Bengali Khichdi | Khichuri Recipe
Bengali khichdi also known as Bhaja muger dal khichuri is a delicious one-pot meal of rice, moong lentils and mixed vegetables. This Bengali khichuri recipe is always made during Durga puja festival. It is offered as bhog to Goddess Durga along with some other Bengali delicacies. A satvik, vegan and no onion no garlic recipe.
The Bengali khichdi has an addition of mixed vegetables that we generally add to Pulao like – cauliflower, green peas, potatoes, carrots etc. I had potatoes, cauliflower and peas and hence added them to the khichdi.
Adding the vegetables to this rice and lentil preparation makes it a wholesome one-pot meal. You can even skip adding vegetables if you prefer.
Again like the Cholar Dal, in this recipe, panch phoron (5 spice mix) is not used. The khichuri is made fragrant by tempering whole garam masala or spices like tej patta, cinnamon, cloves and green cardamom.
The moong lentils are roasted first and this imparts a lovely warm aroma and taste to the khichdi. It is also a no onion no garlic recipe. The consistency of the khichdi can be adjusted to one’s preference. The khichdi that is made during Durga puja has a porridge like consistency. To suit the family’s taste buds, I did not make a porridge like khichdi.
I have loosely adapted this Bengali khichuri recipe from two of the Bengali cookbooks which I have. Mix and matched both of them to get the best recipe.
This roasted Bengali khichdi is served with Baingan Bhaja or Aloo Bhaja. A bowl of yogurt and some roasted papads by the side would also go very well with it. I had made both fried as well as baked baingan bhaja to go with the khichdi and the combo was really delicious.
You can make this one pot meal for lunch or dinner.
How to make Bengali Khichdi
1. Rinse 1 cup of basmati rice or Govind bhog rice a couple of times in fresh water. Here I have used basmati rice. But usually Govind bhog rice is used.
2. Soak the rice in enough water in a bowl for 20 to 30 minutes.
3. After 20 to 30 minutes drain the water using a colander and set the soaked rice aside.
4. In a pan, take 1 cup moong lentils (split and husked moong dal). Roast the dal on low heat stirring often.
5. While roasting or toasting stir moong dal often on a low heat. Continuous stirring helps the lentils to be evenly roasted.
6. Roast till the lentils turn light golden and fragrant. You will see that the lentils will begin to change color. Once the lentils are roasted well enough, remove them from the pan and transfer to a bowl.
7. When the lentils cool down, then rinse them in the water a couple of times. Then drain the water and set the moong lentils aside.
Making Bengali khichuri
8. Heat 3 tablespoons ghee or oil in a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker.
9. Add 1 inch cinnamon, 2 green cardamoms, 3 cloves, 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf) and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds. Fry the whole spices till they splutter and become fragrant on a low heat.
The cumin seeds should also crackle when frying the spices.
10. When the spices become fragrant, add 1 inch grated ginger.
11. Fry for 5 to 6 seconds or till the raw aroma of the ginger goes away.
12. Then add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ to ¾ teaspoon red chili powder and 1 pinch asafoetida (hing). The addition of asafoetida is optional.
13. Saute for 2 to 3 seconds on a low heat.
14. Then add 2 small-sized chopped tomatoes. Also add 1 chopped green chili.
15. Saute stirring often on medium-low heat till the tomatoes soften and become pulpy.
16. Add 1 to 1.5 cups chopped mixed veggies like cauliflower, potato, carrots and green peas.
17. Stir and mix well. Saute the veggies for a minute.
18. Then add the roasted moong dal.
19. Saute for 2 minutes on a low heat.
20. Next add the soaked rice.
21. Stir and mix the rice grains gently with the rest of the ingredients.
22. Add ½ teaspoon sugar and salt as required.
23. Next pour 5 cups water. Stir and mix well. You can slightly alter the amount of water depending upon the consistency you prefer.
24. Then pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles on medium to high heat.
25. Once the pressure settles down on its own, then only open the lid of the cooker.
30. Serve the Bengali khichdi hot or warm with baingan bhaja or yogurt and some roasted papads by the side. You can garnish it with coriander leaves if you like. It makes for a healthy and wholesome meal.
Few more rice recipes for you!
- Khichdi Recipe – made with mung lentils and rice.
- Bajra khichdi
- Palak khichdi
- Masala khichdi
- Kolkata biryani – vegetarian version
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice or govind bhog rice
- 1 cup dhuli moong dal (split and husked moong dal)
- 3 tablespoon Ghee or 2.5 tablespoon oil
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2 green cardamom
- 3 cloves
- 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds or cumin powder
- 1 inch grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) – optional
- 2 small tomatoes, chopped (optional)
- 1 green chili, chopped
- 2 small to medium potatoes, ½ cup cauliflower and ½ cup green peas or 1 to 1.5 cups of chopped mix vegetables like cauliflower, peas, potatoes and carrots
- ½ teaspoon sugar or as required – optional
- rock salt (edible and food grade) or sendha namak as required
- 5 cups water
Instructions
preparation
- Rinse the rice in fresh water couple of times. Then soak the rice in water for 20 to 30 minutes. After 20 to 30 minutes drain all the water and set the soaked rice aside.
- In a pan slow roast the moong lentils till they turn light golden and fragrant.
- Keep on stirring to get uniform and even roasting and browning. Once well roasted then transfer the lentils to a bowl and let them cool at room temperature.
- When the lentils cool, rinse them in fresh water a few times. Drain all the water and set the lentils aside.
