Veggie Rice with Lentils- Chuti Khichdi

Rice is a staple ingredient in my pantry. It can be cooked in so many different ways
This delicious one pot veggie rice with lentils also known in Gujarati cuisine as Chuti Khichdi is really flavoursome and is packed with lots of veggies and lentils to make it healthy and perfect to serve with raita, I make this often when I want comfort food or I am in a hurry where I only need to cook one dish that is a complete meal on its own.

What is Chuti Khichdi?

Khichdi is savoury rice porridge usually made with short-grain rice and moong dhal (lentils) and flavoured with spices. A mixture of vegetables is often added to it to make it a complete meal. It is fairly glutinous in texture due to the use of short-grain rice. Chuti Khichdi is slightly different, it is made with long-grain rice and the rice grains are separate more like a pilaf. In Gujarat, the rice is commonly mixed with Tuver Dhal (split pigeon peas) and cooked with diced vegetables and spices. Again this is one pot meal that is just delicious with a Cucumber Raita, some pickle and pappodams.

What Vegetables can you add to this Chuti Khichdi?

You can add any seasonal vegetables but they work better if they are all cut in the same size.

What is a one pot meal?

One pot meals are dishes that are a complete meal in them selves. They don't need any other accompaniments. These dishes are time saving and great when you want a healthy and nutritious dish in a hurry. The added bonus is that you don't have to do lots of washing up as the meal can be cooked in one pot. All cookware find have some lovely pots that would be ideal to cook the chuti khichdi in.

Some examples of one pot dishes are:

Achari Khichdi

Chinese style fried rice

Cheesy Pasta Bake

Aubergine Bake

Dietary Tips:

• Vegetarian
• Vegan (Can be vegan if you omit the Ghee)
• Gluten Free

Cooking Tips

To get perfectly cooked Rice use a ratio of 1-2 of rice and water. I always recommend using a shallow non stick pan with a lid to cook my rice dishes.






I used this Zyliss Cook Ultimate Pro Saute Pan which is made from hard anodized aluminium. This Swiss engineered pan has an alpine crystals non stick coating that is 8 times times tougher than any standard coating ensuring that nothing sticks. The pan heats up fast and ensures an even heat so that all food gets cooked evenly. the pan can be used on induction, gas, oven and is dishwasher safe too making it an excellent addition to any kitchen. You can purchase it from Zyliss.

Some tips when cooking the perfect khichdi:

• Soak the rice and dhal this is a very important step.
• Saute the onions before adding any thing else as they need to be soft.
• Saute the rice and dhal to get a nice even coat of oil on them.

• Once all the ingredients are added, add hot water to the rice and bring to a simmer.
• Once water is simmering, cover and cook the khichdi. Do not open the lid during this cooking process.
• Adding ghee during serving enhances the taste however to make the dish vegan you can omit it.

What type of lentils can you use?

I always favour Tuver dhal - pidgeon peas dhal, however you can use moong dhal, masoor dhal or even channa dhal in this recipe.

You can watch a step by step video of this recipe on my you tube channel:

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Chinese Style Fried Vegetable Rice

This is one of my favorite all time recipes to use up left over rice. The flavoursome Chinese style fried rice goes so well with sweet and sour vegetables. It is also just tasty on its own for a light lunch.

Yield: Serves 4

Author: Nayna Kanabar

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Chinese Style Fried Vegetable Rice

Chinese Style Fried Vegetable Rice - A really versatile and tasty dish that can be put together with basic pantry ingredients.

