Recipe for the DHUNGARIYU KHICHDI

I just love the Recent Dip in the temperature in Mumbai…The Slight chill… The awesome weather makes all of us so hungry and wanting to eat something Delicious and really hot food… We all want to eat Hot Pakoras and fried stuff in this weather which is great but I thought of making something Healthy & Delicious with some really authentic ingredients and making KHICHDI with them which is my comfort food at any given time.

Most Indians love KHICHDI and it can be called Our Staple food in a way.,…Khichdi is made in a lot of different ways in every household but I wanted to make it especially for Winters and really different from our regular Khichdi so I thought of making it using Red Rice, Pumpkin, Green Garlic, Tandal bhaji or Tandaliya bhaji which is so widely used by Gujaratis….( I had gone to my  local vegetable vendor who had all these Super Winter Veggies which inspired me to make this Dish)

To add to the flavor of this amazing combination I thought of Smoking it with coal which is known as DHUNGARIYU or DHUNGAR… DHUNGARIYU means to smoke with coal …Originally the dishes got the Smoky flavor when they were woodfired…

In today’s time,This is a process in which a big piece of coal is lighted on the gas and then put in a small bowl in the precooked dish and then poured with ghee/ clarified butter on it and covered with the lid for some time till the flames add to the flavor of the dish !!!! See the pictures below.

So let’s get started with today’s Amazing Recipe — DHUNGARIYU KHICHDI.

Tandaliya / Tandal Bhaji

Ingredients—

1. 2 cups red rice soaked for 1 hour
2. 1 cup yellow lentils or moong dal
3. One bunch of Tandaliya bhaji ( you can even use spinach leaves or fenugreek leaves) destemmed & chopped
4. 3 green chilies slit
5. 1 cup chopped Pumpkin
6. Half teaspoon mustard seeds
7. Salt to taste
8. 3 tablespoon green garlic chopped fine ( can use more )
9. 2 + 2 tablespoon Ghee / clarified butter

Method —-

Heat the 2 tablespoons of ghee in a pan

Add a pinch of asafoetida & green chilies

Add the red rice, moong dal, salt and cook for about 15 minutes stirring well all the time so that the rice does not stick to the vessel.

Add 4 cups of water & let it simmer for 20 minutes, you can add more water if needed, the rice should be cooked well & not remain undercooked.
In another pan heat the Other 2 tablespoon of ghee, add the mustard seeds, allow them to splutter

Now add the chopped Pumpkin and cook till the pumpkin is half done

Then add the chopped tandaliya bhaji or any other Greens that you are using and cook for around 2 to 3 minutes

Now add the pumpkin and the tandaliya mix to the cooked red rice & moong dal mixture

Cook the whole mixture together for about 5 minutes till done
Khichdi is ready
Sprinkle the fresh green garlic On The Khichdi

For the DHUNGARIYU —

Light a piece of coal on the gas
Once it’s lighted enough put it in a small steel Katori or a bowl

 Place this Katori or bowl in the middle of the prepared Khichdi as shown in the picture

Pour 1 tablespoon Ghee on the burning coal
As soon as you pour the ghee, cover The vessel with a lid so that the fumes cannot escape out

 Keep it covered for around a good 15 minutes for The Khichdi to catch the Smoky flavor.

Remove the lid and your amazing Khichdi is ready to be served

Remember to do the DHUNGARIYU or DHUNGAR right before the serving time.
Serve this DHUNGARIYU KHICHDI with fresh yogurt & Red Garlic Chutney ( link given)

This recipe may look very long but it is one of the easiest dishes to prepare so go ahead and try it and do let me know how you liked it in the comments below !!!

HAPPY WINTERS 🤗