Black pepper laced khichdi

It started with a facebook post where Sanzeeta ( our regular food desk editor ) asked of my favorite spice. And that’s black pepper. Not the finely powdered one but a little coarse crushed one . For better aroma , try roast the seeds before crushing.

So , black pepper is a must for me with three things I love – Papayya , Curd ( specially Raita) and Khichdi .

Today , I would share the recipe for khichdi which happens to be my and my mother’s favorite weekend lunch.

You would need :

(For 2 people)

1 cup rice
3/4th cup Pulses: I use moong daal(split green gram) mostly. But this one is with chana daal(split bengal gram). Add a little of masoor daal ( split red Lentil) ’cause it completely dissolves when you cook and give a good consistency to the dish.

For seasoning – 1 tbsp salt , 1/2 tbsp crushed black pepper, 1/2 tbsp Jeera , 1 big tbsp grated ginger , 2 green chillies cut small , 2 tbsp oil ( or Ghee if you like )
I also like some onions for seasoning.

Wash & soak the pulses and rice for about an hour.
In a cooker, heat half tbsp oil and add the rice and pulses.
Add 5 cups of water and stir well.
Close the lid and let it cook for 3 whistles.
turn off the gas and let the cooker cool down on its own.

Seasoning :
In a pan, heat the oil.
Add jeera , onions , green chillies and cook till the onions turn brown.
Add all the spices and mix them well with the onions.

Add the seasoning to the khichdi while its hot and mix well.

Serve with curd (seasoned of course with Black Pepper) and pickle and paapad.