• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Ministry of Curry logo

  • SHOP
    • The Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook
    • Amazon Store
    • eBooks
    • Cooking Classes
    • Meal Plans
  • RESOURCES
    • Instant Pot 101
    • Air Fryer 101
    • Indian Cooking Tools
    • Cooking 101
    • Essential Indian Spices
    • Guide to Beans and Lentils
    • Holiday Shopping Guide
  • RECIPES
    • Recipe Index
    • Air Fryer Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • Oven Recipes
    • Stove Top Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Desserts
    • Dinner
    • Salad
    • Snacks
    • Drinks
    • Dairy Free
    • Gluten Free
    • Low Carb
    • Vegan
  • ABOUT
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Resources
  • Cooking Classes
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Instant Pot Recipes

    Palak Khichdi

    Published: Mar 4, 2020 · Modified: Feb 13, 2023 by Archana · This post may contain affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases · 22 Comments

    1902 shares
    Jump to Recipe

    Palak Khichdi is a wholesome vegetarian dish made with lentils, rice, and spinach. This gluten-free dish cooked in ghee, earthy cumin, and warming garam masala makes an amazingly flavorful and satisfying meal.

    Palak Khichdi served in 2 bowls with pickle and yogurt
    Jump to:
    • What is Khichdi
    • A Perfect one-pot meal for the whole family
    • How to Make Spinach Khichdi
    • Serving
    • Pro Tips
    • Variations
    • Recipe

    What is Khichdi

    Kitchari, Khichri, or Khichdi is a nourishing, porridge-like Indian comfort food that makes an easy-to-digest, healthful meal. This variation to the simple dal khichdi is loaded with fresh spinach (Palak in Hindi) for added nutrition and flavor boost, making it a complete meal.

    Serve the piping hot palak dal khichdi with a spoonful of homemade ghee and pair it with roasted papad ( a large, thin, disc-shaped crisp, made from lentil flour) and pickle for a comforting weeknight meal.

    A Perfect one-pot meal for the whole family

    Khichdi has been my go-to meal for many busy weeknights. My boys grew up eating khichdi. As babies, they were introduced to solids via soft-cooked Khichdi. Once they got used to the textures, I slowly introduced them to spices such as turmeric, cumin, and garam masala by adding them to the Khichdi. After a long tiring workday, Khichdi was the easiest and tastiest meal I could put together.

    Over the years, I have made many different versions of Khichdi including a few South Indian varieties. Here is a list of our family favorites:

    • Mixed lentils and vegetable khichdi
    • Gujarati kadhi khichdi
    • Sprouted lentil khichdi
    • Bisi Bele Bhath
    • Ven Pongal
    • Pav Bhaji Khichdi

    I learned this Palak Khichdi recipe from my mom back in 2017 and my whole family instantly fell in love with the creamy textures and warming flavors from homemade garam masala.

    Palak Khichdi served with pickle and papad

    How to Make Spinach Khichdi

    Here is my step-by-step recipe on how to make the best palak khichdi. Assuming you are using an Instant Pot or a pressure cooker to cook your rice and lentils, this recipe can be ready in under 45 minutes.

    Step 1: Rinse rice and lentils and drain the water. Add rice, lentils, water, and salt to the Instant Pot insert and pressure cook for 6 minutes followed by 5 minutes natural pressure release. If using a stovetop pressure cooker, cook for about 15 to 20 minutes or 3 whistles.

    steps showing how to make khichdi in the Instant Pot

    Step 2: In a large pot bring 8 to 10 cups of water to boil. Add green chilies, baby spinach, and blanch for 1 to 2 minutes or just until the spinach starts to wilt. Take the spinach and chilies out in a colander and run cold water over it to prevent the spinach from overcooking. Drain out the water completely.

    steps showing how to blanch spinach

    Step 3: Add garlic cloves, ginger, and blanched spinach and chilies to the blender and make a smooth puree. Tip - If you do not like the fibers from the spinach make sure to puree well.

    pureeing spinach in the blender

    Step 4: In a large pot heat ghee (Tip - I dry the pot used for blanching spinach and use it for making the khichdi). Add cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle, about 30 seconds. Add finely diced onions and cook for 4 to 5 mins. Stir in garam masala, salt, and spinach puree. Next, add the cooked rice and dal (from step 1 above) with more ghee and mix everything together. Serve immediately with more ghee and freshly ground black pepper to taste. 

    steps showing mixing spices, spinach puree and khichdi in a pot

    Serving

    For the best taste, serve piping hot khichdi immediately along with roasted papad and spicy pickle. Plain yogurt is often served with Khichdi and is great to enhance healthy gut bacteria. To reheat Khichdi, simply microwave it in serving bowls with additional ghee.

    spinach khichdi served with pickle on top

    Pro Tips

    • Short grain rice such as Ambe Mor or Kali Jeera rice works best for this recipe as it makes soft, porridge-like khichdi. In a pinch, you can also use Basmati or Jasmine rice.
    • Pre-washed baby spinach works great for this recipe as it cuts down on the prep time
    • Puree the spinach really well if you do not like to see the fiber strands in the khichdi
    • This is a great dish for when you are feeling under the weather or sick. Not only is it comforting but it is packed with vitamins, iron, and magnesium that will help boost your immune system

