Brown rice khichdi

Khichdi, the one-pot meal of grain and dal cooked soft together, takes well to whole grains. This version uses whole brown rice, so the bran and germ stay in the bowl. Brown rice typically takes about 30 to 40 minutes to cook, so the recipe leans on a 30-minute soak and a long, low spell under pressure, and the dal softens in the same pass.

The dal is split green moong with the skin, which keeps a little bite through pressure cooking; dehusked yellow moong dal works too and gives a creamier pot. Carrot and green peas go in with the grains, and the liquid is four and a half cups of water to three quarters of a cup of rice and half a cup of dal, so the finished khichdi is soft enough to eat with a spoon. What the grain holds is in our guide to brown rice, and the brown rice recipes roundup has more ways with it.

In an Instant Pot or any electric pressure cooker, pressure cook on high for 15 minutes and let the pressure drop on its own; the stovetop whistles are given in the steps below. Leftovers thicken as they sit; stir in hot water when you reheat. For a breakfast from the same grain, the brown rice upma grinds it coarse and cooks it like rava.