Millet Khichdi is a nutritious Indian khichdi with millets, lentils, and vegetables. It is a wholesome, one-pot, vegetarian comfort food that will keep you full for hours.
What is a Millet?
Millet is a type of cereal grain that is very tiny, almost like a seed. Wide varieties of millet are cultivated and consumed across Africa and Asia. It has been recently declared a superfood in India.
Research has revealed that Indian millets are nutritionally superior to wheat and rice as they are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. They are also gluten-free and have a low glycemic index. India is among the top 5 exporters of millet in the world.
Millets are naturally gluten-free and a plant-based vegan ingredient.
Vegetable Millet Khichdi
Indian Khichdi is one of my favourite comfort food. It is an easy-to-cook, wholesome, fulfilling meal that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. You can cook it in a pressure cooker or an instant pot.
I am sharing a vegetable khichdi recipe with millet, two types of lentils, and a lot of vegetables. This khichdi recipe replaces rice with millet to increase the dish’s nutritional value.
Ingredients Required
- Millet: I use Brown Top Millet for this khichdi recipe. You can use foxtail, little millet, sorghum, pearl millet, or any other variety.
- Lentils: You need yellow moong and pink masoor, or use either of them.
- Vegetables: From French beans, carrots, broccoli, potato, green peas, sweet potato, spinach, and cauliflower, to zucchini and pumpkin, you can add various vegetables to the millet khichdi.
- Spices: Red Chilli Powder, Turmeric Powder, Garam Masala, Cumin, Cloves, Whole Dried Red Chilli
- Cooking Oil: You can use ghee, coconut, or refined vegetable oil to make khichdi. My favourite is ghee. It gives a sweet taste and a rich aroma to the dish.
- Other Ingredients: Onion, Tomato, Ginger Garlic Paste, Asafoetida (hing), Salt, Water, Coriander Leaves
How To Make Millet Khichdi
Step 1) Rinse the millet with water. Transfer it to a bowl and soak it in water for 30 minutes.
Step 2) Combine both lentils in a bowl. Rinse them with water, then soak them in water for 15 minutes.
Step 3) Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Once hot, add cumin, cloves, dried red chillies, and asafoetida. Saute briefly to release the aroma and infuse flavour into the oil.
Step 4) Add onion and saute them till they turn light brown.
Step 5) Next, add ginger garlic paste, tomato, salt, turmeric powder, and red chilli powder. Stir to combine. Saute the masala till the tomatoes break down.
Step 6) Add soaked vegetables, millet, and lentils. Saute for 2 minutes.
Step 7) Add water, mix, and pressure cook millet khichdi for two whistles over low heat.
Once you open the lid of the pressure cooker, add ghee, coriander, and mix one last time. Millet Khichdi is ready to serve.
Serving Suggestion
Like any other Indian khichdi, millet khichdi tastes excellent with curd, papad, pickle, and fresh kachumber salad. You can serve it with refreshing pomegranate raita or masala chaas also.
Store the leftover khichdi in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 days. Reheat in a microwave or a stovetop pan. Add ¼ cup of water while reheating to get the desired consistency.
More Indian Khichdi Recipes
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Millet Khichdi Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅓ Cup millet
- ⅛ Cup yellow moong dal
- ⅛ Cup pink masoor dal
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ¼ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
- 2 cloves (laung)
- 2 dried red chillies
- ¼ Cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste (see recipe)
- ¼ Cup chopped tomato
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala Powder (see recipe)
- 1 Cup chopped mixed vegetables (carrot, potato, broccoli, peas)
- 2 ¼ Cup water
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
Instructions
- Rinse the millet with water. Transfer it to a bowl and soak it in water for 30 minutes. Soaking reduces the cooking time of millet.
- Combine both lentils in a bowl. Rinse them with water, then soak them in water for 15 minutes.
- Heat oil in a stovetop pressure cooker. Once hot, add cumin, cloves, dried red chillies, and asafoetida. Saute for 20 – 30 seconds to release the aroma of spices and infuse their flavour into the oil.
- Add onion and saute them till they turn light brown. This takes 2 – 3 minutes.
- Next, add ginger garlic paste, tomato, salt, turmeric powder, and red chilli powder. Stir to combine. Saute the masala till the tomatoes break down.
- Add soaked vegetables, millet, and lentils. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add water, mix, and pressure cook millet khichdi for two whistles over low heat. After two whistles, turn off the heat. Allow the steam to release naturally from the pressure cooker.
- Once you open the lid of the pressure cooker, add ghee, fresh coriander leaves, and mix one last time. Millet Khichdi is ready to serve.
- Serve Vegetable Millet Khichdi warm.
Recipe Notes:
- Do not pressure cook the khichdi for too long.
- Use the instant pot’s saute and pressure cooker modes to make this khichdi. The pressure cook time is 10 minutes.
- To make a vegan khichdi, use coconut or vegetable oil for cooking rather than ghee.
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