The Golden Meal - Khadi Kitchri
If you know me personally or if you have gotten to know me through my content on this site, you will know that my Grandmothers are the main artery for which my love for food flows through. In these down times I find myself reminiscing of the dishes of my upbringing and how intersected they are with my identity as a mixed kid who sought solace and connection through my faith, and food. I think it is fair to say that cooking, baking and all things “going back to the basics” has made a resurgence during this quarantine period of our lives. Perhaps it is because this slowed down pace of life reminds us of what is truly essential and important; for me I am pulled into the memories of my childhood, simpler times, and of course, grandma's food.
I find myself learning recipes from a distance and relearning home cooked wonders through. This week’s selection is a childhood gem: Khaddi Kitchiri. I began my research sifting through ‘Indian Delights’, a cookbook gifted to me by my Daadee (my paternal grandma) when I began falling in love with cooking years ago. I serendipitously came across a Khadi Kitchiri recipe and knew that it would need to be our next meal. However, though I love this cookbook, I knew that my Daadee’s style was slightly different - and closer to what I was looking for in order to prepare this nostalgic dish . I gave her a call and requested the recipe, to which her delivery was simply beautiful and so rich of wisdom. (scroll to the end of this article to listen to the Great She Elephant herself). Grandmas have a sixth sense when it comes to cooking - they are the mistresses of the essentials, and the “going back to the basics” tasks that I think many of us could use more of in our life today.
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As kids, Khadi Kitchiri was always a fun curry to have at Daadee’s house. Curry is an anglicized word for the Gujarati pronunciation for “Khadi”. For one, it is a bright yellowish-lime colour and felt like eating something out of a cartoon TV show. Secondly, as any of my close friends will attest, it is only my paternal side which has roots in India, so my spice tolerance as a kid was sub par to my full bred cousins! Khadi Kitchiri, being a yogurt dish, felt less spicy as a kid. I learned from my Daadee on my call to get this recipe, that she would make it mild for us and was fully aware of our low spice tolerance (hah! Talk about a childhood spoiler)! I still enjoy it fairly mild, but it can totally be customized to any desirable spice level.
Khadi Kitchiri is a refreshing, yogurt based, curry originating from Gujarat. My dad’s family is from the diaspora of Gujaratis that migrated to South Africa about seven generations back. In a typical Gujarati household, this dish is a go-to meal, commonly eaten for lunch and associated with comfort. It is neat to think that the recipes and foods that were consumed and shared by my ancestors travelled to Africa, and now North America, and have remained for the most part pure and true to their roots. Given the fact that Gujarat is a coastal city of India, fish is a part of their cuisine. For this reason, this dish pairs well with fish as a protein, though it is popularly appreciated as a vegetarian dish served with Paapar (Papadum)- a fried cracker-like bread. Much like corn kernels pop and fluff up with heat, paapar expands and has a crispy crunchy bite to it, making it the perfect pair to Khaddi Kitchiri. I also love Paapar with dahl (peep my Dahl-icious recipe here)
I call this the golden meal because it is yellow in colour due to the turmeric in both the rice and curry. Turmeric is an ancient medicine and spice that has gained familiarity and popularity in the west these past couple of decades. Turmeric is best known for its anti-inflammatory properties and other incredible health benefits. So yes, this is a special dish that is nutritious and delicious - soul food.
This recipe is simple and boils down to simple technique as opposed to intricate steps/specialty ingredients. Out of a lot of Indian dishes, this is a fairly simple recipe which can be adjusted to personal taste. To make this more accessible to folks, I have included photos for the core steps to help. Enjoy!
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Recipe:
Yield: 6 servings
Time: 50 min
Prep time: 20 min
Cooking time: 30 min
What you will need from your kitchen :
A semi-deep pot (enough to hold almost 3L)
Blender
Whisk
Optional: Rice cooker/ Instant pot
Optional: food processor
Part 1: Khaddi
1 tub (750g) Plain yogurt
750 ml - 1L Tepid water
1 ½ tsp Turmeric
1 clove Garlic
1 tsp Salt
1 ½ tablespoon Cumin seeds (toasted on a pan)
3 tablespoons All purpose flour (thickening agent)
1 Small yellow onion - chopped
3 tablespoons green chutney (you can also use packaged ‘green chutney’ from most ethnic grocers)
2 tsp Fresh/dried mint
1 bunch Fresh coriander (cilantro)
1 Clove
¼ tsp Chilli flakes, or one small fresh green chilli (optional for spicy loving folk)
1-3 Curry leaves = optional
Directions:
In a blender/food processor, blend together the ingredients for your green chutney: mint, fresh coriander, clove, chilli flakes/green chilli, salt, curry leaves (store bought ‘green chutney’ will suffice as well, but we all know ‘from-scratch’ anything hits a little differently)
Transfer the chutney to the blender
Add the chopped onion, whole garlic clove, and turmeric powder to the blender and blend well. I find adding ¼ cup of water at this stage helps the ingredients blend well, so go ahead and add ¼ cup to the blender full of spices and blended up greens.
To the blender, add the yogurt and 3 cups (750ml) of warm water to the blender and blend for 30 seconds until all ingredients are well incorporated. It should be yellow in colour.
In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of all purpose flour with ¼ cup of tepid water. Once the flour is fully mixed into the water with no lumps, add the flour to the blender, and blend once more until all ingredients are well incorporated.
6. Heat your pot and add the cumin seeds to it to toast them (3-5 min on med-high heat). The seeds will turn black in colour, and will be very fragrant. I find that swirling my pot around gives the seeds an even toast and prevents them from burning.
7. Once the seeds are toasted, add a tablespoon of ghee (or butter/vegetable oil) to the pot and transfer the contents of the blender into the pot (it may sizzle upon pouring, this is normal, and a good sign). Whisk well on med-high heat until the yogurt blend comes to a gentle boil. Continue to whisk throughout its time on the heat.
8. Once the Khaddi boils, bring down the heat to a low-medium and simmer for 15-20 min to allow the flour to cook and thicken the yogurt. Whisk often to ensure it thickens evenly and doesn’t get lumpy.
9. After the yogurt has cooked for 15 min or so, use a spoon to test the thickness (run your fingers through the curry creating a streak, if the curry stays separate and is clumpy, it is too thick. If it closes up a bit, it is the perfect thickness. If it is too thick, you can add some more water. If it is too thin, you can add more flour. *make sure when adding flour that you add flour to a separate bowl of water first, mixing it well with the water, and then adding it to the heated yogurt. This ensures an all round smooth texture with no lumps.*
Your Khaddi is ready! Next, the Kitchiri - rice
Part 2: Kitchiri (Rice)
2 cups Basmati rice
1 tblsp Ghee (clarified butter) or regular, salted butter
2-3 Green cardamom pods
1 Clove
1 tsp Cumin seeds
½ tsp Turmeric
Directions:
Soak and rinse rice for 20-30 min to remove starch and coating (this makes for a fluffier rice)
I simply toss the above ingredients into a rice cooker and sit back. But this can be cooked on a stovetop as you would cook regular basmati rice. Serve with some crunchy golden onions and fresh coriander (cilantro)
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Your dish is ready. Serve the Khaddi on a bed of Kitchiri and garnish with fresh coriander leaves, and fried onions.
