FOODIE SPECIAL ...India's favourite comfort food

FOODIE SPECIAL India's favourite comfort food





With khichdi set to be unveiled as `brand India food' at a global platform on 4^th November, here's how different regions interpret the rice and lentil prep

The comfort meal that unifies people across the country has been adopted and interpreted in distinctly unique styles across regions in India. In its most accepted avatar, it is usually made from white rice, yellow, green or split moong lentils and topped with some ghee. The history of the khichadi probably dates back to ancient India and the medieval recipe favoured by the Mughal emperor Akbar and noted in the Ain-i-Akbari called for equal amounts of rice, dal and ghee into the dish. “One of the most interesting spin-offs of the khichdi is, of course, the kedgeree -a colonial dish that transformed into a British recipe with the addition of fish and boiled eggs,“ says food writer Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal.

SODYACHI KHICHDI

A speciality of Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu's, a community that journeyed from north India via Madhya Pradesh to coastal Maharashtra, this dish was a favourite among the royal family of Gaekwads. “The recipe is an adapted version from a book titled Sugraas Bhojan, the first edition of which was published in 1948,“ says home chef Soumitra Velkar who adds that a lot of recipes from the community calls for sode or dried prawns. “Dried prawns are cured in salt, so be careful with the salt proportions,“ he cautions.

METHOD

1 Wash and soak rice for 15-20 minutes, drain on a colander and set aside. Soak the dried pawns in 2 cups warm water for 10-15 minutes to rehydrate.

2 Make the first masala by grinding together 2 pieces of ginger, 8-10 cloves of garlic and 2-3 green chillies.

3 Make another masala by sautéing a roughly sliced onion with ½ tsp oil, till golden brown. Add 3 tbsp of desiccated dry coconut and 1 tbsp coriander seeds. Toast till the masala is a rich golden colour and grind to a fine paste using as little water as possible.

4 Drain the dried prawns; apply turmeric, 1 tsp of ginger garlic chilli paste and ½ tsp of lemon juice. Leave this aside to marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a nonstick pan and fry the marinated sode on a slow-medium flame till browned and cooked.

In the same pan, add some more oil if required and heat over a medium flame. Add the sliced onions and sauté till translucent. Add the remainder of the first masala paste and sauté till the raw smell goes away.

5 Heat a pressure cooker or pan on a medium flame and add ghee, all the whole garam masala and sauté till they splutter. Add the drained rice and sauté till coated in ghee.

Add the second masala paste and sauté for a minute

6 Now add in the prepared 6 sode, peas, dry masala powders and salt to taste. Mix well. Pour the coconut milk over this and mix. Cover with lid and pressure cook (2 whistles and 5 minutes on simmer). Once the pressure is off, take off the lid. Let this rest covered for 5 minutes. Top it with the coriander and grated coconut and serve hot.

KARNATAKA STYLE HUGGI

KHICHDI

This traditional khichdi from the Udipi district of Karnataka uses indigenous grains and spices with the exclusion of commonly used ingredients like the chili which came in much later in Indian cuisine. “Huggi is eaten with god saaru (a watery broth made of tamarind or kokum and jaggery and seasoned with mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida),“ says food writer Anushruti RK who remembers relishing this piping hot dish with god saaru. “Although I didn't care much for God saaru as a child, the sweet, sour and spicy notes of this traditional dish is a taste that I crave and savour as an adult,“ she adds. Add more water if you want a thin consistency and if you are serving this without god saaru. Add more ghee for a robust flavour.

METHOD

1 Dry roast the raw rice and moong dal together for 3 to 4 minutes on low heat. After it cools down, wash the grains, drain and keep aside.

2 In a heavy bottomed pan, add the oil. Put in the cumin seeds, asafoetida, cloves, peppercorn and stir fry for a couple of minutes until aromatic. Add in the dry coconut and fry until the coconut is nicely toasted. Grind until the masalas turn into a fine powder.

3 In a pressure cooker, add the oil and cumin seeds. Add turmeric powder and the washed rice and dal.

4 Stir for a few minutes and then add the water, salt and the ground masala. Cover and cook until done. Add ghee and stir lightly.

LILVA GREEN GARLIC KHICHDI

Lilva beans, also known as green field beans is generally available during the winter months in Mumbai. Pinky Dixit, owner of Soam, believes that people look forward to having different varieties of this dish. “When the weather starts cooling down and most festivities and indulgence are over, people look forward to this comfort food,“ she says. Lilva green khichadi, is also for those who are health conscious. The beans, also used generously in the udhiyo is a storehouse of nutritive properties which help in maintaining healthy blood pressure, immunity and also boosts metabolism.

METHOD

1 Heat the ghee in a cooker and add the cumin, cloves and asafoetida.

2 Then add the whites of the garlic and sauté gently for a few sec onds. Make sure that it doesn't burn.

3 Add the beans, rice and salt and 2 cups of water. Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles.

4 Mix well and garnish it with the garlic greens.

Add a dollop of ghee and serve hot.

Nov 03 2017 : Mirror (Mumbai)