Green Autumn Khichri

Bjork once noted in an interview that she sometimes writes her lyrics in English, translates them to Icelandic, and then translates them back to English. Neat, no?

Similarly, this recipe has gone through a series telephone-like translations and I think you’ll find the results equally (or more, quoth the Li’l Sis) delicious than the original recipe. I learned to make Khichri (a classic Indian comfort dish - sometimes the first solid food a baby eats) from Nalini Mehta and I posted this recipe of a traditional Khichri combination last year. A friend, who I will refer to as Mr. Appleseed, surprised me on a dark rainy October night with a big pot of complex-scented rice, peas, and veggies very similar to the below recipe. I was extremely pleased to be treated to a hot home-cooked meal (the downside of having a food blog is that I’m always the one sweating it out in the kitchen) and even more flattered so to find that dish I was eating was in fact based on one of my very own recipes. How endearing! Admittedly, I am highly susceptible to flattery when eating delicious food prepared by hands other than my own.

So anyway - here is my new recipe for Green Autumn Khichri based on Mr. Appleseed’s Khichri which is based on my other Khichri recipe, which I initially adapted from Nalini Mehta. Chewy short-grain brown rice makes a great base for the smoky green split peas and the combination of vegetables is just plain inspired.

Serves: 4 hungry people
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Green Autumn Khichri

Olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
8 cloves
8 black peppercorns
1 tsp turmeric
¼ tsp asafetida, optional
½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 ½ cup green split peas, toor dal, or moog dal
1 ¼ cups short grain brown rice
7 cups water
1 inch fresh ginger, minced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno (I used red), minced (de-seed if you don’t like things very spicy)
3 carrots, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 japanese eggplants, cut into coins
1 bunch swiss chard, chopped
salt

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large pot and toss in the dried spices: cumin seeds, cloves, and peppercorns. Stir them for few minutes until they turn a few shades darker.

Add the ground spices: ginger, turmeric, asafetida, coriander, cumin, and garam masala and stir.

Add the peas and rice, stirring to coat them with the spices, then add the water.

Bring the rice mixture to a low boil, set a lid on and simmer for 20 minutes. Tip: this could be a good time to chop your veggies.

Stir well, check to see if more water is needed (like a risotto, this mix “eats” water) and add the vegetables: garlic, carrots, green peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, and chard.

Covered, bring the pot to a simmer and stir occasionally for another 40 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the rice is mushy. Add salt to taste.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 8:40 pm and is filed under Pasta, Pizzas, & Grains, Stovetop & Skillet, Autumn. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.