Gujarati Khichdi Recipe (Instant Pot Khichdi Shaak)
This Gujarati khichdi is a healthy dish that is light on the stomach and made with 4 ingredients (plus water and salt) only. I have made this sadi khichdi in instant pot along with shaak (with pot-in-pot method) that gets ready in under 1 hour.
1Green chilicrush ginger and chili together or use paste
1cupTomatoesfinely chopped or pureed
1teaspoonJaggery (Gur)
½teaspoonLemon juice or Lime juice
1tablespoonsCilantro or coriander leavesfinely chopped
Instructions
Wash & Soak: Wash dal-rice in instant pot liner with regular tap water 2-3 times with massaging by your hand or until the water is not cloudy anymore.
Add enough water and let it soak for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
While dal-rice are soaking, prep for shaak. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add hing and turmeric powder.
Immediately add chopped lauki (dudhi) and stir.
Add salt, red chili powder, and cumin-coriander powder. Mix well to coat the spices evenly. Turn off the stove.
Transfer it to an instant pot steel insert. Add water and shake lightly. Keep it aside.
Back to dal-rice: Discard the soaking water. Add salt, hing, and turmeric powder. Also, add water and stir.
Place a tall rack in the center. Place the shaak container on the rack, and cover the container with a lid.
Pressure-Cook: Cover the instant pot with a lid, keep the valve in a sealing position, and cook on manual (high pressure) for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
Make gravy while pressure cooking: Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in the same pan on medium heat. Once hot add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit.
Add crushed ginger, green chili and saute for around 30 seconds or until the raw smell of ginger goes away.
Add tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Cook until tomatoes are soft and mushy. Mash the tomatoes with the back of the spatula. Turn off the stove, keep it covered, and wait until the pressure releases from the instant pot.
NPR (natural pressure release) is done. Once the pin drops, open the lid. Add cooked dudhi to the tomato gravy. Mix and bring it to a simmer.
Add jaggery and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
Lastly, add cilantro and lemon juice. Mix, shaak is ready.
Let’s check the khichdi. Stir it a couple of times to mix and as you stir, the rice grain will break and become mushy. You’ll get the perfect porridge consistency. Serve khichdi shaak hot/warm.
NOTE: Gujarati Khichdi will start to thicken as it cools down. So if not serving right away then keep the instant pot covered with a lid and turn on the ‘keep warm’ option.
Notes
Khichdi Consistency: You’ll need the right amount of water to get the perfect consistency. I prefer a 1:4 ratio of dal-rice to water. So for 1 cup of dal-rice, you’ll need 4 cups of water.Soaking Dal-Rice:
30 minutes of minimum soaking time is required.
1-2 hours of soaking time is recommended.
If the soaking step is skipped then increase the water by ½ cup and increase the cooking time by 2-3 minutes.