This one-pot Indian mung bean and rice stew was practically made for stay-inside days: Made from pantry ingredients, it requires little effort and is extremely comforting. Feel free to add vegetables to give it more heft (I love to wilt in spinach towards the end), and do not skip the spiced buttery drizzle on top. If you have trouble finding split mung beans, any lentil that's similarly small and split will work well. Rest assured, I've made khichdi with nearly every type of grain and lentil and it's always worked out fine. If you do stray from these ingredients, however, be sure to monitor the water level: You might need to add more as it cooks. This recipe is adapted from my cookbook Indian-ish. Read more about why I love it here.
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What you’ll need
Mesh Sieve
$13 At Amazon
Measuring Cups
$28 At Bon Appétit Market
Measuring Spoons
$10 At Bon Appétit Market
Dutch Oven
$133 $80 At Amazon
Small Skillet
$23 At Amazon
Spoon
$24.69 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
½
½
1
1
1
1
¼
2
2
Preparation
Step 1
Combine ½ cup mung beans and ½ cup rice in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse under cool running water until water runs clear. Transfer to a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot (the larger the better, this bubbles vigorously) and add 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp. peppercorns, 1 tsp. turmeric, 1 tsp. salt, and 6 cups water.
Step 2
Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium and cover pot. Cook, scraping down sides and giving mixture a stir 15 minutes in, until mung beans and rice are tender and mixture resembles a stew, 20–25 minutes. (If your pot lid is threatening to blow, feel free to crack it open slightly.) Remove from heat; taste and season with more salt if needed. Let sit, still covered, while you make the spiced ghee. (Alternatively, you can make this in an Instant Pot. Cook on rice setting on low-pressure 12 minutes and naturally release pressure.)
Step 3
To make the spiced ghee, melt ¼ cup ghee in a small skillet over medium-high. Add 2 tsp. cumin seeds and cook until seeds start to sputter and brown, a matter of seconds. Remove from heat and immediately mix in 2 dried red chiles, __ 1 pinch asafetida__ (if using), and 1 pinch red chili powder.
Step 4
Divide khichdi among bowls and add some spiced ghee to each.
Leave a Review
Reviews (39)
Back to TopTo the person who doubled the recipe and found it had too much water…naturally! This recipe boils as it cooks. Twice as much rice/beans takes the same amount to time to cook and therefore about the same amount boils off of the double recipe as the single recipe. By doubling the water you doubled not only the liquid the beans/rice need but also the water that usually boils off. Seems natural that a double recipe needs less water.
Clint M.
San Jose, CA
12/9/2023
Greetings Proportions are a mess. Better do it your way. My suggestion, add Haldi. Also do " Hard tadka Thank you. Deepak
Anonymous
Cockeysville, MD
7/2/2023
The ratios are way off here. I doubled the recipe, so used 12 cups of water. I ended up having to remove about 2.5 cups. of the liquid. If I didn't it would have been way too liquidy. It needed moe than the listed amount of salt. I added some lemon juice at the end, along with a drop of agave to balance everything out. I agree that chewing on whole peppercorns isn't fun so next time, I will just use a scrunch of ground black pepper. The spiced ghee was delicious and I wouldn't leave that step out.
Laura C.
Seattle, WA
12/24/2022
So good. I've made this a few times now and still love it. The ghee on top with the crunchy cumin seeds is the icing on the cake.
Sarah
5/9/2022
Love this, it's a great on it's own and a starting point to add to, and easy on a weeknight. First time I followed the recipe (except used brown basmati, which takes a bit longer, so I let the rice boil for a while first) and it was delicious. Second time I added a bunch of Indian spices I recently acquired and it was even better--threw about 2 tablespoons of soaked fenugreek seeds in with the rice (would add more next time), added dried fenugreek leaves a bit later, put some amchoor powder in after taking it off the heat--all wonderful additions. I thought the spiced ghee definitely added, but it's not make or break in my opinion and it becomes a one pot meal without it, for what it's worth. I would just add cumin, asafetida, red chili into the rice and beans mixture and call it good. Really, don't stress it, it's great. The only thing I would dispute is that this serves 4--maybe as a side, but definitely no more than 2 as a main.
Anonymous
Portland, OR
3/17/2022
I used basmati rice and by the time the pigeon peas cooked the rice was all broken down. Not sure if that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Also trying to rate is as 2 stars but won’t I cannot.
Melanie
Australia
4/13/2021
I made this with whole mung beans (didn't have split) and accidentally used fennel seeds instead of cumin. Nonetheless it came out great! I read the comments regarding water content and did drop mine down to 4 cups to begin with, probably around 5 in total. It probably could have used the full amount since mine did come out a little less runny than the photo. I finished mine with the ghee mix (using garlic pwd, onion pwd, and some cumin pwd instead of asafetida) and a pinch for flaky salt. I think it actually reheats fine! I've kept mine in the fridge for a savory breakfast all week.
Maddie
Chicago
2/17/2021