Prep time: 10 MCook time: 15 MTotal time: 25 M

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Cashew Nuts
• 1 Tbsp Sunflower Oil
• 3 Cloves Garlic finely chopped  
• 1 Onion finely sliced
• 30 g Red Pepper finely sliced
• 30 g  Green Pepper finely slice
• 3 Spring Onions finely chopped
• 1 Carrot peeled and shredded
• 400 g Precooked Cold Boiled Rice
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Chinese Five Spice
• 1 Tbsp Vegetarian Stir Fry Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds

Instructions:

1. Add oil in a wok, when it is hot add the cashew nuts and stir fry until golden brown. Remove from wok and keep to one side.
2. In the wok add the garlic and saute, then add the peppers, onions, spring onions and carrots and stir fry until slightly soft on high heat.
3. Add salt and the Chinese five Spice and the vegetarian stir fry sauce and mix together.
4. Add the boiled rice and toss all the ingredients until well mixed and the rice is hot.
5. Add the sesame seeds, freshly chopped coriander and the cashew nuts.
6. Toss together and serve warm. The rice goes well as an accompaniment with all types of Chinese and Indo Chinese dishes.

Created using The Recipes Generator

You can also see the you tube video of this recipe on my you tube channel.

You may like Jollof Rice

Jollof Rice with Plantain Chips~ A vegetarian rice dish of Ghana

Ghana is a West African Country, it is thought to be the closest country to the centre of the Earth. It is located North of the Equator which means that it has a warm tropical climate. Until a few months ago I did not know much about Ghana, but my interest grew when my daughter decided to go on a trip to Ghana with Vision Aid oversees to do voluntary work to provide free eye care for the less privileged.

As a parent to alleviate any worries, I started to research about the safety, climate, food etc in Ghana. To my surprise I really started to enjoy learning about the culture and food, especially as many of the ingredients such as plantain, cassava, chillies, yam were foods I am familiar with since I have lived in East Africa in my childhood.The typical Ghanaian staple foods in Ghana include cassava and plantain, millet and sorghum. Vegetables such as Yam, maize and beans, Sweet potatoes and coco yam are regularly used in Ghanaian  cuisine.

Since we follow a vegetarian diet, we researched what vegetarian dishes would be available in Ghana, we were pleasantly surprised to read that there were a fairly good selection such as Jollof Rice (spicy vegetable rice), Kelewele ( a fried spicy savoury dish made from plantain), Gari Foto (A grain made from fermented cassava flour cooked with tomatoes and vegetable and Watchi (blackeyed peas with rice. )I have been recreating some of these recipes in my kitchen and I must say we are really enjoying the Ghanaian flavours.

One of our family favourites  is the Jollof Rice, in Ghana you an get both a non vegetarian version and also vegetarian version. Below you can check out my vegetarian version.

I made my Jollof rice in my Redmond Multi Cooker, which is my new kitchen friend. Simple and easy to use with many pre programmes it makes cooking quick and easy. If you don't have a multi cooker you can make the rice on the stove top too.

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Vegetarian Jollof Rice with Plantain Chips

by Nayna Kanabar November-15-2016

Spicy vegetarian rice cooked with tomatoes and vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 250 g Basmati Rice
• 1 Medium white Onion peeled and thinly sliced
• 40 g Frozen Peas
• 1 Medium Carrot coarsely grated
• 1/2 of each colour Capsicum red/ yellow cut into strips
• 250 g Passata sieved tomatoes
• 1 Red chilli finely chopped
• 1.5 teaspoons Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Chilli Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil
• 300 ml Water

Plantain Chips

• 2 Plantain peeled and sliced into 2 mm thickness
• 600 ml Sunflower oil for deep frying
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Red chilli powder

Method:

1.Wash the rice in a few changes of water, drain and keep aside.2. In the Redmond multi cooker add the olive oil and set the multi cooker on Fry option. Add the onions and cook them for 3-4 minutes, once onions are translucent add the grated carrot and capsicums and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Cook with lid open.

3. Cancel the fry option and set the programme on pilaf option. Add the rice, peas, salt, chilli powder, red chilli, turmeric, tomato passata and water. Stir.

4. Close the lid and cook the rice on pilaf option for 25 minutes.5. After 25 minutes open the cooker lid and fluff up the rice with a fork.

