A soft, savoury one-pot khichdi of little millet rava and moong dal, loose enough to spoon, finished with a hissing ghee and cumin tempering.
Ingredients
From the TrooFoodz pantry
Fresh
- Split yellow moong dal, rinsed 1/2 cup
- Carrot, diced small 1
- Green beans, chopped 12
- Green peas 1/3 cup
- Tomato, chopped 1
- Ginger, julienned 1 tbsp
- Turmeric 1/2 tsp
- Asafoetida 1/4 tsp
- Cumin seeds 1 1/2 tsp
- Whole black peppercorns 10
- Curry leaves 12
- Ghee 3 tbsp
- Salt 1 1/2 tsp
- Hot water 4 cups
- Lemon 1/2
Method
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Dry-roast the rava
Toast the Sprouted Little Millet Rava in a dry pan over medium heat for three minutes until it smells nutty and the grains move freely. This keeps them separate later.
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Roast the dal
In the same pan, roast the moong dal in a teaspoon of ghee until it turns a shade darker and smells toasted, then set both aside.
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Build the base
Heat the remaining ghee, crackle the cumin and peppercorns, add asafoetida, curry leaves and ginger, then the vegetables and tomato with the turmeric and salt.
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Cook the dal first
Add the dal and two cups of hot water and simmer 10 minutes until the dal is half-soft. Adding the rava too early gives you paste.
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Add rava off-heat
Pull the pot off the flame and stir in the rava in a steady stream, whisking as you go so no lumps form, then return it to a low flame.
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Loosen and simmer
Pour in the remaining hot water, cover and cook eight minutes on low, stirring twice. It should stay pourable — it thickens noticeably as it sits.
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Finish bright
Rest five minutes covered, squeeze over lemon, and add a spoon of hot ghee at the table.
Why this works
Roasting the rava dry sets a toasted layer on each granule that slows water uptake, which is the difference between distinct grains and porridge. Adding it off the heat avoids the flash-gelatinisation that causes lumping, and the dal gets a head start because it takes three times as long to soften.
Make it your own
- Sprouted Little Millet Rava → Sprouted Foxtail Millet Rava Slightly firmer grain and a cleaner finish.
- Moong dal → Masoor dal Cooks faster and breaks down more, giving a creamier khichdi.
- Ghee → Coconut oil Dairy-free, with a distinctly coastal aroma.
