycopene in tomatoes also is an anti carcinogenic agent.
  • Using cracked wheat ensures that the benefits of bran and germ are derived fully. Hence, a high protein content (12gm/100gm), not to mention high fibre as well (1.2-1.4g/100gm).What would interest everyone is also the high niacin and folate levels in cracked wheat makes it an ideal grain for pregnant women, athletes, teenagers and elderly too.
  • Carrots used here add to the beta carotene, you get half your daily allowance of Vitamin A by adding 1/4 cup of chopped carrots per person.
Here are the visuals 

chopped vegetables

frying whole spices
simmering vegetables
Mix cooked dalia with vegetables

Serve with raita

16 comments:

Kurinji said...

Healthy dish.

Pushpa said...

Dalia kichidi looks yummy.

Unknown said...

The kichidi looks yumm...:)

Dr.Sameena@

http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com

Rajani said...

It's a simple yet filling and tasty dish, thank you all for dropping by.

Santosh Bangar said...

khichri is delicios and healthy
1st time here very healthy dishesdo visit my blog

Rajani said...

Thank you Santosh Bangar for dropping by.YOur blg looks great.Am looking forward to trying baingan bharta with peas.

PinkDreams said...

Wow. Really cool blg Rajini. Looking forward to making some of this.
Vyjayanthi

Rajani said...

Hi Vyjayanthi,welcome to this zone, looking forward to seeing you often.

Prathima Rao said...

Wow.. a healthy kichdi!! Will try out ur delicious kichdi real soon!!

Swapna R said...

Hi Rajni, Blog looks good and simple. I hope you are tring to post all the good and healthy recipes. Keep doing the gr8 work. Thanks for dropping by my blog. Bye.

Swapna
swapnascookbook.blogspot.com

Prathima Rao said...

Thank u rajani for ur lovely comments in my blog :) Will post d article on minerals real soon..

Sharmi said...

Rajani, Nice looking Kichadi.
reg the mushroom subzi, you can use paneer instead:)

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Rajani
How are you? I like this recipe. Never made Dalia Khichdi..I like the spicing and vegetable use.
I love the nutri note.
have a nice weekend

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Rajani
Thanks for your note at my blog. Regarding Fennel,The seed is used for seasoning (tempering) extensively in combination with other spices ( like jeera, Mustard,methi etc, in Panch PhoDon.
Many Malabar dishes contain seeds as seasoning.
the powder is used extensively in all Kashmiri dishes and in very few dishes in Bengal. Some sweet dishes use a dash of Fennel powder apart from solid ones.
I think , Fennel and Methi are very strong spice (having very strong smell and taste too), and can overpower natural smell and flavor of ingredients in a recipe, hence the powder of these are generally not used, and use is restricted to seasoning mostly. So we use Cumin (medium strong) and coriander ( weak spice) powder more often.
Why Kashmiri dishes have Fennel powder , is another story..ha ha
Have a nice sunday
you may visit sangeeta's blogs, she is a botanist and a great cook and very knowledgeable. She answers many of my queries.
http://healthfooddesivideshi.blogspot.com/
You can access her other blogs from here.
Have a nice day
Ushnishda

Rajani said...

Wow,Da, such a prompt response, very informative too, thanks a ton.
Your comments are encouraging,please keep visiting.
Sharmi,thanks for suggested alternative,keep blogging and hopping!
Pratima and Swapna,Keep coming in and dropping your valuable comments,it is so encouraging to see seasoned bloggers like you visiting my (infant) site.

jayasree said...

Akka, regd the brownies, you can try MW in small qty. It shld work.