6. Heat the oil in a large wok and when its hot fry the sliced plantain in small batches until crisp and golden brown

7. Drain the fried plantain on kitchen paper and fry the remaining.8. Sprinkle salt and chilli powder on the fried plantain.9. Transfer the rice to serving dishes and garnish with fried plantain.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: Serves 4

The square brown wooden dish that the fried plantain chips are served in the photo above and the carved wooden African dish together with the elephant coasters which the rice is served in in the photo below are my recent purchases from Homesense. Homesense is a haven for beautiful kitchenware. The beauty of the shop is that you can find all sorts of serving dishes and kitchen ware that are regional and also from Europe, Africa, and Asia. These wooden dishes are a wonderful find as were the coasters.

This recipe is in collaboration with Redmond and Homesense.

Achari Khichdi (Spicy Rice porridge with Lentils)

Khichdi is an Indian dish that is made from Short grain rice and lentils. Its like a savoury rice and lentil porridge, and is very popular in all Indian regions although the preparation methods vary from region to region. This one pot meal is traditionally served as a comfort food, it is considered a light and nutritious dish, and is especially popular amongst those who follow an ayurvedic diet. It is also one of the first meals that is given to a baby.

Khichdi can be prepared in many ways. In Gujarat it is cooked from a mixture of short grain rice (the glutinous variety) with Moong dhal with husk cooked with salt and turmeric. It is usually served with a dollop of ghee(clarified butter). Sometimes it is served mixed with kadhi a thin sauce made from yoghurt, gram flour, curry leaves, cumin, and mustard seeds and eaten as an evening meal.

Alternatively to serve Khichdi as a more flavoursome one pot meal, I cook it with some seasonal vegetables and spice it up with Achar masala (pickle spice.) All it then needs to complete the meal is to serve it with a glass of  fresh salted jeera lassi known as Chaas and a bowl of cooling natural yoghurt. This is my most favorite comfort food.

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Achari Khichdi

by Nayna Kanabar May-17-2016

A delicious rice and lentil spicy hotpot with seasonal vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Short Grain Rice (I use patna make)
• 1/2 cup Moong Dhal with Husk
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 small Red Onion, finely diced
• 1 small Carrot, diced
• 1/2 cup Dutch Aubergine, diced
• 1 Medium Potato, diced
• 1 Small Courgette, diced
• 1/2 tablespoon Achar Masala (Pickle spice)
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil
• 1 Red dried chilli
• 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 4 cups Water

Method:

1. Mix together the rice and lentils and wash them in cold water to remove dust and starch. Once washed soak the rice and lentils in more clean water for 1 hour.2. In a large deep saucepan, add the oil and when it is hot add the red dried chilli and the mustard seeds and wait for them to crackle.3. Add the onions and saute them until translucent and softened.4. Add the aubergine, carrots, courgettes and potatoes and mix with the rice. Add the salt, turmeric, achar masala and mix gently into the rice and vegetables.4. Add 4 cups water and bring the mixture to boil, once mixture has reached boiling stage, reduce heat and cook the khichdi on a low simmer for about 35-40 minutes until all the water is absorbed and the mixture is  mushy. It needs to be well cooked.6. Once the khichdi is cooked remove from heat and give it a final stir. 7. Spoon the Khichdi in to serving bowls and serve with cold salted jeera lassi and a bowl of cooling natural yoghurt.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 55 mins Yield: Serves 4

NB-The Khichdi works best with short grain rice as it is more glutinous, I used Patna brand that I buy from my local Asian supermarket. Khichdi is not like a normal rice dish its more like a rice porridge therefore it should be fairly sloppy in texture.With regards to the pickle spice you can either make it from my Achar masala recipe here or use shop bought . It is available in most Asian supermarkets or online from Amazon

Green Bean Rice

In this delicious rice dish I have used the OXO vegetarian stock pot, which turned the plain boiled rice into a flavoursome and delectable dish that can be made in a jiffy. The stock posts are concentrated so don't be tempted to add extra spices and salt. The Oxo stock pots are packed with intense flavour and are perfect to add to your soups, stirfries, curries, rice dishes or pasta. They are versatile in use and available 3 different flavour combinations; Garden vegetable with parsley and bay, rich beef with onion and rosemary, succulent chicken with garlic and thyme.