    Variations

    • This recipe makes medium spicy khichdi, but you can adjust the number of green chilies or completely omit them when serving to babies or toddlers, or elderly family members
    • Use Jalapeno Serrano chili instead of the small Indian green chilies
    • To make with brown rice khichdi, increase the pressure cook time to 22 minutes followed by natural pressure release
    • To make vegan khichdi substitute neutral vegetable oil for the ghee
    • You can also use frozen spinach instead of fresh, the color may not come out as vibrant but the khichdi will still taste equally good

    Love spinach? Here are some of our favorite Indian Spinach Recipes:

    • Palak Paneer- This restaurant-favorite paneer dish can be made in just 15 minutes using Instant Pot.
    • Spinach Dal - A staple in Indian homes, these creamy lentils are cooked in warm spices such as cumin, turmeric, and garlic and packed with fresh spinach.
    • Chana Saag - Curried chickpeas cooked with spinach in a tangy onion-tomato-based sauce that is perfectly spiced with turmeric, cumin seeds, and garam masala.
    • Spinach Sev - Crunchy savory snack made with gluten-free gram flour that is quick to make and utterly delicious as a snack or party starter.

    Did you enjoy this healthy Indian vegetarian dish? Here are some more family-friendly recipes that will also be good for babies, toddlers, or even elderly family members:

    • Dal Dhokli
    • Dill Dhokli
    • Spinach Dal & Rice
    • Moringa Dal
    • Cabbage Rice

    Recipe

    Tried this recipe? We love your feedback.Please click on the stars in the recipe card below
    Palak Khichdi served with pickle
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved!
    4.72 from 38 votes

    Palak Khichdi

    Gluten free, vegetarian Palak Khichdi is a flavorful & nourishing meal cooked with lentils, rice, spinach & earthy spices
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time35 minutes mins
    Total Time45 minutes mins
    Course: dinner, Entree, Lunch
    Cuisine: Indian
    Servings: 5
    Calories: 308kcal
    Author: Archana Mundhe

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup short-grain rice Ambe mor or Kali Jeera or similar variety
    • ½ cup mung dal
    • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
    • 4 cups water
    • 1 to 3 small green chiles use more or less depending on the spice level
    • 1 pound baby spinach
    • 8 garlic cloves
    • ½ inch ginger
    • 3 tablespoons ghee plus more for serving
    • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    • 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
    • 1 teaspoon garam masala
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • freshly ground pepper optional for serving

    Instructions

    • Rinse rice and lentils and drain the water.
    • Add rice, lentils, water, and salt to the Instant Pot insert and pressure cook for 6 minutes followed by 5 minutes natural pressure release. If using a stovetop pressure cooker, cook for about 15 to 20 minutes or 3 whistles.
    • In a large pot bring 8 to 10 cups of water to boil. Add green chilies and baby spinach and blanch for 1 to 2 minutes or just until all the spinach wilts.
    • Take out the spinach and chilies and run cold water over them so the spinach stops cooking further. Drain out the water completely.
    • Add garlic cloves, ginger, and blanched spinach and chiles to a blender and make a smooth puree. Tip - If you do not like the fibers from the spinach make sure to puree well. I enjoy the fibers in the khichdi so I usually blend just for a minute.
    • In a large pot heat ghee (Tip - I dry the pot used for blanching spinach and use for making the khichdi). Add cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle, about 30 seconds. Add finely diced onions and cook for 4 to 5 mins.
    • Stir in garam masala, salt, and spinach puree. Then add the cooked rice and dal (from step 1 above) with more ghee and mix everything together.
    • Serve immediately with more ghee and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

    Video

    Notes

    • This recipe makes medium spicy khichdi, but you can adjust the number of green chilies to more or less or completely omit them when serving to babies or sick patients
    • Small Indian green chilies can be substituted with Jalapeño or Serrano chili
    • Puree the spinach really well if you do not prefer the fiber strands from spinach 
    • To make with brown rice khichdi, increase the pressure cook time to 22 minutes followed by natural pressure release
    • To make vegan khichdi substitute neutral vegetable oil for the ghee
    • You can also use frozen spinach instead of fresh, the color may not come out as vibrant but the khichdi will still taste equally good

    Nutrition

    Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 1207mg | Potassium: 261mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 3mg
    Tried this recipe?Share your photo and tag @ministry_of_curry or tag #ministryofcurry

    ♥ Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for tasty and easy video recipes. Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Check out our delicious Instant Pot Recipe board on Pinterest.

    Author: Archana

    Hey there! I am a techie turned recipe developer, cooking instructor, and food blogger. I love food and enjoy developing easy and healthy recipes for busy lifestyles. I live in New Jersey with my husband and two sons.
    Twitter Facebook Linkedin

    More Instant Pot Recipes

    • Thai Massaman Chicken Curry in a white bowl with sliced lime on the side
      Instant Pot Massaman Curry with Chicken
    • Aloo Baingan subzi
      Aloo Baingan - Eggplant and Potato Curry
    • rava dhokla in a black platter
      Rava Dhokla
    • chickpea biryani served in two white bowls with raita on the side
      Instant Pot Chickpea Biryani (Chana Biryani)

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Jordan says

      March 05, 2020 at 1:30 am

      Hi can you clarify how much baby spinach ? Thanks

      Reply
      • Archana says

        March 05, 2020 at 8:48 am

        Good catch! It's one pound. I added it to the ingredient list.

