Bharela Ringan ni Khichdi or Stuffed Eggplants Risotto is one of those more elaborate Khichdies we make for dinners. The vaghareli khichdi, vaghareli shaakwali khichdi, tuver na dana ni khichdi are some other varieties made depending on the season. A rainy evening calls for piping hot Vaghareli Shaakwali Khichdi or the tempered risotto with vegetables whereas in winters when we have a variety of fresh beans available a tuner na lilva ni Khichdi is a must once a week!!
Ours is a Khichdi permi (Khichdi loving) family and my parents have been having Khichdi-Kadhi for dinner every single day for decade. Khichdi and Kadhi with some bhakari have always been dinner foods in Gujarat, sometimes plain milk takes place of Kadhi but a Khichdi was a must. The dinner menus have changed drastically over the past 10-15 years with ‘variety’ like pasta, pizza, sandwich, Chinese, chaat and baked-dishes taking over the evening menus. The pretext usually is the kids do not like Khichdi or other simple foods and they need their pizzas and pasta which, infect are simple foods of some far away land !! The need of fancy dinners is so pressing that even the ‘Maharaj’ (the cooks who help with daily cooking) have learnt whizzing up these delicacies. I am not against the inclusion foods from foreign lands into our diet but I am against making them and other fat laden foods an everyday affair!!
Let us come back to the Khichdi, the star ingredient here are the eggplants, the eggplant is one of those humble vegetables that is available round the year and never acts pricy, use whichever colored baby – eggplants you may find. Small grained rice or broken rice (kanki) is the preferred choice of rice. Serve it with kadhi or tempered or plain yogurt.
Bharela Ringan ni Khichdi
Ingredients
- 5 baby eggplants
- 4 baby potatoes
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup chora-wali mug ni dal/ green gram split
- 3/4 cup kanki or small grained rice
- 5 cups water
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon hing/ asafetida
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 whole red chilies
- 2-3 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 3/4 cup finely chopped coriander
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green garlic
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander and cumin seed powder
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon oil
Instructions
Begin with washing and soaking the dal and rice. Soak the grains for at least 30 minutes.
While the grains are soaking, proceed to prepping up the eggplants.
Wash and clean the eggplants and potatoes ( if you want remove the potato skins)
To prepare the stuffing, mix together chopped coriander, green garlic, chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander and cumin seed powder, sesame seeds, a teaspoon of oil, salt to taste ( remember the rice-dal will also have salt).
Cut the eggplants and potatoes in a criss-cross, taking care not to separate them or cut all the way through.
Fill the stuffing in the slit vegetables. You will be left with some extra stuffing.
Put a pressure cooker or a pressure pan on medium flame.
Add the rice, dal, 2 teaspoon of numeric powder, 3 teaspoon of chili powder, salt and 5 cups of water.
Allow the khichdi to cook until 3/4 done.
While the Khichdi is cooking prepare the tempering, place a small pan on medium flame.
Add 3 tablespoons of oil. Once the oil warms up add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing, whole red chillies, bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon stick. Let the spices release their oil and splutter.
Now add the chopped onion and minced garlic, sauté till it becomes pinkish brown.
Add it to the cooking Khichdi along with the balance masala of the stuffing and mix well.
Arrange the stuffed eggplants and potatoes on the top. Shut the lid and allow to cook till it releases pressure twice.
Turn of the flame and allow the pressure to release on its own.
Serve hot.
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