Mausiji's UP Estyle Khichadi and Indian Food Palooza

Have you heard the famous saying: "Khichadi ke char yaar: Dahi, ghee, papad, and aachar". A simple khichadi (lentil risotto) can taste so delicious when its eaten with its four best friends: Yogurt, ghee (clarified butter), papadum, and aachar (pickle).

Khichadi is "Indian fast food" in some ways. Indians eat a wide variety of khichdi's namely Bisi bele bhath (a southern favorite), simple moong daal/lentil khichdi, arhar daal khichadi etc. The kichadi I am going to share is eaten in western UP. Believe me this khichari is in a different league altogether !

I ate this Urad daal khichadi for the first time when my mausiji-in-law visited us in Princeton. This royal khichdi is made with minimal ingredients.  Mausiji told us that it was one of the first dishes that she learnt from her sister-in-law/mother-in-law when she got married as it was a favorite dish in their joint family. Mausiji is an awesome cook and always ready to adapt to latest technology in cooking. Having eaten a bunch of meals made by her, I can testify that she is a great cook!

This khichadi is a bit thicker than other khichadi that you may have eaten and is usually served with lots of ghee and hing ka aachar. When I first ate it, it was a privilege to also eat mausiji's hand-made hing ka aachar which I haven't found in the Indian grocery stores in US.  I would have to either learn how to make it from her (too ambitious plan) or figure out a place from where I can buy it as we make this khichadi often at home and I always remember her pickle while eating it.

Recipe:
Serves 3-4 for dinner or lunch

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice

1 cup split urad daal (with skin)

2 tea spoon salt

2 tea spoon red chilli powder

1/4-1/2 teaspoon hing

2 inch grated ginger

and "char yaar of khichadi"
3-4 table spoon Clarified butter
Hing ka aachar or any pickle
Papadum
yogurt

- Soak rice and daal separately for 1/2 - 1 hour ( I have soaked them for 5-6 hours and that works too)

- Put a heavy bottom pan on medium heat settings
- Add two and half cup water to it. Add salt, chilli, hing, and ginger to the water

- Once the water starts boiling, add rice (drained) and daal (drained) to the boiling water and mix.

- Cook for 10-15 minutes until most of the water is absorbed by the rice and lentils

- Reduce flame to low and cook for another 5 minutes, At this point the mixture will be very dry.

- Switch off the gas, and cover the pan with lid for ten minutes

- Serve warm with Pickle (hing ka pickle preferred), Ghee, Dahi and Papadum

I am linking this post to the Indian food palooza hosted by Indian Simmer, The colors of Indian Cooking and Creative Culinary. 

Cardamom, Pistachio and Saffron Pound Cake

Preparing brunch is one of my favorite things as there are no set rules. I usually try pound cakes of different types. While browsing through recipes, I stumbled upon a pound cake by Suvir Saran. Originally this was a pistachio pound cake with Lebanese origin which he tweaked a little by adding cardamom.  While reading the recipe, I was convinced that adding saffron might also add to the taste. Soon, I tried this on a Saturday morning and it was delicious. You have to try this flavorful cake!

Recipe:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom powder (freshly ground for best results)
1/4 teaspoon salt

One and half sticks unsalted butter at room temperature (12 tablespoon butter)
1 cup brown sugar

3 large eggs (room temperature)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk
1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron

1 cup roasted pistachios

- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Grind one cup of roasted (unsalted) pistachios ( I usually get mine from Trader Joe's). Make sure you do not over grind them.
- In a stand mixer or in a big bowl, cream butter and sugar together
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla extract
- Slowly mix butter mixture and the egg mixture
- Slightly warm 1/4 cup of milk and add crushed saffron and let it sit for 2-3 minutes and then add this to the remaining 1/4 cup milk.
- In a separate bowl mix all purpose flour, baking powder, ground cardamom and salt
- Add half of the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture and then add half of the milk and mix together
- Add remaining flour mixture and milk and mix everything to make sure that the batter is free of  lumps
- Add pistachios into the mixture and mix very gently
- Now grease a 8x4 pan and transfer the batter to the pan
- Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean
- Let is cool in the pan for ten minutes and then on a cooking rack for another 20 minutes
- Enjoy this flavorful Lebanese pound cake with an Indian and Persian touch!