        Reply
    2. Ragini Menon says

      March 05, 2020 at 9:12 pm

      Hi can you clarify what one serving is ?

      Reply
      • Archana says

        March 06, 2020 at 5:35 pm

        Its hard to describe as everyone can eat different portions. Basically a nice meal for 5 people 🙂

        Reply
    3. Jennifer Goodfellow says

      March 08, 2020 at 9:18 pm

      The instructions didn't say to cook the ginger or garlic so it's essentially raw - which makes the garlic, especially, quite potent. Should the garlic and ginger actually be blanched with the spinach?

      Reply
      • Archana says

        March 11, 2020 at 12:12 pm

        It gets cooked along with the onions, doesn't need too much cooking since its a paste.

        Reply
        • Rajani says

          August 06, 2020 at 4:55 pm

          I tried it today. I added 1/4 cup oats and 3/4 cup rice and it turned out super yummy. Thank you for the recipe.5 stars

          Reply
    4. Shilpa says

      June 28, 2020 at 2:30 pm

      Turned out very good! You can’t taste the spinach but it added to the nutritional value. Thanks for the creative recipe.4 stars

      Reply
    5. BR says

      June 29, 2020 at 11:12 am

      Made this and it was very good, thank you for sharing! Do you have any comments/thoughts on replacing rice with quinoa (ex: pressure cooking time etc.)?

      Reply
      • Archana says

        July 02, 2020 at 8:43 pm

        It will ve yummy with quinoa too! check out my quinoa recipe for cook times - https://ministryofcurry.com/instant-pot-quinoa/

        Reply
    6. Nandita says

      September 14, 2020 at 9:42 pm

      Perfect instructions have resulted in a perfectly tasty recipe! So good for a weekday dinner! 🙂5 stars

      Reply
    7. SR says

      October 01, 2020 at 5:04 pm

      If using frozen spinach, do we still need to blanch the spinach?

      Reply
      • Archana says

        October 01, 2020 at 10:11 pm

        squeeze out excess water

        Reply
    8. Shivda Pandey says

      October 06, 2020 at 8:41 pm

      Delicious. Flavorful. Wholesome. Easy to make for a weeknight dinner. Ultimate comfort food. Thanks, Archana!5 stars

      Reply
    9. Sai Pradyumna says

      January 12, 2021 at 7:21 pm

      Is it alright to try a different variety of rice, say 'Sona Masoori' variety?

      Reply
      • Archana says

        January 13, 2021 at 6:12 pm

        Absolutely

        Reply
    10. Alma Chandrasekharan says

      January 22, 2021 at 5:21 pm

      Amazing taste! Made it on a rainy day and it was perfect! Thank you for such a simple recipe! I didn't have mung dal so used masoor dal and broken green gram dal !5 stars

      Reply
    11. Ketaki says

      February 22, 2021 at 9:38 pm

      My 2 year old picky eater loves this! Thank you for the recipe! It has become a staple in our household.5 stars

      Reply
    12. KP says

      April 01, 2022 at 6:28 pm

      Hi, can the blanching of the spinach be skipped? Does it impact the flavor?

      Reply
      • Archana says

        April 01, 2022 at 7:37 pm

        Blanching spinach will remove the raw taste of spinach

        Reply
    13. K says

      June 25, 2022 at 1:39 pm

      If I could give this 10 stars, I would. This was so comforting and delicious. I used extra garlic and fried some to add over the topic. I ate it with lemon pickle, yogurt and banana chips. My kids also polished off their plates. Such a keeper!5 stars

      Reply
      • Archana says

        June 25, 2022 at 9:48 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Archana: a former software engineer, now a full-time blogger. I am a mother of two boys who share my love for food and cooking. Words I love to hear are, “Mom, what’s for dinner?” The same words I say to my mom every time we speak. I live in the greater New York City Area with my husband and sons.

    Learn More About Me!

    Archana's Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook

    SHOP

    Popular Posts

    • pav bhaji served with diced onions, pickle and papad
      Mumbai Pav Bhaji
    • Chicken Biryani served in 2 bowls with raita and lemon wedges
      Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
    • mushroom masala served with rice & naan
      Mushroom Masala
    • pomegranate juice in 2 glasses
      Homemade Pomegranate Juice

    Footer

    AS FEATURED IN

    ↑Back to Top

    Ministry of Curry

    Shop
    About
    Privacy Policy
    Accessibility
    Contact

    Food and Recipes

    Recipe Index
    Cooking 101
    Instant Pot 101
    Cookbook

    MOC Pro

    Dashboard
    Meal Plans
    Virtual Cooking Classes
    Tips & Tricks

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © Ministry of Curry

    1902 shares
    • 1004