Masala Kichadi

I have been seeing many masala kichadi recipes online recently and got tempted to try my own. There was this one particular recipe in a Facebook group, which got my attention though I couldn't remember the site or the recipe. This recipe looked more like a pulav or briyani more than a kichadi. I made my own version and this one is a keeper for me. This was a big hit with the kids and hubby.  The rice that I have used here is Laxmi Brand Diabetic rice. I wanted to give this a try and it was ok. The rice was whole but when cooking in a rice cooker most of the rice was stuck to the bottom of the cooker, so I have been just cooking this rice on stove top only. Brown rice also works very well here and this one is a ideal one-pot and a lunch box recipe.

I did not use any ground masala here, the only paste that I have used here is a freshly ground garlic, ginger and fennel seeds paste crushed coarsely with a mortar and pestle. This is my grandma's style of cooking. She uses this paste in everything...no wonder her cooking was so good :) Try this method and see and you will never go back to grinding ginger and garlic paste and storing it in the fridge.

I have also parboiled the dhal and bit, so that the dhal is fully cooked and mushed up with the rice. I like this taste better than the taste of whole dhal. If preferred, you can just soak up the dhal and cook it with the rice.

Ingredients:
1. Rice, 1-1/2 cups, washed and soaked in water for an hour.
2. Moong dhal, 1/2 cup, washed and soaked in water for 2-3 hours. You can also parboil the dhal until they are just tender. This gives a different taste to the dish.
3. Onion, large, 1, diced finely.
4. Tomatoes, 3, medium-size, diced.
5.  Green chilies, 2-3, sliced into two.
6. Garlic, 4 cloves.
7. Ginger, a small piece, the size of an almond, peeled and cut into small pieces.
8.  Curry leaves, a sprig.
9, Mixed cut vegetables like carrots, green beans, peas, etc, 1 cup.
10. Roasted peanuts, 1 cup.
11. Fennel seeds, 1/2 teaspoon.
12.  Bay leaves, 2.
13. Cinnamon, a small stick.
14. Cardamom pods, 2.
15. Cumin seeds, 1/2 teaspoon.
16. Turmeric powder, a pinch.
17. Salt, as per taste.

Preparation:
Crush the garlic, ginger, and fennel seeds into a coarse paste. I used a mortar and pestle for this. You can also use a mixie for this. Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods and fry for a few seconds. Now add the onions and saute for a few minutes until translucent. Now add the diced tomatoes, curry leaves, green chilies, ginger, garlic and fennel mixture, and turmeric powder and keep sauteing under low flame until everything  is well blended.  Now add 3 cups of water, salt, rice, cut vegetables, peanuts, dhal, mix everything well and let it come to a boil. Reduce the flame to low and let it cook for 15 minutes or more until the rice and dhal is cooked and all the water is absorbed.  The rice can also be cooked in a rice cooker with the same amount of water. Garnish with chopped cilantro and ghee if preferred and serve with any raita and pickle.