Khichri, another name for wholesome goodness and one more commonality, amongst many, that connects sub-continental households across borders, languages and ethnicities. Children are nourished on khichri, grandparents too, in fact it is also the perfect sustenance for the generation in the middle.
My mother served khichri with a side of raita, cachumber and shami kababs, it truly was one of my most favourite home-cooked meals.
The origin of khichri is a few millenniums old, and it belongs to the subcontinent as much as its soil.
Conquerors, discoverers and imperialists who came from around the world, all tried the local khichri and relished it. They modified it, adding all sorts of ingredients to it, but none matched the perfection of the original; rice, moong dal, ghee, salt, cloves, cumin and water — loved by peasants and kings alike.
It is the ultimate Ayurvedic detox food, packed with flavour and nourishment. Rice and legumes/lentils cooked together are a perfect union of amino acids essential for our bodies; it is said to be the perfect protein.
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The Hare Khrishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking states;
Besides being rich in iron and B vitamins, dal is the main source of protein in a Vedic diet. For example, the usable protein of rice (60 percent) and that of dal (65 percent), increase to 85 percent when the two are eaten together.
When exiled Mughal Emperor Humanyun was living in Persia, he hosted the Persian Shah in Hindustani style. The Shah enjoyed the Hindustani `dish of rice with peas’, a version of the popular khichri.
In A Tale Of Cooks and Conquerors, Collingham says;
In 16th and 17th century Hindustan, the staple food of the rural peasants, and also of the urban artisans and laborers, was khichari, a simple dish of two grains, usually rice and lentils, boiled together in little water. Every region had a variation on the recipe according to which grain they grew as a staple crop. Pickles or salt fish also went well with khichari.
It was Jahangir who introduced the Gujarati khichari into the Mughal repertoire. While traveling through the province of Gujarat, he sampled a local version of this dish that used millet instead of rice. No doubt a Gujarati cook was immediately recruited to work in the imperial kitchen. In this way a simple regional peasant dish was integrated into the courtly cuisine.
Other more elaborate versions of the khichari were incorporated into the Mughal repertoire. During the reign of Shah Jahan, Sebastien Manrique was served a ‘far more costly’ khichari that he was told the Bengalis ate at their feasts. It was flavored with expensive ingredients such as almonds, raisings, cloves, mace, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper.
The Khichri recipe as chronicled by Abul Fzal in Ain-e-Akbari:
5 seer rice
5 seer split dal
5 seer ghee
1/3 seer salt
Conversion: 1 seer equals 2 ½ pounds
It is our very own khichri that was christened kedgeree by the British. They added boiled eggs and fish to it, doing away with the essential dal altogether.
Like nargissi kofta is to Scotch eggs, khichri is to kedgeree. The anglo-Indians served khichri [with rice and dal] for breakfast with freshly caught fish. But once transported to the main British isles, the aristocracy living in Britain started serving kedgeree for breakfast during their country-house getaways and settled on smoked haddock as the fish to be added to the rice, doing away with the essential dal altogether.
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The Oxford Companion For Food by Alan Davidson says the following;
Kedgeree, originally, khichri, is a common Indian dish which was already being described by visitors hundreds of years ago. Hobson-Jobson quotes from the Arab traveller Ibn Batuta (1340) ‘The munj (Moong) is boiled with rice, and then buttered and eaten. This is what they call Kishri and on this dish they breakfast every day.
By moong it is meant mung bean. The description remains correct, although other lentils can be used and it is usual to add flavorings; onions and spices. It seems to have been under British influence and for British tables that flaked fish or smoked fish was built into the dish, replacing the moong or lentils; and again due to the British that chopped hard-boiled eggs into the dish (plus in de luxe versions, ingredients such as cream). It was this transformed dish that became famous as kedgeree, a British breakfast specialty.
Hence the wholesome khichri has passed the test of time, regions and classes; and remains that one dish which is enjoyed best when made with its original ingredients.
Needless to say, there are countless versions, editions and recipes of the hearty khichri, (with dal variations and vegetables) but my favourite is still the original. Here it is, from my kitchen to yours.
Ingredients
½ cup moong dal
1 cup rice
3 to 4 cups water, or as required
¼ tsp. cumin
3 to 4 bay leaves
3 to 4 cloves
Salt to taste
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Method
Soak rice and dal separately for a couple of hours. Rinse thoroughly and set aside. Take 3-4 tbsp. of oil or ghee and fry the bay leaves and cloves for a few seconds, adding slowly the dal and rice to the pot, fry for 8-10 minutes.
Now add water to the pot and let sit on medium heat, cover and cook, bringing the heat to low and allowing it to cook (covered) until the dal and rice is tender, adding more water if required.
If you want to add vegetables; spinach, tomato, cauliflower or peas, these can be added when the khichri is ¾ done, and cooked to completion and tenderness.
Sprinkle cumin and onion bhagaar if desired, serve with a side of raita, salad and shami kabab.
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—Photos by Fawad Ahmed