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Palak Khichdi served with pickle
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4.74 from 42 votes

Palak Khichdi

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

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
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