Bajre Ki Khichdi with Kadhi and Mooli ki Bhujiya

I know! I know! Winter is all gone and beautiful spring is everywhere! I am late in posting this recipe :(.  I got late making it and hence posting it. But it’s not my fault completely. Just yesterday it was cold, I was posting soup recipes, and complaining about outside getting dark so early and today the air conditioning is on, flowers are blooming, bikes are out and parks are full. Can you really blame me? But winter or spring, you have to get your hands on some pearl millets and prepare this Bajre Ki Khichdi right away because it’s the best khichdi you will eat this year. Of course, am not exaggerating. I never do!

Bajre Ki Khichdi with Kadhi and Mooli ki Bhujiya

So the truth is that I ate this khichdi last when I was a kid. Then I left for college, then job, then got married and came to the US. So whatever memories I had of this khichdi are all of a 10-12 year old. I mean, can you really trust those memories? At that age, anything not junk is not edible. So to put it mildly, I was not a fan of this khichdi. I never craved for it and hence never made it. Then recently, whoever I called in India (mom-dad, bro or sis) during winters and asked the universal conversation starter question “What’s for dinner?”, I got the reply “Bajre ki Khichdi”. Suddenly I was craving for it so bad that I asked my sister to send me some pearl millets from Bangalore :). And she is such a sweet heart that she actually did. IMG_6582 (2)This time, following her instructions, when I made this Khichdi, chaos happened and our house turned upside down. I had made it in limited quantity, as part of a trial batch. Suddenly, husband wanted more, older son wanted more and if that wasn’t enough my little one (then 10 months only) got mighty upset with me because I didn’t give him enough :(. I paired this Bajre ki Khichdi with the best combo ever – Kadhi (without pakodas) and Mooli ki Bhujia. Aaaaah, all I needed was a ‘Charpai’ under a tree, to lie down on and sleep blissfully for hours. Oh Crap! I forgot I am a mom. Nonetheless, it was the most comforting and soul-satisfying food I’d had in a very long time. Thanks Sis!! XoXo.

Bajre Ki Khichdi with Kadhi and Mooli ki Bhujiya

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Yield: 2 people

Ingredients

    For Bajre ki khichdi
  • 1/2 cup Bajra or pearl millet
  • 1/8 cup split green Moong dal
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 9 cups Water
  • 8 tbsp. Ghee
    • For Mooli Ki Bhujia
  • 420 gms Radish
  • 330 gms Radish Leaves
  • 6 tbsp. Mustard Oil
  • 1 green Chili
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp Carom seeds
  • 3/4 tsp red Chili powder
  • 2 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
    • For Kadhi
  • Kadhi

Instructions

    For Kadhi
  1. Prepare Kadhi as mentioned without the Pakodas.
    2. For Mooli ki Bhujia
  2. Chop radish into bite size cubes and chop the leaves coarsely. Discard the thick stems from the leaves.
  3. Put them in the pressure cooker with 1/2 cup water and let it whistle once on high heat. Turn off the stove. Wait for the pressure to go down.
  4. Take out the radish and leaves into a muslin cloth and squeeze the water out completely.
  5. In a wok, add mustard oil and let it come to smoking point. Reduce the heat to a minimum and add cumin seeds, carom seeds, chopped green chili, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt.
  6. Add the radish and leaves into wok and cook them until they leaves oil. Turn off the stove.
    7. For Bajre Ki Khichdi
  7. Soak the moong dal in water for 1-2 hours. Drain out the water completely when done. Keep aside.
  8. Soak the millets in water separately for 3-4 hours to soften them up for grinding. Drain out the water completely and grind it coarsely in a food processor.
  9. To remove the skin off of the millets, take ground millets in a bowl and fill it with water. Rub the millets between your palms a couple of times until you see some skin floating on top of water. Drain the water. Fill it with water again and repeat this step 3-4 times until the water is clear.
  10. In a wide wok, add the washed millets, moong dal, 9 cups water and salt. Let it come to a boil on high heat. Stir it once or twice.
  11. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the flame to medium-high (6 gas mark) and cover it with a lid (else it will form a skin on the top). Keep stirring it every few minutes (else it will stick to the bottom) until the water is absorbed and it reaches a khichdi like consistency (about 1 hour 40 min to 2 hours).
  12. Dish it out on 2 plates. Add 4 tbsp. ghee on top of each and whip the khichdi with spoon. You will notice Khichdi changing its color to light grey or almost white and getting creamier in texture.
  13. Serve it hot with Kadhi and Mooli ki Bhujia. Enjoy.

Notes

The cook time is for Khichdi only.

Traditionally, Bajra is grounded in a big mortar and pestle and then sieved to remove skin using a special sieve made with bamboo. My method is a alternative to that due to lack of equipment. It works equally well.

Keep the Khichdi covered at all times to prevent the formation of skin.

Ghee is very crucial to the taste of this Khichdi. Please do not reduce the amount.

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