Spicy Rice Kichadi

One pot meal and a comfort food, perfect for those lazy days. Kichadi is prepared using rice or semolina or even cracked wheat mixed with lentils and a variety of spices and vegetables. You can also add roasted peanuts or cashew nuts for a little crunch. This recipe can easily be doubled when you have company over. With just a few ingredients from your pantry and easy to cook vegetables, this kichadi will be perfect for lunch boxes too. Hope you will enjoy the dish just like i did. And here goes the recipe, 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Rice

1/4 cup Toor dal

! 1/2 cups Water

1/4 cup Peas

1/4 cup Carrot (chopped)

1/2 Onion (finely chopped)

2-3 Green Chili (Finely chopped)

1 1/2 tsp Garlic (minced)

1 1/2 tsp Ginger (minced)

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Chili powder

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Black peppercorns

1/2" Cinnamon stick

1 Clove

1 pinch Asafoetida

1 tbsp Oil

Salt

 How to:

• Wash the rice and toor dal together, pour the water and soak for 20 mins.

• In a pressure cooker, heat oil, add cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, clove, peppercorns, asafoetida and turmeric powder.

• Add the onions, saute for a min. Then add the ginger, garlic and green chilies and saute for a couple of mins.

• Add the carrots, peas along with chili powder and salt.

• Now add the soaked rice and dal along with the water, check salt and pressure cook for 1 whistle.

• Switch off, fluff the rice gently and garnish with cilantro.

• Serve warm with potato fry or chips.

Toor dal Chutney

Ingredients:

2tbsp Toor dal

1 1/4 cup grated Coconut (frozen & thawed)

1 piece Tamarind (small)

4 dry red chilli

3 garlic pods

1 pinch Asafoetida

Tadka:

1/2tsp Mustard seeds

1/2tsp Urad dal

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

2 dry red chilli (broken)

4-5 Curry leaves

1 pinch Asafoetida

Salt

1tbsp Oil

How to:

• Heat 1tsp of oil in a pan and roast the toor dal and tamarind until it turns slightly brown.

• Also roast the dry red chilli, garlic and asafoetida. (Careful not to burn'em.)

• Let the roasted ingredients cool, then grind them together with the coconut, salt and water.

• Finally, heat the remaining oil, add the tadka ingredients and mix well with the ground chutney.

Serve with tamarind rice, rasam rice or dosa.