Khichdi

Today, while the kiddos slept, I did not sleep,nor did I make dinner or clean the house. I made Hairbands....Yes! for my dear daughter. My brain still has some creativity left ...rather, the right side of my brain is still working...Yay!!:-) I was pleasantly surprised. Taking care of my son, then my daughter 24/7, I had almost forgotten that I was capable of doing things other than clean poop and cooking.:)

  It was pleasantly refreshing to create something. I felt like I was child again ...in my craft period, making pretty things.Sometimes I wish I could go back to being a child. Live the carefree life, with not a worry in the world. In some ways I am living my childhood again, thanks to my children. My daughter is my little doll, I like dressing her up..Playing catch, going down the slide with my son, singing rhymes with actions.Doing all that, makes me feel like a child again.Even if its only a moment, it feels great to let yourself do stupid things . I just love the crazy life I live.
  As children we would just run to our neighbor's house to eat, if my mom made something we did not like, much to my mom's exasperation. Our neighbor, Daisy auntie would welcome us with open arms. One of the things we loved was Khichdi. Yes! its the food eaten when sick. But, we just loved it and auntie made it a fancy meal with all the fixes like, Baingan bhartha, aloo bhartha, kachoomar and raitha.
  It is my go to recipe, when I am sick or need a one pot dish that is healthy. I love pongal but this north indian version is slightly healthier with the inclusion of veggies.

RECIPE
onion- half medium - finely chopped
1 potato- medium sized diced into large pieces
green peas - 1 cup
carrots - 2 large diced
moong dal - yellow-1 cup
Basmati rice- 2 cups
Zeera - 1 spoon
garlic -2-3 pods
ginger-2 spoons
green chillies diced- to taste
 salt -to taste
Garam masala - 1 spoon optional
turmeric- half spoon

Method
In a cooker heat 1 tsp of oil/ghee.
Add zeera wait till it sputters.
Add onion and garlic ...wait till it turns brown
Add all the veggies and cook for a min. Add turmeric
To this add the washed dal ....and stir till fragrant.
Now add the basmati rice and add about 4 cups of water. Close the cooker and let it cook till the mixture is completely cooked.
Once completely cooked add salt to taste and garam masala. Add water if required and heat the mixture.
when the khichidi is simmering add the minced ginger and green chillies on top switch off the heat.

Hot Khichidi is ready to enjoy. It tastes great with raita ...or plain old Mango pickle. fast and healthy
In many ways its the food of childhood ...sonny dear enjoys it with  a dollop of ghee on top.Of course without the chillies. Guddu, my daughter gets it pureed for now :). Healthy and wholesome, its a food for all age groups.