Dalia Recipe | Daliya Khichdi

Dalia, also known as broken wheat or cracked wheat, is a wholesome ingredient commonly used in Indian cooking. It can be prepared in both sweet and savory variations. This Dalia Recipe features Dalia Khichdi, a savory one-pot dish made with cracked wheat, mixed vegetables, herbs and spices. Light and easy to digest, it is often served as a comforting everyday meal.

About Daliya Recipe

Whether or not you enjoy khichdi, this daliya khichdi is worth trying. It is a wholesome and fuss-free one-pot meal made with simple ingredients.

‘Dalia’ is the Hindi term for broken cereals, but in most Indian homes it refers to broken wheat. This recipe uses cracked wheat cooked with spices and mixed vegetables.

If you’re looking for the sweet version, you can try this recipe of Milk Dalia made with milk, sugar and cracked wheat.

This daliya khichdi has a soft, porridge-like consistency, though you can make it slightly thicker if you prefer. It is filling and works well as a breakfast, brunch or even a light lunch. At home, we usually serve it with curd, but it can be had plain too.

I usually add vegetables like carrots, green peas, potatoes, onions, cauliflower, French beans and tomatoes. You can also add capsicum for more flavor. Peas and potatoes are commonly used and give a nice taste and texture.

You can also include moong dal in this recipe. Add it along with the broken wheat while cooking.

I often make one-pot meals like this daliya recipe, Khichdi or Veg Pulao when short on time.

Why Dalia

Broken wheat is a simple and nutritious ingredient. It is low in fat, rich in fiber and iron, and a good source of carbohydrates.

It is also easy to digest. Because of this, dishes like daliya khichdi and moong dal khichdi are often recommended when recovering from illness or when the stomach is upset.

Many of us have grown up eating dalia or khichdi during such times.

Since dalia can taste mild, you can adjust the spices in this recipe to make it more flavorful when cooking for everyday meals.

How To Make Dalia Recipe (Step-By-Step)

1. Chop all the vegetables. Measure and keep all the ingredients ready for making Dalia recipe.

Sauté Onion Tomatoes

2. In a 3-litre stovetop pressure cooker, heat 1 tablespoon oil or ghee. Keep heat to medium-low, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them crackle.

3. Add ⅓ cup finely chopped onions.

4. Sauté onions until they soften and become translucent.

5. Then, add 1 teaspoon of finely chopped ginger and ½ to 1 teaspoon of finely chopped green chilies.

6. Sauté on low heat for some seconds or until the raw aroma of ginger goes away.

7. Add ½ cup of finely chopped tomatoes.

8. Sauté for 1 minute.

Sauté Vegetables

9. Next, add ½ cup chopped potatoes, ½ cup chopped carrots and ½ cup green peas (fresh or frozen).

10. Sauté on low to medium-low heat for 2 minutes. Stir at intervals.

Prep & Add Dalia

11. Meanwhile, rinse 1 cup broken wheat (dalia) in water using a fine strainer.

12. Drain the water and keep aside. You can rinse it before preparing but it hardly takes time to rinse and strain the water.

13. Add the rinsed broken wheat to the vegetables. Sauté on low heat for 3 to 4 minutes.

14. Add 4 cups water and salt as required.

15. Stir and mix well.

Make Daliya Khichdi

16. On medium heat, pressure cook for 10 to 12 whistles (11 to 13 minutes) or until the broken wheat is cooked well and nicely softened.

Timing will depend on the quality of the broken wheat. So, the cooking time will vary.

17. Once the pressure drops naturally in the cooker, open the lid and check whether the daliya has softened and cooked well.

If the broken wheat has not cooked completely, then add some more water and pressure cook for a few more whistles or cook without the lid until the dalia has softened and you get a porridge-like consistency.

18. Transfer the prepared Dalia to serving bowls. Garnish Dalia Khichdi with coriander leaves and serve hot or warm.

You could drizzle a bit of ghee on the Dalia when serving. Additionally add lemon juice to get a lovely bright and tangy taste.

Serve Dalia as is or with a side of Mango Pickle or lemon pickle, Curd (yogurt), a simple raita or roasted papad.

Note that on cooling the consistency will thicken, so add some water to thin the consistency while reheating.

Dassana’s Recipe Tips

1. Type of Dalia: Use a finer or medium-fine variety of Dalia. It should not be too coarse. The recipe can also be made with millet dalia like jowar dalia. Only you will need to adjust the water accordingly when making the recipe with varietiies of millet dalia. Bulgur wheat can be used instead of broken wheat.
2. Rinsing: Always rinse the dalia to remove any chaff, dust or impurities. The broken wheat can be rinsed just before preparing the dish as it hardly takes any time to rinse and strain it. But you can prep by rinsing it earlier.
3. Vegetables: You can add your choice of vegetables in this dalia recipe for more nutrition. Also, you can use either fresh or frozen green peas. Feel free to include veggies like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, bottle gourd, potatoes, peas, green beans and pumpkin. Make a note that vegetables when chopped in small cubes cook easily and give a better cohesive consistency.
4. Adjusting Spices: Whenever you are making this daliya khichdi for people who are not recovering from any illness or sickness, you can amp it up by adding more spices, herbs and seasonings.
5. Fats: If you want to make a vegetarian version of this dalia recipe, use ghee (clarified butter) instead of oil .
6. Liquids: You can use a more flavorful vegetable stock in place of water to cook this dalia recipe.

Cooking Queries

Dalia recipe was from the archives was first published on July 2013.