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side shot of dal khichdi in a steel serving bowl
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5 from 4 votes

Dal Khichdi Recipe

Dal Khichdi is an Indian style lentil and rice one-pot, gluten-free dish. Learn how to make Indian khichdi in a few simple steps.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 4
Calories: 80kcal
Author: Hina Gujral

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup white rice
  • ¼ Cup yellow moong dal
  • ¼ Cup toor dal (pigeon peas)
  • ¼ Cup pink masoor dal
  • 1 Cup chopped onion
  • ½ Cup chopped tomato
  • 1 Cup potato, cut into cubes
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 2 tablespoon ghee or cooking oil
  • 4 Cup water

Ingredients For Tempering:

  • 2 tablespoon ghee
  • 1 tablespoon jeera (cumin seeds)
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 - 2 whole red chili

Instructions

  • To prepare the Dal Khichdi, first clean, rinse, and soak the lentils and rice together in water for 10 - 15 minutes or so. Set them aside.
    soaked dal and rice
  • In a pressure cooker heat 2 tablespoons of ghee/cooking oil over medium flame. Add the chopped onion. Stir and saute over medium heat or till the onion becomes golden in color.
    fried onion in a pressure cooker
  • Add the chopped tomato, spices, salt, and cook the masala till tomatoes are mushy.
    fried onion and tomato masala
  • Drain water from soaked dal and rice. Add diced potato and soaked lentil – rice mix to the pressure cooker. Stir to mix nicely and fry for a few seconds.
    khichdi cooking process in a pressure cooker
  • Add water. Stir to combine. Seal the pressure cooker. Cook dal khichdi over low heat for 1 - 2 whistles. If you are using Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker, 6 – 8 minutes is the cooking time.
    Pressure Cooker
  • Once cooking time is over, turn off the heat. Let the steam release naturally from the pressure cooker.
  • Meanwhile, prepare the tempering. Heat ghee in a small pan. Add cumin seeds, red chili powder, and whole red chili. Cook for 10 – 20 seconds to infuse flavors into the ghee.
    Preparing tempering
  • Open the lid of the pressure cooker and pour hot tempering over the khichdi. Mix and serve.
  • Serve Dal Khichdi warm topped with ghee along with raita, salad, and papad.

Notes

  • Instant Pot Khichdi: This is an instant pot-friendly recipe. Saute mode 5 minutes. Pressure Cook mode 6 - 8 minutes. Follow the remaining steps as suggested above 
  • Vegan Khichdi: To make a vegan khichdi use coconut oil or refined oil for cooking instead of ghee. If you skip adding ghee, then dal khichdi is a naturally vegan and gluten-free dish. 
  • You can use all of three lentils (moon, masoor, and toor) or any of two along with rice to make khichdi. 
  • Adding potatoes or any other vegetable in the khichdi is optional. The vegetables make it more fulfilling. 
  • Adjust the quantity of water as per personal preference. I like the little liquid consistency of my khichdi. Hence, 4 Cups of water. 

Nutrition

Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 14.6g | Protein: 2.5g | Fat: 1.4g | Fiber: 1.6g