One-Pot

Keema Khichdi

Recipe: The Ultimate Comfort Food

Keema khichdi is the ultimate, one-port comfort food made by pressure cooking soaked lentils and rice with minced chicken, onions, tomatoes, and local spices. The inimitable flavour comes from the generous use of ginger, garlic, and whole spices like cloves and cardamom. It is topped with sliced, hard-boiled eggs for added texture and flavour. Khichdi (a rice-and-lentil dish) has long been a part of Indian cuisine. The 14th-century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta documented a version of 'kishri' (khichdi) made with boiled rice and mung beans, highlighting its widespread presence. The addition of spiced keema to the mix points to a royal influence of the Hyderabadi Nizams, who added minced meat for lavishness. The addition transformed a much-loved, but humble, comfort food into a royal dish. But today, keema khichdi is not just for the royals. It's regained its title as a comfort food for the masses. Like most Indian dishes, variations exist with the Bengali version using masoor dal (red lentils) and a ghee-garlic-chilli tempering for smoky sweetness, and the Hyderabadi one adding a tangy tamarind 'Khatta' to the mix. However, this keema khichdi recipe keeps it simple, yet classic, focusing on the ease of cooking in one pot, and the use of whole and powdered spices for depth and aroma.