A super simple and quick Indian comfort meal that will be loved by all! Khichdi with kadhi is probably the top comfort food meal for most Indian families. Khichdi is one of the first foods given to babies right after pureed fruit in India. The basic recipe is just rice and lentils and ghee. It is thought to be a very light and nourishing dish. Most Indian households consider this dish as a go-to when anyone is sick. With my Instant Pot khichdi recipe, making this meal every week is a no-brainer!
While there are tons of varieties out there, such as adding any vegetable available to you and making it as flavor as you can handle , I think everyone takes comfort in a simple, minimal spice version every once in awhile. This simple version is our go-to right now because its so kid-friendly. Dinnertime is much easier, when you don't have a hungry toddler crying about not wanting to eat the food you've prepared!
The Easiest Meal
This Instant Pot khichdi is not only simple in ingredients but also simple to make. Khichdi can be made in a pot on a stove top, there is really no need to use fancy appliances. I always made khichdi in a pressure cooker because I wanted to be able to throw in the ingredients and get it cooking quickly. The problem with a traditional Indian pressure cooker is that you still have to time it. Well those days are over with my Instant Pot! Now I can still throw in all of the ingredients but now I get to program it for the time I want and walk away!
I think there are ways of making kadhi in the Instant Pot as well, but I haven't experimented with that yet. I've found that kadhi can be tricky because when you're heating up yogurt you have to be careful or it will curdle. Also, kadhi can be made in less than 10 minutes! So once I've set my khichdi to cook in the instant pot, I start on my kadhi, which will come together before the Instant Pot switches to keep warm!
You might also be interested in other traditional Indian recipes like: Instant Pot Gujarati Dal, Instant Pot Spinach Khichdi, Instant Pot Dudhi Chana Dal (Bottle Gourd and Lentil Curry), Fried Long Hot Peppers, Spicy Masala Chaas
Instant Pot Khichdi and Simple Kadhi
Ingredients
Instant Pot Khichdi
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 cup toor dal any dry lentils can be used, I use toor dal
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 pinch asafoetida
- 6-10 curry leaves
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 potato diced
- ½ teaspoon garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cup water
- 2 tablespoon butter or ghee
Kadhi
- 1 cup yogurt
- 3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons chickpea flour besan
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic, grated optional
- ½ tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 dry red chili pepper
- 1 pinch asafoetida
- 6-10 curry leaves
Instructions
Instant Pot Khichdi
- Combine rice and dal (lentils) in a bowl, rinse 3-4 times to wash all off the starches. Let the rice and dal sit submerged in water while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
- Set Instant Pot to Saute - high. Add oil, after about a 1 minute the oil should be warming. Now add the cumin seeds. Let the seeds fry, they will get darker as they cook.
- Add in the asafoetida, curry leaves and the sliced onions. The asafoetida and curry leaves will sizzle as soon as they hit the oil, so stand back when dropping them in. Let the onions cook for about 1-2 minutes to soften.
- Add the potatoes, garlic, ginger, turmeric, salt and stir.
- Drain the water from the rice and dal. Add the mixture to the Instant Pot. Add the water and the butter or ghee and stir
- Close the Instant Pot and check the pressure valve is sealed.Set to Pressure Cook - 8 minutes- high pressure - keep warm on.
- Wait at least 10 minutes for Natural Pressure Release, then release the remaining pressure.
- Serve warm with kadhi (see recipe below).
Kadhi
- Mix together water, yogurt, chickpea flour in a small saucepan. Set heat to medium and stir to combine.
- Add in salt, sugar, turmeric, garlic. Once everything is combined and the salt and sugar are to your liking, remove from heat and set aside.
- Heat oil in a separate small saucepan. Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Let them crackle but not burn.
- Next add the dry red chile and let it cook for about 1 minute. Add the asafoetida, it will splatter for a few seconds. Add the curry leaves carefully, they will splatter as it hits the hot oil. Allow for the spices to cook for another minute and remove from heat.
- Add the tempered oil to the kadhi mixture that you had set aside, stir. Stir before serving, to better incorporate the tempered oil.
- Serve over warm khichdi.
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