Khichdi at Sindhi Homes

Khichdi..a comfort food, was a regular breakfast that appeared at our dining tables in my house during my growing up days. A combination of just rice and lentil cooked to very soft consistency, it was churned to mix it and then topped with a simple garnishing of burnt mustard seeds. We would eat with curds and fried papads or sometimes with pickle as accompaniment or would just sprinkle a spoonful of sugar and relish it.

Mom was very creative and made different breakfast everyday. Sometimes there was puri bhajji, other times masala loli or just salt n pepper loli, sweet sayyu, sweet wheat porridge. Bread, buns and oats were normally served to our NRI guests, mutton or kheema pav was for special occasions. Breakfast was always at home, nobody ever talked about eating out, except on very special occasions, that too never breakfast or lunch, it used to be only dinner in formal wear.

But did you know that Khichdi is as old as hills? It’s score: Nearly 2000 years!

Archaeologists have found burnt pieces of rice and green gram, aka moong dal, that were cooked together in Maharashtra in 1st century AD, indicating that the comfort food was equally savoured back then.    Source:  DNAIndia.com  

I still savor Khichdi but not for breakfast, now it’s for light dinner. It’s humble no more because I have altered the taste too. Sometimes I add vegetables and sometimes the left-overs meat too.

On my last visit to Chicago, my cousin made this breakfast that was spicy and tasty. I had liked it so much that I asked him for a recipe.

He had shared with me verbally then, but of course, my memory always plays tricks on me and it stayed back buried in my grey cells until recently I saw the picture of the khichidi in the family watsapp group.

And so I asked him again, making sure to try it out and noting it on my blog. So here it is.

Boiled 1cup small grain rice with ½ cup green dhal till tender. Mix it well.

In a pan, fry 1tsp mustard seeds till they crackle. Add 1tsp cumin seeds. fry finely chopped onion, add 1tsp crushed garlic and 1tsp grated ginger. Add curry leaves and green chilies.

Add this to the mixture of rice and lentil.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot. 

Cousin says don't put coriander leaves. "arrey why? I like it and its good for my kidney too.... kidney ki safai hoti hai kotmir sey"... I told him.

Book Launch: Low Fat Low Guilt: Recipes & Lifestyle by Dr Namita Jain

Last month, we had a society meeting, the members requested the society to serve ‘good snacks’. What they meant was that they didn’t want to eat the junk food of mumbai like Samosas, Patties, Ragda, or any other oily stuff that normally appears at every social event. Everybody is getting health conscious with fancy gyms mushrooming all over the city and people watching their diet. So this is the good time to invest in books that educates you on healthy food. The book #LowFatLowDiet does just that. It educates you on how to enjoy ‘good food’ without guilt.

This week I attended the book lauch and the unveiling of Dr Namita Jain’s 12th book titled Low Fat Low Guilt: Recipes & Lifestyle at The Leela Mumbai. The book was unveiled by India's Tennis Icon and Fitness Extraordinaire Padma Shri Vijay Amritraj

Is Junk Food Bad Food?

“No food is bad. But when food contributes more calories than nutrients, the problem of empty calories versus nutrition becomes something to consider. While junk food need not be excluded from your diet, the quantity and frequency of consumption must be controlled” writes Dr Namita in her book.

In conversation with Mr Vijay Amritraj, many elements of healthy eating were discussed. He started at a very young age considering that health and fitness are the critical elements of our living. He wanted to be a doctor but sports gave him more exposure. He enjoys food, and travelling around the world makes it difficult for him to control his diet. “The important part of sports is our ability to stay fit and healthy” he said. He spoke about his son who is health fanatic and he feels that our body is like a temple and we have to watch what goes into our body.

Dr Namita Jain feels that Indian food is the best diet one can have, for example in Thali you have dhal, veggies, rice, chappati, papad and sweets that covers all the nutrients that our body requires. She feels that you don’t have to overeat but just 80% is enough to leave enough space for digestion. A light meal at night before 7pm is advisable and it is better to stay away from fat. A long walk, exercise to burn off the fat and a visit to gym can be added to the lifestyle to stay fit.

A leaf from her book explain the food pyramid.

It was an interesting evening. The book has all the recipes that interests me. Its colorful, glossy with pictures that make you hungry

I wanted to buy this book immediately but I was lucky to get one free copy for me, specially autographed by Dr Namita.

Nowadays, all the recipes are available on u-tube, but still this book has been a complete sold out. Low Fat, Low Guilt is an essential guide to following a healthy diet without compromising on the taste. It features low-cal recipes of delicious soups, salads, wraps, toasts, rice dishes, pastas and dips, making healthy eating a pleasurable experience.

I think this book is a treasure and is the latest addition on my cook book shelf