Khichari (Rice and daal combo)

Today, I was at KOMO4 TV interpreting His Holiness, Dalai Lama's discussion with the
panelists. They were talking about spirituality, healing the body and heart and spreading the seeds of compassion everywhere. Dalai Lama is visiting Seattle for five days and spreading his message of love and compassion. I feel honored and privileged to listen to his comments along with some of the wise, learned people and altruistic youngsters that were present there, sharing their views.

Talking about healing the heart and the body, a great food that helps heal is Khichari. Turmeric is also great for healing common colds and cough. When it rains or the weather is chilly, I usually like to eat Khichari. My daughter is also a big fan of a simple split urad daal khichari. Khichari goes well with accompaniments such as mango pickle, crunch rice papad or potato chips, soy yogurt and a few drops of olive or vegetable oil.













Ingredients for Khichari

1 cup rice
1/2 cup split urad daal
5 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coarsely chopped ginger
4 tbsp vegetable oil

Rinse the rice and daal several times until the water runs clear. Add the contents, water, salt, ginger and oil to a pressure cooker on high heat. Close the lid of the pressure cooker. After the second whistle turn the stove off. Let the pressure release and open the cooker. Mix well and serve warm.

I usually serve Khichari with rice appalams that you can buy at your local Indian grocery store and I fry them at home. I also serve Khichari with mango pickle, my favorite. You can substitute it with your favorite pickle.

Happy Cooking!