Bajra khichdi

In the desert districts of Rajasthan, bajra is the main crop, grown where maize or wheat would struggle, and many families turn it into bajre ki khichdi on winter evenings: the whole grain, not the flour, soaked all day, pounded in an okhli to crack it, and cooked slowly with moong dal until thick and creamy. It is eaten with a lump of gud, a bowl of curd or kadhi, and more ghee than a city kitchen would admit to. This recipe keeps to a plain version.

This recipe keeps the whole bajra grain because that is where the fibre and minerals sit: 11.5 g fibre and 6.4 mg iron per 100 g (IFCT 2017), more iron than ragi or jowar. Cracking the soaked grain in a mixer does the okhli's work in ten seconds and shortens the cooking. The dal-to-millet ratio is one to two, which gives a khichdi that is nutty and soft rather than porridgy, and the moong dal rounds out bajra's protein.

Substitutions: yellow moong dal in place of split green moong makes a paler, softer khichdi; a handful of chopped carrot, peas or bottle gourd added before cooking turns it into a full meal; skip the hing if you dislike it and crush a clove of garlic into the ghee instead. Bajra flour cannot replace the grain here; cooked in water, flour turns into a smooth porridge rather than a grainy khichdi.