Musur Dal er Khichuri (Bengali Style Pink Lentils Khichdi)

This post is all about a typical household recipe that we have. My family cooks the musur dal er khichuri (Bengali style pink lentils khichdi) this way and hence I adopted it too. My father is a real good cook and gives me extra tips for these. I talked about khichuri being a comfort food for us Bengalis, especially the musur dal er khichuri, which is typically consumed when it pours or when the temperature drops, in another post of mine. Every family I know has their own unique recipe for cooking this khichuri. It tastes best with maach bhaja or the fried fish, most preferred is Ilish maach bhaja (fried Hilsa fish)in peak monsoons, or dim er omelette or any other croquettes or fritters of preference. 😊

As I said before, my father is a master in cooking typical Bengali foods and probably I have this passion for cooking largely because of him. Few days before it rained heavily over here the whole night. The weather was so pleasant and cool the next morning also. It was pretty much cloudy and windy here the next day and I was planning the meals, which is the first thing I do after I wake up! I asked my parents if they want some musur dal er khichuri, which is essentially a tad bit runny, and they happily agreed to this proposal! 😄

I peeped into the refrigerator and found some paneer (Indian cottage cheese), carrots, and few bhindi or okra in it, apart from tomatoes, ginger, green chillies etc. The freezer had some fish pieces too. And in a jiffy I planned the meal! It will be musur dal er khichuri, maach bhaja (fried fish) and some masala bhindi bhaja (bhindi fried with a mixture of spices). It took me 2 hours in total to complete all the cooking activities, within which 1 hour is for the musur dal er khichuri alone. I did not use a pressure cooker to make this, and rather used a traditional handi or a deep-bottomed vessel for the same. With the handi you have to be cautious so that the musur dal er khichuri  does not burn, and keep stirring from time to time and add water as required. The idea here is to add the vegetables you have in your kitchen to enhance the taste of the dish. One can add vegetables such as cauliflower, beans and green peas to it as well. Also, Bengalis consume parboiled rice and I have used the same. The timing may vary with other rice variants. So, without much ado, I will go to the recipe now! 😊

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Musur dal/ Pink lentils - 1 cup

Onions - 4 medium sized

Ginger - 1 inch

Carrots - 4 large

Aloo/ Potatoes - 4 medium

Paneer (optional) - 100 gms

Ghee - 1.5 tablespoons

Jeera/ Cumin seeds - 1.5 teaspoons

Dried red chillies - 4

Salt - as required 

Haldi/ Turmeric powder - 1.5 teaspoons

Water - 2.5 litres or as required

Procedure: 

Firstly, you need to wash the rice and the pink lentils very well under running water. There should not be any scum on top of the rice while washing and the water should not be pale white in colour. That is when you know you washed the rice properly. Repeat it with the pink lentils too. Soak them for at least an hour before cooking, as it makes the cooking process faster. Peel and halve the potatoes, soak it in water to avoid oxidation. Repeat the same with the onions. For the carrots, peel them and chop into large chunks. Cut the paneer into 1 inch cubes. Grate the ginger and keep aside. Now, in a handi, add 500 ml of water and let it come to a boil. Add the pink lentils to it and let it boil, you will notice scum on the top of water, remove it using a spoon. Keep doing it till the time you do not see any scum on top. Now, by this time the lentils would become much tender. Add the soaked rice to it and mix well. Add some salt to it and mix thoroughly. Add 1 litre water to it and cook it for 15 minutes or so with occasional stirring. Make sure the cooking is done in high heat and the water does not dry up. Add water as and when required. You will notice that the rice and the pink lentils are gradually mixing up well, and now add some turmeric powder to it. Mix it well and let it cook. After around 15 minutes, add the potatoes as well as the grated ginger and add some water. After another five minutes, add the carrots to it, followed by the onions. By this time, you will notice that the khichdi is gradually taking the desired shape. Check if the rice is cooked or not. If not done, add more water and keep cooking on high heat. Finally, add paneer cubes to it and adjust the salt and cook for sometime. Remember the khichdi will have a runny consistency as in the photograph. 

Now, take a small pan on the other side of the stove, and add ghee to it. When it melts, add cumin seeds, bay leaves and dried red chillies into it. I split the chillies into two and added it to enhance the heat, you can keep it whole if you want. It will start to crackle soon and then add this to the khichdi on the other side of the stove. Cover it immediately and let it rest for 10 minutes or so. Open the lid before serving and give it a nice mix. Serve it hot with fritters of your choice or omelette or fried fish, whichever way you want to! It is best consumed when it is piping hot.