Moong Dal & Quinoa Khichdi

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will”

It’s October!! Where did summer even go?! Wasn’t it just August and then bam its October?? Well, I’m not complaining. Bring on the pumpkins & Halloweeny decorations!

I’m starting off October with this healthy dinner prep for the week. A twist on a traditional Moong Dal Khichdi, made with quinoa! I’ve always been intimated by Gujarati food. It just seems so hard and complicated to make. What spices do I use? How do I do a vaghar(fancy term for sizzling some garlic and spices in oil)? Will it even taste like my moms food??

Well fear not, I have a simple recipe for you to try! All you need is a pressure cooker and some basic Indian spices.

Best part: this recipe is crafted with love by a gujurati mom (my mom) so it’s taste tested & approved. I also have some tips and tricks that my mom uses in her gujurati cooking to give it that extra oomph of flavor.

Some tips that make all the difference in flavor, but it’s perfectly OK if you omit (because you do not have some of these spices).

• Try and do a vaghar with: Oil, two clove buds, half a cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves & some cumin seeds. My mom usually does a variation of these spices in almost all of her dishes from Mexican quinoa to Khichdi!
• You can add whatever veggies you prefer into the pressure cooker. I opted to add some pigeon peas, but you can add some potatoes, onions, bell peppers, spinach, kale etc.
• Let the pressure cooker go for for two whistles (see tees haha!). Once the second whistles sounds, remove from heat and set aside. DO NOT open the pressure cooker until after it is has completely cooled. You must wait about 15 minutes! In order to test to see if the pressure cooker is okay to open, move around the whistle on top to see if any extra air is trapped.

Moong Dal & Quinoa Khichdi

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 cup Moong Daal
• 1 cup Quinoa
• 3 cups + 1/4 cup Water
• 1 cup frozen pigeon peas
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp chaat masala
• 1/4 tsp hing
• 1 tsp minced serrano chili 1/2 chili or 1 small chili
• 1/4 ginger paste or fresh ginger
• Salt to taste
• 4 tsps oil
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 clove buds

Instructions

1. In a pressure cooker add in moong daal, quinoa, water and pigeon peas. Stir well. Next, add in turmeric, chaat masala, hing, serrano chili, ginger paste and salt to taste.
2. In a small sauce pan, prepare your oil vaghar. Heat oil over medium heat. Once oil begins to sizzle add in garlic cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cumin seeds and clove buds. Let sizzle for 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat and pour into pressure cooker.
3. Close pressure cooker lid and place over medium heat. Let pressure go for 2 whistles (aprox 12 mins, depending on pressure cooker). Once second whistle blows, turn off heat and set aside until completely cool.
4. Serve with mango pickle & masala chaas!

Recipe Notes

• If you do not have hing, feel free to omit
• You can omit the "vaghar" step, as it is not necessary. As long as you have moong dal, quinoa & water in the pressure cooker, you will have khichdi! Feel free to add in whatever spices you have on hand. I personally find that the "vaghar" gives the khichdi an extra burst of flavor.