Let me be very honest here. This is not the recipe I had planned to recreate from Priyadarshini’s blog.
P (of Let’s Talk Food) is somebody whom I absolutely adore, not just for her recipes or photographs, but also for the way she weaves a story into every single dish that she churns out. With her standout and unique flavour combinations and hatke recipes, P is an absolute inspiration to me.
So when it was Priyadarshini’s turn as the star of the week for the ongoing event of Kolkata Food Bloggers, Know Your Blogger, the first thing I did was shortlist all that I wanted to make from her blog. The only problem was that the list not at all “short”. I love cooking with proteins and spices and P treats her proteins with the kind of respect and dignity that is possible only for a lover of food of her stature. So needless to say, I had her Adana Kebab, Murgir Rajokiyo Roast, Fruit and Nut Baked Fish, Southern style Mutton Fry, Keema Kofta and so many other protein-laden goodness in my list.
But as luck would have it, I got caught up with an insane amount of engagements right before her week. My health gave way, my sleep cycle went for a toss and my Internet at home conked off. I wanted to cook almost the entire expanse of P’s blog, but at the same time my heart craved for something humble and comforting. And it was then that this recipe, that was not even in my initial list, raised its head. For all of you who visit this space, you must be aware of my undying love for khichudi, and trust P to give her own unique spin to this. Khichudi enriched with the robustness of chicken was all that my dreary soul could crave, and so shoving aside my unending list of bookmarked recipes I settled for this Murgir Khichudi. And I was so zoned out this entire stretch that failing to come up with anything of my own, I borrowed her photography idea as well! 😛
Recipe adapted from Priyadarshini’s Let’s Talk Food
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
Chicken: 500 gm
Rice: 200 gm
Moong Dal: 100 gm
Masoor Dal: 100 gm
Onions, finely sliced: 2 big
Garlic paste: 1.5 tsp
Ginger paste: 3 tsp
Tomatoes, cubed: 3
Peas: 3/4 cup
Green chillies: 3
Turmeric powder: 2 tsp
Red chilli powder: 2-3 tsp
Asafoetida powder: a fat pinch
Mustard oil: 2 tbsp
Ghee: 1 + 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Sugar: 1 + 1 tbsp
Green Cardamom: 4
Cinnamon stick: 1
Cloves: 4
Bay leaf: 1
Whole dried red chillies: 2 big
Whole cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Method:
1. Wash the rice and lentils together and spread out on a newspaper to allow them to dry up.
2. In a deep-bottomed pan/wok, heat the mustard oil and 1 tbsp of ghee. Add bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, red chillies, cumin seed sand asafoetida. Let them splutter till they release aroma, say 30 seconds to a minute.
3. Now add the sliced onions along with a tbsp of sugar and fry till golden brown. Add the garlic paste and sauté for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the chicken, half the quantity of ginger, turmeric and chilli powder and fry until oil separates.
5. Now add the rice and lentils and fry for about 5-8 minutes. Add warm water, enough to cover the rice and dals, and bring to boil. Now lower the heat, cover and let it simmer till rice begins to soften.
6. Remove cover and add salt, chopped tomatoes, the remaining ginger and peas. Cover and cook on medium heat, stirring from time to time to prevent scalding, until the rice and lentils are thoroughly cooked. This should take anything between 40-60 minutes. Keep checking the texture time and again.
7. Now add another tbsp of sugar (or more if you so wish) and let it simmer for another five minutes uncovered.
8. Drizzle the remaining ghee, give one final stir and turn off heat. Serve hot. Fancy comfort food!
I am sending this entry to Kolkata Food Bloggers’ event Know Your Blogger
