Khichuri (খিচুড়ি) is the most favorite of all comfort food among Bangladeshis. We somehow find affinity of rainy days with Khichuri and dash of hot spicy spreads (Bhorrta), egg omelettes, a piece of fried Hilsa….Well the list goes on. Anyway, it’s for sure that this rice lentil dish would give you the ultimate taste of Bangladesh.

I will try to explain the recipe as simple as possible. As you have already guessed that the main ingredients are rice and lentil, other ingredients are pretty common to find in the pantry. So once you get hold onto this recipe, you will see how easy it is to make. Most importantly, you can improvise this recipe many ways possible, for example adding potatoes, cauliflower, beans, edamame or any veggies as you like. Well, there are thousands of recipes available for Khichuri but I am sharing the most common and easy, vegan way of making it.

I have chosen two different kinds of lentil:- Muug (yellow lentils) and Mashur (red lentils), as they taste better together and they need less time to cook! You can of course use only one kind of lentils or beans, that won’t hurt the recipe at all, but make sure they require same time to be cooked. For example, if you choose dried chickpeas or bigger beans, you may need to soak them overnight. This recipe is cooked in 30 minutes maximum because I have used only red and yellow lentils. However, the vital ingredient for this recipe is the cumin seeds, which ultimately gives the flavor and charm of the khichuri so make sure you have it in the pantry.

First slice your onion and keep in ready on the side. Take a deep pan and warm oil over medium heat. When oil is nicely warm, put cumin seeds and bay leaves. If you keep them for a while in warm oil they will burn soon, so as soon as they start bubble, put your sliced onion and salt.

While onions are getting golden and caramelized, let’s measure and wash rice and lentils. To get the perfectly balanced rice and lentil taste, I always use half the amount of lentil to rice. For example, I have used 2 cups of rice and 1 cup of mixed lentils. This way lentil won’t overpower the dish rather it would create a perfect harmony with rice.

Another important steps is to wash rice lentils very well with lukewarm water until the water is clear enough is see though the lentils. Use a colander to strain waters as much as possible as it will ensure a perfect stir fry them at next step.

Now the onions are perfectly golden caramelized, its time to add rice and lentils, chili, coriander powder and turmeric.

Combine everything very well and stir cook them for minimum 10 minutes in medium low flame. Here you will see that if you strain the water very well in previous step, the rice-lentils will be very nicely crisped.

While stirring, you will find nice aroma coming from fried rice-lentils and spices. Keep the flame in medium low heat.

You will see the change in color and consistency of rice-lentils after stir fry them for 10 minutes. The color will get darker and rice will get crispier.

I don’t know how clear you can see it from the picture that the rice got opaque and bit reddish too. This step is a must if you want a super flavored Khichuri, but you can skip the whole stir fry step if you are on hurry. You can directly add water to rice-lentil after caramelizing onion.

It’s time to add water. Some find it very difficult to measure water for any kind of rice dishes, they either use too little or too much. Well, the trick is to use same cup to measure both water and rice and always use just double the amount of water, that is Water : Rice = 2:1. This time I have cooked for 8 persons, so I have taken 2 cups of rice and 1 cup of lentil mix, total 3 cups and I have used 6 cups of water.

After adding water, put the flame in high heat and do not cover the pot. Stir once a while. Check the salt at this point and more if needed.

When water start to get absorbed by rice, then stir once again and cover the pot with lid. Must turn the flame in low heat as it is time to simmer and completely cook the rice-lentils.

Simmer it for 10 more minutes in low flame but do not open the lid to check. Otherwise the heat will escape and you will end up with uncooked rice.

After 10 minutes, open the lid. If you see small holes through the rice-lentils, you will know your dish has been cooked perfectly! However to be sure, taste a tea spoon or use index fingers to check if the rice has cooked properly.

Fluff rice one more time and move them from the bottom to top. Turn off the heat now but leave the pot on warm stove so that excess moisture can escape and the Khichuri has the perfect consistency.

You will know you have done a great job when you see rice grains are separate and fluffy yet soft! It is time now to devour the Khichuri with your favorite veggies, mine is aubergine fry with fried hot dried chili!

Recipe: 8 Servings Prepping time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients: 500 g of Bashmoti Rice 250g of Muug Daal / Yellow Lentil (Vigna radiata) and Mashur Daal/ Orange Lentil (Lens culinaris) mix OR, 250g of any kind of Lentil Spices and Condiments 60ml Vegetable Oil 1 big Onion – Sliced 2-3 fresh Chili 1 tsp Turmeric powder 1tsp Cumin powder 2 Bay leaf 1 tbs Cumin seeds (Cuminum cyminum) 2 tsp fine Salt

Instructions: 1. Slice onions and wash rice-lentil mix with lukewarm water for 10 times until waters come out clean. Put them on colander to strain excess water. 2. Warm the oil in a deep pot over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and bay leaf for 10- 20 seconds. When they starts bubbling, add onion and salt and saute until golden brown. 3. Add washed rice-lentil mix, chili, turmeric and cumin powder. Stir cook them for 10 minutes until the color changes and rice-lentils get crispier. 4. Add double the amount of water and cook in high heat until water are absorbed. Check salt meanwhile and add if needed. 5. Turn heat to low, cover the pot with lid and simmer for 10 minutes. 6. After 10 minutes, taste or check if the rice has cooked thoroughly. Turn off heat and keep the pot uncovered to leave out the excess moisture. Enjoy Khichuri with your favorite veggie dish!