In a recent interview, Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed his favourite dishes and also expressed his love for cooking. "At home I would prepare my own tea. I love to cook khichdi, which is my favourite food. Earlier, I used to wake up at 4.30 in the morning and I would clean the entire house and prepare tea for everyone. I would then wake others at 5.20 am and serve them the tea. After returning from a short walk outside, I would cook the breakfast. Poha is another dish which I love to eat. I read the newspaper only after completing all these chores. This was my daily routine for two and a half years," revealed Modi in the interview.
Now that the prime minister has revealed his favourite dishes, poha and khichdi have become the current gastronomic super stars. Khichdi is known for the similar ways in which it is prepared everywhere in India. It must, however, be noted that the khichdi has got nothing to do with our 'kichadi' which is served as one of the dishes in the elaborate Kerala sadya (feast). Khichdi is a nutritious dish which is prepared using rice and lentils and has a porridge-like consistency. The dish looks and tastes similar to pongal, a popular rice dish in Tamil Nadu. Check out these easy recipes of khichdi and poha:
Ingredients for khichdi
½ cup rice
½ cup lentils (yellow split dal or urad dal)
1 tsp cumin
Finely chopped onion
Half inch piece of ginger (finely chopped)
1 green chilli
1 tomato
½ tbsp turmeric powder
Pinch of asafetida
Salt as required
Preparation
Wash the rice and lentils well and soak them
Heat up a pressure cooker and dry roast the cumin in it
Add the onions and cook until they turn translucent
Into it add the ginger, green chili and tomato
Add turmeric powder and asafetida and mix well
Now add the drained rice and lentils along with salt as required
Add water just enough to cover the ingredients and close the lid of the pressure cooker
Pressure cook until the cooker gives off 6-7 whistles
If there isn't enough water, add as required and mix everything well.
Ingredients for poha
1 ½ cup flattened rice (white)
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp sugar
2 potatoes (boiled)
1 onion
½ roasted peanuts
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp crushed black pepper corns
Curry leaves
1 green chilli (as per taste)
2 tsp lime juice
Preparation
Wash the flattened rice in a sieve and leave it to dry for 5 minutes
Mix turmeric powder, sugar and salt with it
Heat oil in a pan and fry the boiled potatoes
Add some salt and chilli powder while frying the potatoes
Heat oil in another pan and sauté cumin, black pepper corns, green chili, curry leaves and onion
Into it add the roasted peanuts and fry for 2 minutes (cashews could be added instead of peanuts)
Toast the fried potatoes and flattened rice until they are heated up. Do not overcook the flattened rice
Add the lemon juice and toast well
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.
