Narkel Khichuri

We Bengalis add a little chopped coconut to our Niramish Khichuri. We love that crunch there. Since I had a fresh coconut and a can of coconut milk sitting in the fridge for quite a long time...I decided to be done with them. I made coconut mutton curry...which came out rather to my surprise,  as great, contrasted to a not so great expectation I had when I was cooking that dish.  And then I had half of the can of coconut milk left with me so made khichdi with that the next day. Sole conclusion....if you can’t decide what to make...just add coconut milk to that god damn thing and it will be fantastic!!

I am gradually developing this weird habit of using canned coconut milk, which according to my traditional mother is not good for health. She insists on me to make my own coconut milk...but seriously??  Isn’t life too short to make them from scratch??

Temper the ghee with hing / asafoetida and the whole spices.

Add tomatoes and minced ginger.

Add the vegetables, salt and fry for some minutes.

By the way, this coconut khichdi is great. And as I said turned out tastier than my expectation. My tip of the day is, drizzle some melted ghee on top of it before you start eating and top it with some chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut. You will not ask for more.

Add the rice and mung dal

Add the grated coconut, coconut milk and let it come to a boil.

Then add water and pressure cook till done.

Narkel Khichuri / Coconut Khichdi

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 cup of gobindobhog / fine basmati rice

1 cup mung dal

1 medium tomato – chopped

½ inch stick of ginger – minced / paste

2 medium potatoes – peeled and halved

1 cup of cauliflower florets

½ cup green peas

½ cup of green beans – cross cut

3-4 green chillies – whole

A handful of fresh coriander leaves - chopped

½ cup baby carrots / 1 small carrot - roughly chopped

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp garam masala powder

¼ tsp hing / asafoetida

1 medium cinnamon stick

3-4 green cardamoms

3 cloves

2 medium bay leaves

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ of a small coconut – finely grated (I make a coarse paste of them in the grinder with some water)

Some roughly grated coconut (to sprinkle while serving)

½ cup coconut milk

Salt

2 tbsp ghee (half oil / half ghee)

Method:

Wash and soak the rice and mung dal separately in water for 30 minutes.

Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a kadai and add in the hing / asafoetida, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, cloves and bay leaves.

Sauté for half a minute or until the ghee becomes aromatic and then add the chopped tomatoes and minced ginger to them.

Sprinkle some salt over the tomatoes and cook till they become mushy and they start to release oil from them.

Now add the green peas, green beans, cauliflower florets, cut potatoes, turmeric powder and red chilli powder.

Sprinkle some salt and mix in. Sauté and cook for 3-4 minutes until the potatoes and the cauliflowers become lightly brown and then add the soaked rice and mung dal to them.

Stir continuously for 2 minutes to lightly roast the rice and mung dal grains.

Then add in the grated coconut and coconut milk.

Let them come to a boil, and add in 3 and ½ cups of water and some salt to them. Be careful with the salt as we have already added some while cooking the vegetables.

Now put cover and cook till the pressure cooker blows 4-6 whistles.

Let the pressure come out naturally and open the lid.

Pour in the rest of the ghee over them; sprinkle the garam masala powder, roughly grated coconut and the chopped coriander leaves.

Give a good stir and serve hot with your favourite fries. I had mind with fried eggs and French fries. Trust me...they test like devil.