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Green Bean Rice

by Nayna Kanabar April-15-2016

Fragrant lemony rice with green beans and courgettes.

Ingredients:

• 480g Cold boiled basmati rice
• 120g Green beans
• 1 Medium Courgette
• 1 Small white onion finely sliced
• 1 OXO stock pot (garden vegetable with parsley and bay)
• 1 Green chilli finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1/2 tablespoon Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice

Method:

1.Top and tail the green beans and cut them into 1 cm pieces.2.Top and tail the courgettes and cut it into 2cm julienne pieces.3.Add the oil into the wok and once it's hot add the onion, courgettes and green beans and stir fry them for about 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables start to take slight colour.4. Add the contents of 1 OXO stock pot to the vegetables and the lemon juice and turmeric and toss all the ingredients together until all the vegetables are coated.5. Add the rice and green chilli and stir fry the rice for 3-4 minutes until its full warmed through and is totally mixed with the vegetables and flavouring.6. Transfer the rice to serving bowls and enjoy with a curry or cucumber raita.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: Serves 4

I love trying new products and as always I would like my readers to have a chance to try the products too. Oxo have been really generous and have put together a goody bag of some lovely things that I have to give way to one simplyfood reader.

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Coriander Lemon Rice~ Secret Recipe club 16th June 2014

This is my assignment with the Secret Recipe Club.The aim of the club is that you are allocated a blog from which you have to select a recipe and try it and blog about it. My assigned blog was The Savvy Kitchen. I really enjoyed looking through Amy's blog and was very tempted to create some of the lovely cookie recipes she has on her blog. But since summer is here and we are all trying to loose weight I am trying to eat healthy so I finally settled for the ( Cilantro) Coriander Lime Rice. It was delicious.The only changes I made were that I used lemon instead of lime in the rice and added a green chilli to spice it up.

Ingredients:

240g  Basmati Rice
400 ml boiling water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon fresh chopped coriander
1 green chilli finely chopped

Method:

1. Wash the rice and soak it for 1/2 hour
2. Drain the rice and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan, when its hot add the rice and stir fry for few minutes. Add the salt and 400 ml boiling water and bring the rice to boil, once the rice is  boiling reduce heat to lowest setting , cover and simmer rice  for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes open the pan and with a fork fluff up the rice , stir in the chopped coriander, green chillies and lemon juice.
5. Transfer to a serving plate.

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Vegetable Biryani

Spicy one pot meal, fluffy rice cooked in aromatic spices in a medley of vegetables.

Ingredients:

240 g / 8 oz frozen mixed vegetables( carrots, green beans, peas, sweetcorn)
120g / 4 oz basmati rice
60g / tuvar dal (yellow pigeon peas split)
250 ml  boiling water
1 medium potato peeled and diced
1 green chilli finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 small onion finely diced or cut into thin strips
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small stick cinnamon
2-3 cloves
2-3 cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander leaves

Method:

1. Mix the rice and dhal and wash it in 3-4 changes of water and then soak the rice and dhal for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes drain the water from the rice in a sieve and keep the rice to one side.
3.Heat oil in a pan,when it is hot add the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamon pods and cumin seeds  the onions and sauté until onions are translucent.
4. Add the drained rice and the vegetables and potatoes to the onion and toss the mixture so that the rice grains are coated in the oil.
5. Add the tomato purée, chillies, salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder and sauté for 2 more minutes.
6. Add  the boiling water and bring the rice to a slow simmer. Reduce the heat of the rice to lowest setting and cook covered for 25-30 minutes until all the water is absorbed. (Do not open the pan lid during this cooking time.)
7. After 30 minutes open the lid and fluff the rice up with a fork and transfer to a serving plate and garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
Serve with natural yoghurt or cucumber raita.

