Khichdi Recipe | Oil-free Dal Khichdi Recipe

Vegan Dal Khichdi Recipe

Dal Khichdi, morning and evening, yes!

Whole Food Plant Based Dal Khichdi Recipe

Course: Course 3 (Grain Dishes) at Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: North Indian Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Passive Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Brown Rice
1/2 cup Toor Dal / Split Pigeon Pea
1 inch piece Ginger
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 stick Cinnamon
1 Green Cardamom
1 Bay Leaf
4 cups Water
1 Dried Red Chili

Garnishing

1 tbsp Almond Butter
1 tsp Cashews
2 tsp Coriander Stems & Leaves chopped
1 tsp Black Pepper Powder
1 tsp Jeera / Cumin Powder
1 pinch Asafoetida / Hing / Perunkaayam
4 tsp Miso Paste (Healthy Salt Alternative. See Nutrition Science Highlights below)
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds / Jeera
1 strand Curry Leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash and Soak brown rice and toor dal for at least 30 minutes. Use the water for your garden.
2. Peel and chop ginger into small pieces. Mix brown rice, toor dal, ginger, turmeric powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and bay leaf with water and cook with a partially closed lid. Check the water once in a while and add more if required. Ensure to not let it boil over or get burnt. This is easiest when using a mud pot.
3. Once dal khichdi is nearly cooked, break dried red chili into 2-3 pieces and add to the boiling dal khichdi. Once cooked, remove from stove.
4. Dry roast jeera mildly. Crush jeera and black pepper coarsely. Add to dal khichdi, along with miso paste, perunkaayam / asafoetida, chopped coriander leaves, curry leaves, almond butter and cashews.
5. Allow to cool completely and serve fresh with Gobi Matar Tofu Gravy.

Plant Based Chef Pro Tips for Best Dal Khichdi Recipe

1. To make your khichdi super creamy, mash the cooked rice and dal well before they cool down, and add some cashew paste after cooking. Yum!

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Dal Khichdi Recipe

1. Why Miso Paste? Miso paste is fermented & salted soya bean paste. American Heart Association Maximum recommended maximum daily salt intake of 3.75 grams per person to minimise risk of high blood pressure, stomach cancer and chronic kidney disease. In addition to helping us restrict salt intake, replacing salt with miso paste also helps by neutralising the negative effects of salt by soya phytonutrients. You can easily make fresh miso paste at home by mixing 100 grams of cooked soya paste with 10 grams of salt, or 10 tablespoons of cooked soya paste with 1 tablespoon of salt. If making at home, ensure to use immediately, or freeze in batches to use later. Or, simply use 3.75 grams of salt or less per day per person and add 18 to 20 grams (dry weight) of soya beans in any dishes, spread through the day!
2. Why whole grains? Whole grains are healthier than refined grains such as white rice, refined flours, maida, rava, etc., as the bran layer is intact, with all its vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Whole grains have been found to be protective against a whole range of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and lifestyle-related cancers.
3. Why cool grains? When cooked grains are allowed to cool on the counter or in the fridge, the starch crystallises to form resistant starch. This can be eaten by our good gut bacteria and also reduces the glycemic index (the rate at which glucose is absorbed), making the whole grain even healthier. For the same reason, parboiled whole grains can be used as well.
4. Why not tadka? Tadka, thaaLippu, oggaraNe. Tempering spices in oil is quintessential to Indian cuisine. This practice may have started as a compromise when whole nuts were unavailable, and indeed, is more common in inland, drier areas where nuts do not grow easily, all year round. You can enjoy the taste and fragrance, though, by just dry roasting the spices you require, without the oil, or even better, mixing spice powders directly into your dish!