Gujarati Khichdi and Kadi Pakoda..

The Khichdi Kadi duo was a super hit in our house recently and this simple yet wholesome protein packed food is rightly called as the 'comfort food' of (not only)the Gujaratis!!!
I dont know if this recipe is authentic,but it sure is delectable and irresistable!!
It can be made plain or with vegetables,with yellow moong dhall or green,mushy or separate depending on individual's taste and convenience.
I used the green broken moong dhall and raw rice as i wanted it to be a little different from the regular venpongal made with the yellow moong dhall.
The recipe for the Khichdi,Kadi and the Pakoda is as follows:

Ingredients for Khichdi:

Broken green gram dhall/Yellow moong dhall-1 Cup

Peas and Carrots- 1/2 Cup (optional)

Raw rice-1 Cup

Water to cook - 3 Cups(can be adjusted accordingly)

Ghee-4 Tbsp

Bay Leaf-1 No.

Cloves-4 nos.

Cinnamon-a small piece

Jeera/cumin seeds-1 Tbsp

Whole Black Pepper-1 Tsp

Ginger-1 inch piece

Green chillies-4-5 nos.

Asafoetida-1 Tsp

Turmeric pwdr-1 Tsp

Curry leaves-a sprig

Salt to taste

Procedure:

1.Wash both the rice and dhall and let it soak for about half an hour.

2.Pressure the above in a cooker for about two whistles with some green chillies,ginger,turmeric and salt.

3.Now heat the ghee in a pan and add the rest of the items like bay leaf,cinnamon,cloves,black peppers,cumin,curry leaves and hing and pour it on top of hte Kichdi.

4.Let it stand for a few mins with the lid on before serving  for the aroma to cook up.

5.Eat it hot with a dollop of ghee and kadi pakoda by the side.

Ingredients for Kadi:

1.Thick curd-1/2 Cup diluted to 1 Cup/Yogurt drink-1 Cup

2.Besan Flour-2 tbsp

3.Ginger-an inch

4.Green chillies-4 small

5.Turmeric-a pinch

6.Asafoetida or Hing-a pinch

7.Curry leaves-a sprig

8.Cilantro-a few for garnishing

9.Salt to taste

10.Oil-1 Tsp

Procedure:

1.Whisk the curd and add the besan flour,salt and turmeric mixing well to avoid lumps.

2.Heat a tsp of oil and add the rest of the ingredients to it.

3.Now pour the curd-besan mixture and let it boil for a minute or two till it starts to become thick.

4. Switch off the heat and add the chopped cilantro to garnish.

5.If u feel the Kadi is too thick,then just add a little water and dilute it.

Ingredients for Pakoda:

Besan flour-1/2 Cup

Onion-1 medium-finely chopped

Red chilli pwdr-1 Tsp

Hing-a pinch

Oil to deep fry

Procedure:

1.Sieve the besan flour,salt and chilli powder and hing together and add water little by little to form a batter,the consistency of which should be like dosa batter.(not too thick or too watery)

2.Make small balls and deep fry in oil and drain it on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

3.Add the fried Pakodas to the Kadi before serving and enjoy it with hot Khichdi with a dollop of ghee on top.


Note: Another time saving method to cook the Khichdi is to heat ghee in the cooker,add all the ingredients for tempering,saute for a few minutes,add the washed and soaked rice,dhall and water and pressure cook for two whistles.