The humble khichuri at its simplest is rice and lentils boiled together to make a warming, stodgy, gooey and super-easy comfort main. I’ve added peas and spinach, but it also works very well with butternut squash/ sweet potato and spinach. Topped with fried aubergine, it’s a match made in (vegan) heaven.
Ingredients:
1 cup rice
1/2 cup lentils
3 cups water
2 cloves garlic, peeled and whole
sea salt, to taste
1/3 tsp turmeric powder
100g garden peas
spinach, couple of handfuls
Method:
1. Put the rice, lentils, water, and garlic in a large pot and bring to a boil. Season to taste.
2. Add the turmeric and stir once or twice to mix. Turn down the heat, then cover and simmer gently until almost all the water has evaporated.
3. Microwave the peas on full power for 1 minute and toss into the pot.
4. Add the spinach for just long enough that the leaves wilt. The water should have evaporated completely by the time the spinach is done.
5. Take off the heat and serve in a few minutes. The rice becomes a little tighter when it’s off the heat for a little bit and more water evaporates, which in my opinion makes it much nicer!
Tips: If non-vegan is ok, stir in a knob of butter after adding the spinach. And I used wholegrain rice for this (any kind will do) but traditionally we use white rice, which makes it even gooey-er.
P.S. I’ve just asked my mom why mine wasn’t as bright yellow as I used to have back home. She said it’s only bright yellow if you use red lentils! It still tastes great with the yellow lentils I used, but bright yellow khichuri is definitely more authentic.
Everybody Was Tofu Fighting 