Zoom Dinner

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Date(s) - 11/13/2020
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

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Please join us at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13th as we cook a meal together. Teri Thomas is going to show us how to make Bengali Kichudi — a rice and lentil one-pot meal.
Assemble your ingredients and chop the vegetables before the meeting. Join the Zoom meeting at 6:00 p.m. We will plan to eat at about 6:30 p.m. We invite you to join us at 6:30 p.m. even if you are making something else or getting take-out. This is a great opportunity to share a meal together and catch up with each other.
Let us know if you plan to attend by emailing us at Hospitality@uuch.org. Hope to see you Friday!
Meeting ID: 825 2603 6977
Rice and Lentil One-Pot Meal (Bengali Khichudi or Khichdi)
by Teri Thomas
This month’s recipe is what we will be cooking for our Zoom Dinner on Friday, November 13 at 6:00 p.m. If you don’t want to buy the spices, more than likely I will have plenty to share if you don’t mind picking them up at my house. Also, there’s a very good sale going on now through November 9 at Indian Bazaar on University Drive.
Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes
During the Hindu festival of Durga, Puja, Bengali, and Oriya families make this special rice and lentil dish as an offering to the goddess. After the offering, it is offered to the rest of the congregation as a nourishing meal for the body and soul. Khichudi is a very nutritious, mellow, and comforting one-pot meal, which is delicious with any combination of vegetables.
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. ghee or 2 Tbps. vegetable oil, divided
1 Tbsp. cumin seeds
2 to 3 dry red chilies, broken in half
2 Indian or Mediterranean bay leaves
1 (1 inch) piece of ginger, slivered
1/2 tsp. asafetida (optional but definitely makes the flavor more authentic!)
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 c. rice
1 c. split yellow mung beans (moong dal)
1/2 c. finely chopped carrot
1/2 c. chopped potato
1/2 c. peas
1 medium tomato, chopped
Kosher salt to taste
4 c. water
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. raisins
  1. In a heavy saucepan with lid, heat 2 Tbsp. of ghee (reserve one for garnish) or until it is shimmering (or heat 2 Tbsp. of oil). Add the cumin seeds, chilies, bay leaves, and ginger, and saute until the seeds crackle. Add the asafetida and turmeric and stir for no longer than 10 seconds.
  2. Add the rice, mung beans, carrot, potato, peas, and tomato. Stir together with the flavored ghee. Season with salt. Add the water, sugar, and raisins. Stir again.
  3. When the mixture starts to simmer, cover, and cook over medium heat for about 25 minutes. Check once while cooking to see if the water has dried out. If so, add more to ensure that the beans and rice are cooked completely. The consistency of the khichudi should be rather mushy, like a risotto, so if the grains are slightly broken or the khichudi is a bit runny, it’s okay. Serve hot with a garnish of the remaining ghee (do not garnish with vegetable oil) and a side of Spiced Fried Eggplant.
Make it faster: Mix 2 Tbsp. ghee with the cumin seeds, red chiles, bay leaves, and ginger in an electric pressure cooker and heat on saute for 30 seconds. Add the asafetida, then the turmeric, rice, beans, sugar, raisins, and vegetables; pour in 2 1/2 c. water. Stir, bring to a simmer, and close the lid; pressure cook for 10 minutes at high pressure. Use the quick method to release the pressure.
Cooking Tip: If you plan to leave out all of the vegetables in this dish except the tomato, reduce the quantity of water by 1/2 cup.