Making khichuri
- Heat ghee or oil in a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker.
- First fry the whole spices on low heat stirring often till they become fragrant – cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaf and cumin seeds.
- The cumin seeds should also crackle when frying the spices.
- Now add the grated ginger and saute for a 5 to 6 seconds or till the raw aroma of the ginger goes away.
- Add turmeric, red chili powder and asafoetida and saute for 2 to 3 seconds on a low heat.
- Then add chopped tomatoes and chopped green chilies and saute stirring often till the tomatoes become soft.
- Add the chopped mixed veggies like potato, cauliflower and peas.
- Stir and mix well. Saute for a minute on low heat.
- Add the roasted moong dal and saute for 2 minutes.
- Next add the soaked rice and stir gently to mix.
- Pour 5 cups water and add sugar and salt as required.
- Stir and then pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles on medium to high heat.
- Once the pressure settles down on its own, then only open the lid of the cooker.
- Serve the khichuri hot or warm with baingan bhaja or yogurt and some roasted papads by the side.
Notes
- To get a porridge like consistency in the khichdi you can add an additional ½ to 1 cup water.
- You can mix vegetables like carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, capsicum, green peas, eggplant, french beans, baby corn, broccoli.
- You can scale this recipe to make a small serving or a large serving.
- The mung lentils should be in their shelf period. Make sure they are fresh and not aged.
Nutrition
This Bengali Khichdi post from the blog archives first published in October 2013 has been republished and updated on 12 January 2022.
Should a person remove the clove and cardamom seeds before serving?
Yes you could do that. Mostly these are not eaten. In India, these are kept aside by the person eating it, so we kind of do serve it all together. But yes, you could separate these spices while serving.
Hi Dassana
I tried this recipe wirh only tomatoes, as I didn’t have the rest of the veggies. But it turned out super well. This recipe is to keep. Thanks
Thanks Sujata and nice to know. Also thanks for the lovely feedback and for the rating too.
Hi Dassana .. I always follow your recipes and have always got the best compliments from friends .. I am planning to make this for tomorrow’s Lakshmi Puja .. can you please tell me if rock salt is mandatory , or can I use white salt instead?
Thanks in advance!
thank you neeta. i would suggest to use rock salt. but if you do not have it, then you can use white salt.
The recipe came out pretty authentic.anyways most of recipes are fool proof ..thanks a ton
thank you nupur for this lovely feedback and the rating as well. happy cooking.
Absolute authentic bengali kichudi. I made it and it was loved by all at home. Thank you so much!
Welcome Sushmita. Glad to know that everyone liked this Bengali Kichudi Recipe.
Didi you make these khichuris without the vegetables too
you can skip veggies if you want.
Awesome recipe..today I made this khichdi at home on the eve of Saraswati Puja n mom n Dad loved it..thanks a ton for such an amazing recipe..☺
Welcome Dimpi. Glad to know this.
Ur recipe is awesome. Today I made this khichuri n everybody at my home liked it very much.
Thanks Dassana.
thank you puja for your positive feedback 🙂 and you are always welcome.
Ur recipes r absolutely marvellous.i never thought that vegetarian food can b this good
I m in love wid veg n of course ur blog
Thnx
Good luck
thankyou sanghamitra 🙂 glad to know this and you are always welcome.
Yummy! Looking for d recipe of Patishapta…a bengali sweet dish..do share d recipe.
will see if i can add, pallavi. thanks.
I tried this recipe and only did 2 whistles and 5 mins on low induction as 4 whistles seemed too much. I used basmati rice and soaked it for 40 mins. The taste was okish however the rice was clearly overcooked, too mushy. Not sure what to do with the overcooked rice now, similar to you I hate to waste. Do you’ve any ideas? I’ve tried other recipes from your site and they generally turn out quite nice so not sure what went wrong on this one
if the rice turns mushy, no issues. just add some more water. stir and keep the khichdi to simmer. you will get a soft porridge consistency khichdi which also tastes equally good. you can adjust the water amount as required.
Good taste love it
thanks pinaki
VERY GOOD!
hii… made this for lunch with egg omelet…it was awesome..thanks a lot fir this tasty recipe…
welcome priyanka
Hello, I’ve recently discovered your wonderful site after a trip to India and falling totally in love with Indian food. I want to try this recipe, but my pressure cooker is electric. My choices are high or low pressure, and minutes. Can you tell me how “4-5 whistles on medium to high flame” translates to these terms? Thank you, and thank you for all of these wonderful recipes!
thanks deidre. i am sorry i cannot help you as i have no idea of how an electric pressure cooker works. generally the regular pressure cooker that we use has full high pressure. the pressure develops in the process of cooking and the whistles release the in built steam as well as the pressure. so you will have experiment and try with your electric pressure cooker.
Hello. I am expecting a baby. And to be true, I always disliked Khichdi. But in Pregnancy, I don’t know what has happened to me. Last night I keep dreaming of Khichdi. And so today morning, the first thing I searched on the web was your simple easy recipe! It’s yummy! It’s the easiest and the best! I paired it with Kumro bhaja and chutney! Thanks a lot for making this new mumma so happy!!!!
first of all congratulations sheersha. yes in pregnancy there are peculiar food cravings. i am glad that you liked the khichdi recipe. most khichdi recipes are easy to make. kumro bhaja (i have had only once) and chutney is a great combination with bengali khichdi recipe.
wish you all the best.
Hi..made this for lunch and paired it with the baingan bhaja…was nice.