Submitting to:
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Egg fried rice

Sweet scented basmati rice stir fried with a mixture of seasonal vegetables and egg.

Preparation time – 5 minutes

Cooking time- 15 minutes

Serves-4

Ingredients:

240 grams / 8 oz cold plain boiled  rice

3 spring onions finely chopped

1 small carrot grated

30 grams / 1 oz precooked green peas

30 grams / 1 oz precooked sweet corn kernels

1 red chilli cut into thin slices

30 grams /1 oz cashew nuts

½ tablespoon fresh coriander finely chopped

2 button mushrooms finely diced

2 eggs beaten.

¼ teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon white pepper

½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sunflower seeds

  

Method:

1. In a wok add the oil and heat on medium heat. when hot add the carrots, peas and sweet corn and stir fry for a minute. 

2. Add the cashew nuts and stir fry for a minute till cashew nuts brown.Add the salt and pepper and Tabasco sauce and stir fry.

3. Add the rice, and toss to mix rice and vegetables.

4. Pour over the rice the beaten egg and toss the mixture stirring till egg sets. (About 3-4 minutes)

5 .Add the spring onion  and red chilli and sunflower seeds to the egg fried rice and toss.

6. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with chopped coriander

Serve with mushroom curry.

Guest Post by Roshni Kanabar

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Pumpkin Rice

Delicious and tasty spinach and pumpkin rice.

Ingredients:

250g / 8 oz white basmati rice
500 ml boiling water
100g fresh baby spinach
1 white onion finely sliced
3 oz finely diced pumpkin
1 medium potato peeled and finely diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 green chillies finely chopped

Method:

1. Wash the rice and soak it in cold water for 30 minutes.
2. Wash the spinach leaves and remove the stalks, place the spinach in a blender with 2 tablespoons water and blend to form a paste.
3.In a large pan heat the oil when it is hot add the onions and sauté them on low heat until translucent.
4.Drain the rice and add it to the onions and sauté the rice until all the grains are coated in the oil.Stir the rice gently so that the grains don't break.
5. Add the spinach paste, potatoes, pumpkin, salt, turmeric, pepper and chillies. Mix the vegetables with the rice.
6. Add 500 ml boiling water and bring the rice to boil.
7. Reduce the heat to lowest setting and cover and cook the rice for 25 minutes.During this time do not open the pan lid.
8. After 25 minutes open the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.
9. Transfer to serving dish.

You may like:
Singapore five spiced rice

Submitting to:

Lets cook with Pumpkin event by simply.food
Flavours of USA and Canada event by simply.food

 

Caribbean Rice.

Sweet coconut and kidney bean Caribbean rice will bring taste of tropics to your palate

Ingredients:

120g / 4 oz Basmati rice
60g / 2 oz precooked kidney beans
240 ml hot water
60 g / 2 oz freshly grated coconut (plus 1 tablespoon for garnishing)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 small red onion finely chopped
2 green chillies finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander

Method:

1. Wash the rice and soak it for 30 minutes in cold water.
2. Add oil in a large pan with a lid and wait for it to heat up.
3. Add the onion and sauté it for 2-3 minutes until it is translucent
4. Drain the rice and add it to the onions, sauté the rice for a couple of minutes until all the grains are coated in oil.
5. Add the coconut, pepper and salt to the rice together with the kidney beans and chillies.Mix the spices into the rice.
6. Add the hot water and bring the rice to boil. Reduce the heat to lowest setting, cover the rice and cook for 25 minutes.(Do not open the pan lid in this time)
7. After 25 minutes, open the lid all the water will be absorbed and rice should be cooked. Fluff up the rice with a fork.
8. Transfer the rice to a serving platter.Garnish the rice with the remaining coconut and fresh coriander.

Caribbean food is really delicious and you can get so many different variety of dishes. Why not check out this post about 10 dishes to eat in the Caribbean.

You may like:
Spanish saffron and paprika Rice

Flavours of Caribbean event by simply.food guest hosted by Tina of The spicy pear