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Tamatar Masala Anda - Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce
Khichuri – Bengali Red Lentil Risotto
| By : |
A khichuri or khichdi is a classic rice and lentil mélange, prepared differently in different parts of India. This particular red lentil variation is from the Bengal. It is distinct in its use of fried onions to imbue rich flavor into the dish and is replete with cauliflower and potatoes and green peas. It gets done with in less than twenty minutes of cooking time with a beautiful drizzle of cumin scented clarified butter or ghee. To keep this dish vegan, you can use coconut oil instead of the ghee.
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 12 minutes |
| Servings |
4-6 servings
|
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium red onion thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup red split lentils (masuur dal)
- 1/2 cup Basmati or kalajeera rice
- 1 tsp powdered cumin
- 1 tsp powdered coriander
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper powder
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 medium sized Yukon gold potato peeled and cubed
- 1/2 cup frozen green peas
For tempering
- 1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper (optional)
- 2 whole dried red chillies
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
Ingredients
For tempering
|
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot® on Sauté mode and heat the oil for about 1 minute, then add the onion and sauté until they turn golden, about 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the lentils, rice, cumin, coriander, ginger, cayenne pepper powder, salt, and turmeric. Add the cauliflower, potato, and
4 cups of water and stir well. - 2. Press Cancel to turn off Sauté mode, close the lid, and set the Instant Pot® on Manual Low Pressure mode for 4 minutes.
- When cooking time is complete, allow for Natural Pressure Release for 10 to 15 minutes, then use Quick Release for any residual pressure.
- Once pressure is released, open pot and stir rice mixture well. Set the Instant Pot® to Sauté mode and stir in the green peas and cook for 1 minute.
- To finish, heat the ghee or coconut oil in a small pan, add the cumin seeds, crushed red pepper, if using, and whole dried red chilies and cook until the mixture crackles and is fragrant, being careful not to burn the crushed red pepper. Pour the fragrant mixture over the khichuri and gently stir. Sprinkle on the lime juice and garnish with cilantro before serving.
Rinku Bhattacharya — cookbook author and founder of Spice Chronicles
— has put together a collection of 100 authentic recipes that showcase the diversity of Indian cuisine. With over 5 million Instant Pots ® sold, home cooks are eager for cookbooks that make the most of this multi-function pressure cooker. The Instant Pot ® lends itself perfectly to Indian recipes, making flavorful, nutritious fare (like dals, legumes and all
manner of curries) in minutes instead of hours. Instant Indian features numerous vegetarian and vegan options, and nearly all recipes are gluten-free.
With step-by-step instructions and color photos throughout, Instant Indian makes Indian cooking easy and fool-proof using all the functions of this popular appliance. Whether you crave idli and sambhar from South India, Khaman Dhokla from Gujarat, Punjabi Butter Chicken, Goan Fish Curry or Bengali Red Lentils, or simply want to discover a new favorite, this cookbook brings the best of India to your table in an instant!
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Just made this tonight for dinner on a frigid cold night, and it was the ultimate comfort food. So delicious! My entire family loved it. Spice blend was perfect, I did cut down the red pepper flakes to 1/4 tsp. as my husband doesn’t like things too spicy hot. Used brown basmati rice so adjusted cooking time to 8 minutes. Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Wow. Simply wow!
Delicious!
This a lovely, earthy dish. Nice texture although i left it on warm 45 minutes. We enjoyed the fragrant oil topping as well but i did not have cumin seeds and my dried peppers were maybe not small/hot enough. Overall I might find a way to add a bit more heat next time.
Simple, delicious and filling in the most perfectly comforting way. Made it with basmati the first time, and brown rice the second. Both times it came out perfectly with directions followed as described.
So good! Very comforting. I actually didn’t have potatoes or cumin, so I substituted extra cauliflower and curry powder. I also doubled the other spices. The lime topping at the end + cilantro really adds to the flavor. Will be making this again.
The flavours are complex and delicious in this! I used brown rice and followed a previous reviewer’s suggestion to cook for 8 min but this was a bit too long.. My rice grains were mushy. Not a huge problem as it’s a kichuri after all but next time I’ll try 6min. I used the indicated spices and found it perfect, though perhaps I could handle it a bit spicier. If you aren’t into spicy heat, adjust down of course. The ghee and lime juice make this dish next level.
Great flavors, but mushy. The texture was like mashed pototoes, and the lentils were completely “gone.” But the flavors were spot on so, I’ll try again, just won’t cook as long.
Awesome flavours! Great success with our guests. Delicious.
My tips: I followed earlier advises and reduced cooking time: 3mn low pressure and 6mn release. Still somewhat slightly overcooked but rice was just cooked…so may be right on timing or maybe short it by one minute less…
My variants: added additional amounts of spices. Some ginger powder (in addition to fresh ginger) and added one sweet potatoe
Will make it again