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Think easy, think fast, think simple, think comfort decodes to having khichdi for dinner tonight. And no no no! Like all the typical gujju households we all grew up in, khichdi does not have to be only eaten by sick toddlers or for an upset stomach. My recipe of khichdi will break the notion of just being boring comfort food and will bring out it’s fun and superlative side. But what makes my khichdi different than the other khichdi, you ask? Well my version of  khichdi does not comprise of just rice and legumes. So let me introduce y’all to the OG fada.

What is FADA? FADA is a gujarati word for broken wheat/dalia. Fada ni khichdi refers to khichdi (hotchpotch) made out of broken wheat, various vegetables and tons of ghee. Served best with my home made dahi tikhari, aloo rasedar and sliced onions.

Prep Time : 10 minutes(if using fresh vegetables)| Cook time: 25-30 minutes | Serves : 2-3 people

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup fada
  • 1/2 cup toor dal
  • 2 cups water (to soak)
  • 4 tbsp ghee
  • 1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
  • 1/2 tsp rai (mustard seeds)
  • 6-7 curry leaves
  • 2-3 red dry chilies
  • 2-3 finely chopped green chilies
  • 1 cup mix vegetables (carrots, peas, string beans, corn)
  • 4 cups of water
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric (Haldi)
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder (Laal mirch)
  • 1/2 tsp coriander powder (Dhana jeeru)
  • 1/2 tsp asafoetida (Hing powder)
  • Salt to taste
  • Finely chopped coriander to garnish

Method:

  1. Take 1 cup fada and 1/2 a cup of toor dal in a bowl. Mix both ingredients thorougly.
  2. Add 2 cups of water into the bowl. Let the mixture soak in water for 15 minutes.
  3. In a pressure cooker add 2 tbsps of ghee and turn on the gas.
  4. Temper with 1/2 tsp jeera + 1/2 tsp rai in the hot ghee.
  5. Once the jeera and rai makes a crackling sound, add 6-7 curry leaves in the ghee.
  6. Add 2-3 red dry chillies and 1 finely chopped green chili.
  7. Add 1 cup of vegetables (carrots, peas, string beans, corn) and give everything a good mix.
  8. Add 4 cups of water to the vegetables.
  9. Remove excess water from the soaked fada. Add the soaked fada mixture into the cooker.
  10. Add 1/2 tsp haldi + 1/2 tsp red chilli powder + 1/2 tsp dhana jeeru+ 1/2 hing & salt to taste.
  11. Add 2 tbsp ghee to the final mixture and close the pressure cooker lid.
  12. Pressure cook until 3 whistles blow which takes about 25-30 minutes on medium flame.
  13. Once the pressure is released, open the cooker, garnish some finely chopped coriander and serve the khichdi piping hot with papad, yogurt and onions.

Tips + Recommendation:

  • Be generous while slathering ghee on top while serving.
  • Remove the dry seeds from the red chilies before adding it to the tempering.(So the khichdi doesn’t get too spicy).
  • Ginger garlic paste could be added as well to the tempering right before adding curry leaves. I skipped adding ginger garlic paste because my garlicky yogurt is xx spicy!
  • Frozen vegetables mix could be substituted by adding fresh vegetables :
  • 1/2 a carrot diced
  • 7-10 string beans finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp corn kernels
  • 2 tbsp green peas