Instant Pot Khichdi Recipe (2024)

It would be nice to have the instructions for the stovetop. Not everyone has a pressure cooker.

Perhaps clicking on a recipe with the words "Instant Pot" in the title isn't the best place to look. If you type "Khichdi" in the search bar, there appears to be a very solid Tejal Rao recipe for a stovetop version.

There r many ways to make Khichrdi and my recepie ends up looking like Pilaf more then a soggy lental. Its made on stove , quick and easy . Fry onions till golden, add whole black Pepper, cloves, stick of cinnamon quarter tsp cumin seeds fry & add enough water to soak the rice and split mong with skin on. Add presoaked rice &mong 1 cup each add salt& cook on very low heat...Enjoy with yogert..its our comfort food and easily digestable so given when convelesing. Can substitute water with broth.

The red would work. The key is to substitute a peeled lentil -- if they still have the skin, the lentils can't break down into the proper creamy texture.

Part4Veggie khichdi: While the khichdi is cooking, in a separate pan, sauté cumin seeds along with a few sliced cloves of garlic. Add a couple handfuls of cauliflower florets, fresh or frozen peas, chopped potatoes and carrots, and, once tender, tip it all into the pot.

This. Was. Delicious. There are few good recipes that get you a yummy dinner on the table so fast. I subbed yellow lentils. Used a full teaspoon of turmeric. Used 2 c chicken stock + 2 c water. I can't stop raving about this meal! Fortunately there was enough left over for me to take to work for lunch!

This amount of water makes the khichdi soupy. You only need double the amount of water for rice and moong dal if you want it in a pilaf texture. 3 times if you want it like a porridge. And crush the coriander seeds which are rarely used whole in Indian cooking. Another spice option is to fry onions in the ghee, add a 2 inch stick of cinnamon, 4 cloves and 4 cardamom instead of cumin and coriander. Very fragrant. Take the spices out before serving.

For those asking for directions for those without a pressure cooker: it's no problem with dal recipes. Just use a deep stovetop pot and bring to a simmer/low boil and cover for about twice the time needed for the pressure cooker. At that time, take a small spoonfull of the lentils out, let it cook a little and taste. If still not soft and done, low boil for another 10 minutes or so.

What is google? Why is it so hard to find out what things are?

I am Indian, you can add fresh dill , potatoes ,egg plant and fresh ginger and garlic. If you know how to use pressure cooker, can be cooked in 25 minutes

I’ve made this a few times with brown rice by keeping everything the same, but cooking it at high pressure instead of low pressure. Comes out perfect every time! I like to also stir in some fresh spinach at the end before serving. It’s wonderful.

I make a similar dish with red lentils and rice on the stovetop (no Instant Pot). For stovetop method, once you add moong dal, rice, and water, bring to a boil, then simmer until tender, adding a little water if it’s getting dry. My red lentil version simmers 15-20 min. Moong dal may take slightly longer? Pre-soaking (then draining) the dal speeds the cooking. I’m definitely trying this version on the stovetop. Looks delicious!

Very nice. I made a double batch, ground all of the coriander and 2/3 of the cumin. Also added a cinnamon stick, a few whole cloves, and a few cardamom pods. Used vegetable broth for half of the water and only used 7 cups water total. And that was plenty—next time I will try even a little less liquid. I can imagine grating or dicing in a carrot at the beginning too.

I have red, brown, black, and peu lentils - but no yellow! :) would any of these other lentils work in this recipe? thanks!

There's a Khichdi recipe on this very site by Tejal Rao that's probably excellent.

This dish blew me away. I will be making variations of Khichdi for the rest of my life. I doubled the recipe and used what I had: red lentils, butter instead of Ghee, Ginger essential oil, added garlic, potato, extra turmeric, and a can of whole tomatoes. I tried suggestions to use less liquid (3 cups instead of 4) and substitute half with chicken stock. The Instapot "burnt food" sign came on at the end but luckily it was pretty well-cooked and still delicious!!

I doubled the recipe & added a few minced cloves of garlic in with the tomatoes, I also added a few pods of cardamom with the rice & lentils, used 7 C of water instead of 8, still could’ve used less water imo but it was very delicious. I also think it could’ve been cooked for 13-14 mins instead of 15. Next time I might try brown basmati rice

I make this all the time with red lentils and it's one of our favorites. I mostly follow the recipe but use grapeseed oil instead of ghee, and I use 4-5 plum tomatoes because I love their tang. To make it more of a complete meal, I will also stir in large handfuls of fresh baby spinach after I open the Instant Pot. This recipe is, to me, perfectly spiced and I love the resulting mushy, porridge-y consistency. You can practically just slurp it down like a thick soup or stew.

WAY too long for rice in the IP. The flavors were excellent but they texture was mush. Next time, I’ll add the rice after 15 min and cook for another 5.

I almost never run across recipes that call for low pressure… my mistake. But read carefully!

Based on other notes you could reduce water for a drier rice, replace some water with broth, add curry leaf, cardemom, cinnamon, and/or garlic and you could grind the spices. I made it as written plus fresh spinach and actually liked it a lot. Those other variations would be fine too.

Added some Chopped zucchini

Excellent recipe - there are many variations out there - I have been using Kripalu’s for years to be my “produce drawer clean out” (Indian version). But they omit the aromatics, all nightshades, and it’s a pastier consistency. Switching to your recipe from now on. It’s slightly soupy and deliciously seasoned/flavored. Tonight I added a diced rutabaga, carrot, and small zucchini. Also garnished with some Indian pickle and yogurt as suggested.

It’s a classic San Francisco summer night: foggy, windy, and 51°. This hit the spot. I used homemade chicken broth instead of water, no additional salt, plus combined lots of great tips: a cinnamon stick, 4 cardamom pods, garlic, and greens. I also topped it with lemon, in addition to cilantro and yogurt. Next time, I will cook the kale separately in cumin and coriander and add it on top of the soup to retain more shape.

Easy side dish - I added dried chilies before pressure cooking. Stirred in spinach at the end and topped with fried shallots /chivda.

Made 5/2023 with 3 cups water, down from 4. 3 was still a little wet. BUT— watch out for the salt. 2tsp was far too much. Maybe 1 tsp?

Great recipe with lots of possibilities. I didn't have any fresh or canned diced tomatoes so I ended up using a can of Rotel. The chilis kicked it up nicely!

Following others, I was worried about too much liquid. So I doubled the rice and the beans, upped the spices a bit, and kept the liquid roughly as-is. Because I only had canned diced tomatoes, I used those and considered the liquid as part of the overall recipe (so 3 cups water along with the canned tomatoes). This was delicious!!

There is NEVER any tomatoes, turmeric, ginger, ghee or coriander seeds used in Khichdi! The ingredients that give it the most flavor and fragrance are whole peppercorns, cloves, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick and a cardamom or two.

I soak the lentils overnight in water so they cook better. I also add green unshelled moong which has also been soaked overnight! For women adding asparagus and saffron makes it nourishing to the female organs!