Best Dal Khichdi Recipe In 20 Mins

Dal Khichdi (Which is basically Moong Dal Khichdi) that makes its colour so yellowish. You can also call it mung dal. The mung bean is mainly cultivated in East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. It is used as an ingredient in both savory and sweet dishes.

The green gram is an annual vine with yellow flowers and fuzzy brown pods. The English word mung originated from the Hindi word मूंग (“moong”), which is derived from the Sanskrit word मुद्ग (“mudga”).

Although whole mung beans are also occasionally used in Indian cuisine, beans without skins are more commonly used. In Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, whole mung beans (called pachai payaru (பச்சை பயறு) in Tamil, cherupayar (ചെറുപയർ) in Malayalam, pesalu (పెసలు) in Telugu and hesaru kaalu in Kannada) are commonly boiled to make a dry preparation often served with rice gruel (kanji கஞ்சி). Dehulled mung beans can also be used in a similar fashion as whole beans for the purpose of making sweet soups.

Dal Khichdi

There is also another version which is known as summer Moong. Which  is a short duration mung bean pulse crop grown in northern India. Due to its short duration, it can fit well in between of many cropping systems. It is mainly cultivated in East and Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. It is considered to be the hardiest of all pulse crops and requires a hot climate for germination and growth.

Do you know that Moong dal is not only famous in India but it is also part of cuisine in asia.

In Chinese cuisine, whole mung beans are used to make a tángshuǐ, or dessert, otherwise literally translated ‘sugar water’, called lǜdòu tángshuǐ, which is served either warm or chilled.

In Hong Kong, dehulled mung beans and mung bean paste are made into ice cream or frozen ice pops. Mung bean paste is used as a common filling for Chinese mooncakes in East China and Taiwan. During the Dragon Boat Festival, the boiled and shelled beans are used as filling in zongzi 粽子 glutinous rice dumplings prepared for consumption. The beans may also be cooked until soft, blended into a liquid, sweetened, and served as a beverage, popular in many parts of China.

In Korea, skinned mung beans are soaked and ground with some water to make a thick batter. This is used as a basis for the Korean pancakes called bindae-tteok ({녹두}빈대떡).

In the Philippines, ginisáng monggó (sautéed mung bean stew), also known as monggó guisado or balatong, is a savoury stew of whole mung beans with prawns or fish. It is traditionally served on Fridays of Lent, when the majority Roman Catholic Filipinos traditionally abstain from meat.[citation needed] Variants of ginisáng monggó may also be made with chicken or pork.

Mung bean paste is also a common filling of pastries known as hopia (or bakpia) popular in Indonesia, the Philippines and further afield in Guyana (where it is known as ”black eye cake”). In Indonesia, mung beans are also made into a popular dessert snack called es kacang hijau, which has the consistency of a porridge. The beans are cooked with sugar, coconut milk, and a little ginger.

A staple diet in some parts of the Middle East is mung beans and rice. Both are cooked together in a pilaf-like rice dish called maash wa ruzz, which means mung beans and rice.

In India we are eating moong dal in varieties of dishes.

One of my favourites is Dal Khichdi. 

Made with rice and lentils, khichdi is healthy, wholesome and good for you! This recipe is also gluten-free. It can be made vegan by replacing the ghee with oil. It is served with a ghee on top and yogurt & pickle on the side!

Making Dal Khichdi at Home.

Things you’ll need to prepare.

  • 1/2 cup moong dal
  • 1/2 cup white rice
  • 1 finely chopped onion (medium sized)
  • 1 chopped tomato (medium sized)
  • 1/2 inch ginger (finely chopped) or One teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
  • 3 dried red chillies (Byadgi chilli)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera seeds)
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder ( haldi )
  • Water (depending on the consistency of khichdi that you prefer)
  • 1.5 tablespoon of ghee/oil
  • Salt as per taste

Making of Dal Khichdi

Let’s follow the procedure here. 

First You’ll need to first wash the Moong Dal and Rice and then soak it in hot water for about 30 – 45 minutes.Then Heat oil/ghee in a pressure cooker. Then add in ginger-garlic paste and once the raw smell of the ginger-garlic paste is gone add the finely chopped onions and saute them till they become translucent. Then add the chopped tomatoes and the dried red chillies and thoroughly stir this mixture. Then add turmeric powder and saute till the tomatoes soften and become like a semi-paste.

At this point, you can add the drained rice and moong dal mixture to the pressure cooker and stir for a minute. Then add 3-4 cups of water depending on what consistency you refer for the khichdi. I prefer mine watery. Season the entire mixture with salt (as per taste). In the end close the lid of the pressure cooker with the whistle and cook for about 6-7 whistles, on a high flame. 

You have made your dal khichdi successfully. If you ruin the taste then there might be any steps you might have missed from the above, please follow the steps carefully. 

Do let us know how it was.