Moong Dal Khichdi Recipe

About the recipe

Basic khichdi is rice, lentils and a few common Indian spices cooked together to a consistency of a porridge. There are many versions of khichdi across the Indian subcontinent and each state and region has their own version with minor differences. 

Of all the Indian lentils, moong dal is one of the lentils that cooks really quick and is also easy to digest.  Therefore, it is one of the most used dals in khichdi. However, it is not the only dal.  Toor dal khichdi, chana dal khichdi are also quite common in some regions.

Since it is light and easy to digest, khichdi with moong dal is often the goto food for people with weak gut, patients recovering from surgeries and illness, and is also one of the foods given to babies when they first start solids. 

Khichdi is usually prepared with rice, dal and some basic seasoning.  Its consistency is soft, mushy and somewhat like a porridge. At home, we are not fond of mushy rice and hence I usually keep the rice on a grainy side.  

Addition of vegetables is optional and I normally do not add any when I make chana dal khichdi. However, with moong dal, I do add some veggies and it is usually beans, carrots and tomatoes, and sometimes spinach. This also makes a great diabetic friendly meal.   

Moong dal khichdi recipe is part of the Cooking Carnival, Cooking with Protein Rich Ingredients series where one of the ingredients I focused on is moong dal recipes.

Diabetic friendly meal

This is a great diabetic friendly meal.  Rice, dal and some veggies makes it a wholesome meal.  If you use less veggies, serve it with some salad on the side.  

Quarter cup of uncooked rice has about 38 grams of carbs and quarter cup of moong dal  has 32 grams of carbs and 12 grams of protein.  Adjust rice to dal ratio according to the right amount of carbs and protein required in your meal.  

Ingredients

• Moong Dal - I use yellow moong dal and you can use green split moong dal or whole moong.  When using the whole moong, soak it before cooking. Masoor dal is a good substitute for moong dal.
• Rice - use Sona masoor,  basmati or any short or long grain rice.  In the ingredients image above, it is low glycemic index basmati rice. When cooked, it tastes and looks just like regular basmati rice. However, for best results, soak low GI rice for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
• Vegetables - I use green beans, carrots, tomatoes and sometimes throw in some spinach and radish too.  You can skip veggies all together or adjust to you liking.
• Spices - cumin, whole cardamom, clove , cinnamon and green chilies.  Sometimes I add a pinch of garam masala powder and chili powder for more heat.  
• Fat - use oil of your choice and for added flavor use half oil and half ghee or butter.  
• Other ingredients - ginger garlic paste or chopped ginger & garlic , cilantro, salt and turmeric powder.   

Check recipe card for measurements and detailed instructions.

Preparation

You can cook khichdi in a rice cooker, pressure cooker or in an electric pressure cooker such as an Instant Pot (IP).  Instant pot khichdi and stovetop pressure cooker methods are one of the easiest methods as you can make it a one pot dish. 

With the rice cooker method, first prepare the tempering on the stovetop and then transfer to the rice cooker for final cooking. I will be sharing the step by step recipe for moong dal khichdi Instant Pot version and instructions for the rice cooker method.

To cook on stovetop, cook in a pot following IP or rice cooker instructions. Once you add water, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and cook on medium - medium low flame until rice is soft.

Step by step IP instructions 

Wash and soak rice.  When using low GI rice, I prefer soaking for 1 hour.  Sona masoori and normal basmati, soak for 30 minutes.  Wash dal just before cooking.

• Step 1 - Set IP to sauté mode.   When hot, add oil and toast whole spices for a few seconds.  
• Step 2 - Then sauté onion, ginger garlic and green chilies.  
• Step 3 - Once ginger smell dissipates, add spinach and saute until it shrinks.  
• Step 4 - Add beans, carrots, tomatoes, salt and turmeric and cook until tomatoes are soft.  

• Step 5 - Wash moong dal, drain soaked rice and add to IP.  Give a good stir.  At this point, if the food is sticking to the bottom of the pan or burning, hit cancel.  The IP plate will still be hot and let rice and veggies roast for a couple of minutes.  
• Step 6 - Add water, cilantro and give it a good stir. Scrape the bottom of the pot to remove any burnt or stick food.  If you are using garam masala, sprinkle it on top, close the lid.  For older models of IP, make sure the vent is sealed. 
• Step 7 - Pressure cool for  5 minutes and let the pressure release naturally.  Open the lid and serve hot. For a mushy texture, add some water, cook on saute mode until you get the desired texture and consistency.

Rice Cooker Instructions

• Wash both rice and dal, soak for 30 minutes. With low GI rice I prefer soaking for more than 30 minutes to an hour.   
• Start cooking 10 minutes before the soaking time of rice ends. For normal rice after 20 minutes and for low GI rice, 50 minutes after soaking rice.  
• Heat oil in a frying pan. When oil is hot, add whole spices; cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon, cumin seeds and let the seeds toast in oil.
• Saute onions until light brown. Then saute green chilies, ginger garlic paste until the raw smell of ginger dissipates.
• Add turmeric and salt and stir well.  Saute tomatoes, beans, carrots for a minute or two until tomatoes are soft.
• Discard water and add soaked rice + dal. Saute for a minute or 2 until the rice is lightly fried.
• Transfer the rice mixture to the rice cooker, sprinkle chopped cilantro, stir, cover and let the rice cook. Sprinkle some garam masala if you wish to when the rice is still cooking.
• Once the cooker shuts off, let the rice rest for 10-15 minutes before opening.
• Fluff up the rice and serve hot with some pickle, omelet, raita or a gravy curry.

Serve & Store

Serve moong dal khichdi with some pickle, omelet or raita on the side. I prefer either pickle or raita. Both onion raita and cucumber raitha go well with khichdi. Since khichdi has dal, I even like it with rasam or charu. My curry loving family eats it with some chicken shorva or goat shorva.

Variations

Recipe rice with oats for oats khichdi and cracked wheat, quinoa and millets are other grains you can consider in place of rice.

Related Recipes

Moong dla is pesaru pappu in Telugu and is a very versatile ingredient. We use it to make sambar, dal, Indian desserts and snacks. Below are a few recipes and check the complete list of moong dal recipes here.