Oats Khichdi
Oats Khichdi is a healthy, satisfying and delicious one-pot dish made with oats, mix vegetables and moong dal. Making this recipe is also quick. A great way to include oats in your meals and trust me this oats khichdi is not bland or boring.
More on Oats Khichdi
There are many ways I use Oats in our everyday food. This Oats Khichdi is one such recipe. Some more Indian recipes that we like with oats are Oats Dosa and Oats idli.
These are some of our family favorite recipes made with oats. So on ocassions I prepare this recipe and give a skip to the regular Moong Dal Khichdi.
I always add some veggies in it for some more nutrition. Addition of veggies also makes the oats khichdi more tasty and flavorful. Otherwise kids won’t like the bland taste of oats. The recipe is easy and similar to the way we make the traditional khichdi.
I have made this recipe with quick cooking oats. You could opt to use rolled oats or steel cut oats. With rolled oats and steel cut coats the amount of water and cooking time will increase.
While making this Oats Khichdi is a breeze in a stovetop pressure cooker, the dish can also be made in an Instant Pot or in a pan on the stovetop.
How to make Oats Khichdi
1. In a 2 litre stovetop pressure cooker, first heat 1.5 tablespoons ghee. Then add 1 small tej patta (Indian bay leaf) and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds. Let the cumin seeds crackle.
2. Add ⅓ cup chopped onions.
3. Sauté onions stirring often till they turn translucent.
4. Then add ⅓ teaspoon finely chopped ginger and 1 green chili, chopped (about ½ teaspoon chopped). Sauté for a few seconds.
5. Next add ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes.
6. Sauté till tomatoes soften.
7. Then add the mixed veggies. I added ⅓ cup chopped carrots, ⅓ cup green peas and ⅓ cup potatoes. You can add veggies of your choice. Sauté veggies for a minute.
8. Add ⅓ cup moong dal which has been rinsed a few times in water.
9. Mix the moong lentils with the vegetables and the remaining sautéed ingredients.
10. Next add ⅓ cup quick cooking oats. You can use any kind of oats, but the amount of water and cooking time will vary.
11. Also add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and ¼ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder.
12. Mix very well.
Cooking Oats Khichdi
13. Add 2.5 cups of water.
14. Season with salt.
15. Mix again. Check the taste of water and it should taste a bit salty.
16. Cover the cooker with its lid and pressure cook on a medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes.
17. When the pressure settles down on its own, then only remove the lid and stir the oats khichdi.
18. Serve Oats Khichdi hot or warm with a garnish of chopped coriander leaves.
You can accompany some salad, pickle, raita, yogurt or drizzle some lemon juice on top of Oats Khichdi. We love it with a light drizzle of lemon juice.
Expert Tips for Oats Khichdi
- You can add veggies of your choice also. I add whatever spare veggies I have in the fridge.
- You can use quick-cooking oats as well as rolled oats to prepare the recipe. If using rolled oats, then just add some more water.
- For a no spicy oats khichdi, skip green chilies, red chili powder and add less ginger.
- For a no-onion and no-garlic khichdi, simply skip the onions.
- The recipe can be doubled or tripled. You can even halve the recipe and prepare this khichdi for 1 to 2 people only, as not everyone is fond of oats.
Few more similar recipes for you !
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
- 1.5 tablespoons Ghee or oil – any neutral flavored oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tej patta small-sized, (Indian bay leaf)
- ⅓ cup chopped onions or 1 medium onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger or ½ inch ginger – finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon chopped green chilies or 1 green chilli- chopped
- ⅓ cup tomatoes or 1 small to medium sized tomato
- ⅓ cup chopped carrots
- ⅓ cup chopped potatoes
- ⅓ cup green peas – fresh or frozen
- ⅓ cup moong dal (split and husked moong lentils)
- ⅓ cup quick cooking oats or rolled oats
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon Red Chilli Powder or cayenne pepper
- 2.5 cups water or add as required, for rolled oats add 3 cups water
- salt as required
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
Instructions
- In a 2 litre pressure cooker, first heat ghee. Then add tej patta and cumin seeds. Stir to mix. Let the cumin seeds crackle.
- Add chopped onions.
- Stirring often sauté onions till they turn translucent and soften.
