Khichdi is the definition of comfort food for most Indian families. There's something just so cozy about this bowl of rice and lentils. Maybe because its often associated with childhood memories of khichdi served with copious amounts of ghee (clarified butter)! Delicious! But also maybe not the healthiest way to eat it as an adult lol. But this Instant Pot Spinach Khichdi gives you the comfort that you remember with the addition of some veggies thrown in! Its all about balance after all!
What is Khichdi?
Khichdi is an Indian rice dish made with long grain white rice and lentils. Every family has a different recipe to call their own. Different proportions of rice to lentils which can change the texture of the dish. Also different proportion of rice to lentils to water, because everyone has a preference for how mushy their khichdi is.
I remember we would eat khichdi so often growing up. My mom always made it in an old school pressure cooker! The house would be filled with the amazing aroma of khichdi and it just felt so warm and cozy before taking even a bite. Now that I make khichdi on my own, I love cooking it the Instant Pot. It is the same concept of cooking but so much more easier to use, no more guessing how many whistles or how long it has been cooking. This instant pot spinach khichdi takes just a matter of minutes to put together!
What to serve with Khichdi?
My preference is always khichdi with kadhi (a yogurt based soup). But we also often enjoy with yogurt, achar pickles, spiced veggies or even just as is because it is already seasoned. Or as I mentioned before just a heavy dollop of ghee! The ghee I try to reserve for my kiddos versions, but I'll admit I've sneak a small drizzle of ghee as I'm fixing my plate too!
You might also be interested in Instant Pot Khichdi and Simple Kadhi, Instant Pot Gujarati DalInstant Pot Dudhi Chana Dal (Bottle Gourd and Lentil Curry)
Instant Pot Spinach Khichdi
Ingredients
- 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 cup spinach chopped, frozen or fresh
- ½ teaspoon garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cup water
- 2 tablespoon butter or ghee
Instructions
- 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 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 spinach, 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 yogurt and ghee.
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