- Then add finely chopped ginger and green chilies. Mix and sauté for a few seconds.
- Next add chopped tomatoes and sauté until they soften.
- Add the chopped mix veggies. You can add veggies of your choice. Sauté veggies for a minute.
- Then add moong dal which has been rinsed in water a few times. Mix very well.
- Next add oats. If you prefer, you can rinse the oats a few times with water and set aside before adding it to the sautéed ingredients.
- Also add turmeric powder and kashmiri red chili powder.
- Mix very well and add water. Season with salt and mix again. Check the taste of water and it should taste a bit salty.
- Cover the cooker with its lid and pressure cook on medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes.
- When pressure settles down on its own, then only remove the lid and stir the oats khichdi.
- Serve oats khichdi hot or warm with a garnish of chopped coriander leaves. You can accompany some salad, pickle, raita, yogurt or drizzle some lemon juice on top of it.
- Oats khichdi is best had hot. On cooling the consistency thickens and can become lumpy. If there are any leftovers add some water to the khichdi in a saucepan or small pot to get desired consistency. Heat on a low heat on the stovetop and break the lumps (if any) carefully with a spoon as the khichdi warms or gets heated on the stovetop.
Notes
- Feel free to use rolled oats and steel cut oats to make the oats khichdi. But keep in mind that the cooking time will increase as these type of oats take a longer time to cook. The amount of water to be added will also increase.
- Adjust the seasonings and spices as needed to suit your palate.
- For a vegan version, use any neutral tasting oil instead of ghee.
- Include vegetable of your choice and ones that you or your family likes.
- The recipe can be halved or doubled.
Nutrition
This Oats Khichdi post from the archives first published in April 2017 has been republished and updated on 24 June 2022.
Hi
I would like to try to make the Oats Khichdi but do not have a pressure cooker. Is it possible to make it on a stove top and if so, could you give instructions and advice.
Thanks a lot,
Russell.
You could make the oats khichdi on the stovetop in a pan. But you will have to cook the lentils separately. In a pot, add water and the moong dal. Cook covered until the mung lentils are softened thoroughly. Mash the cooked lentils lightly.
Dry roast/toast the oats until fragrant for about 2 to 3 minutes on medium-low heat and set aside. In a another pan, sauté the spices, onions, tomatoes, chillies, ginger as mentioned in for this recipe.
Add vegetables, ground spices and sauté briefly for 2 to 3 minutes. Add water as needed, salt according to taste. Cover pan and simmer until veggies are almost tender or just about cooked.
Next add the toasted oats and more water if needed. Simmer until the oats are softened. Add the cooked moong dal. Mix thoroughly and simmer for a couple of minutes until the desired consistency is achieved.
I hope this helps.
Can an egg be added at the end?
Yes you can do that.
Loved the idea of having oats as khichdi with moong dal and veggies.With a dash of lime juice it was simply delicious.
thank you winnie. this oats khichdi is one of the favorite khichdi at my place. healthy and tasty.
Hello maam…I just love your recipes.I have tried many of them nd each recipe turned out great.
Thank you for your recipes. ☺
welcome manali and thanks for the feedback on the recipes you have tried. glad to know and happy cooking.
The recipe turned out to be very delicious. May i know the calorie count for the recipe
thanks dt. i will have to calculate the calories. will add in the recipe box in some time.
Thank you so much for your good work! I’m a vegetarian from Europe and really, really love your recipes! They are so simple, versatile and yummy. There are a few recipes for oat-based stews in our country, but they usually taste very bland, you eat them when you’re stomach-sick 😉 So I never would have thought of adding oats to lentils and veggies. But we really loved the flavor and the thickening effect. The only thing I have to adapt for our tastebuds is the amount of green chili – we are just to weak … but I hope I will get used to it sooner or later.
Welcome Alfredo. Glad to read your positive feedback. In Indian cooking we use more spices than is used in Europe.
Nice recipe… 🙂
Can it be had as breakfast? The said measurements will suffice 1 person or 2?
Poornima, yes you can have oats khichdi for breakfast. Just enough for 2 person. But depends upon serving size also.
Hi . 1/3 cup means it’s less than 1/4 cup ?
nasreen, its more. 1/4 is 25% and 1/3 is 33%.