Monday, April 15, 2013

kuttu ki khichdi lauki tamatar ke saath | buckwheat khichdi with bottle gourd and tomatoes...


Kuttu ki khichdi is more like a stew that you can cook in about 20 minutes if all the vegetables are chopped. So technically it may be a buckwheat and bottle gourd stew with some bits of paneer for protein in the meal. A khichdi should have a grain and a lentil or more than one grain and lentils if we talk about authentic khichdi, but buckwheat groats can become almost khichdi like in consistency when cooked with a little extra water. Though it cooks like a pilaf as well.

Anyways, this dish is more like a one pot stew that can make a complete meal. We had it with a fish fry on the side as we are not into Navratri fasting anymore, but a large serving of raita or buttermilk will complete this meal if you are fasting.

You can use any gourd family vegetables to make this stew, sponge gourd and ridge gourd work well and zucchini also can be used for a good texture and mild taste that does not mask the nutty flavors of buckwheat. I used a soft bottle gourd of the round variety and some home grown tomatoes..



Buckwheat groats can be cooked with just the double amount of water volume wise to cook like pilaf and if the cooking liquid is more, the texture of the resultant dish is more risotto or stew like.



ingredients...
(2 meal servings with a side dish or raita)

chopped bottle gourd 5 cups (400 gm)
chopped ripe tomatoes 1.5 cup (150 gm)
finely chopped root ginger 1 tbsp
whole dry red chilly one broken
finely chopped green chilies to taste
curry powder (everyday curry powder) 1 tsp
turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
salt and pepper to taste
ghee 1.5 tbsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp

buckwheat groats 3/4 cup
paneer 100 gm chopped in small cubes


procedure...

Heat ghee in a pressure cooker pan (or a normal stockpot type pan) and tip in the cumin seeds. Let the cumin splutter before you add the red chilly broken and then the chopped ginger. Once cooked and fragrant, add the powdered spices and immediately add the chopped tomatoes and salt to taste. Cook this mixture till the tomatoes cook well and look like a chunky sauce.

Add the chopped bottle gourd (lauki), toss well and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Stirring it all once in a while. Add 2 cups of water and let it come to a boil. 

Add the buckwheat groats, mix well and cover the lid and pressure cook till the first whistle  If cooking in a stock pot, let it simmer covered till the buckwheat gets cooked. Add water if required to adjust consistency.

Add the cubed paneer and let it come a boil once again. Or just mix and cover if you want the khichdi  on the dry side.

Add finely chopped green chilies and coriander leaves if using.



Serve hot with raita or buttermilk on the side. The meal might look drab in color but the flavors are really good. Use the vegetable of your choice if you don't like bottle gourd but this meal becomes a detox type meal with bottle gourd used. Zucchini or pointed gourd (parval) would also be the same but any other vegetables would change the temperament of the meal a little.

Not to worry, all vegetables have their own benefits, so go ahead and cook this with spinach or a mix of bell peppers if you wish. Just take care not to mask buckwheat if you like the nuttiness of buckwheat.

This could be a daily meal during Navratri with changed vegetables and seasoning every day. Do let me know if you try this recipe.

Cheers and wishing you all a wonderful Hindu new year...


8 comments:

  1. you are so talented Sangeeta. Completely love the way you chopped that gourd. Shows your artistic bent of mind!!

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    1. ha hah Anita..this way it's very convenient actually..and the BG is looking beautiful naturally, I didn't do anything to it.
      So sweet of you to see it as my talent :-)
      Love you.

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  2. I love buckwheat, it's such a healthy and tasty food. Of course, probably my favourite vrat dish made from it is kuttu ki poori, which isn't quite so healthy! This looks much better for me though :) I sometimes make an upma-type dish out of buckwheat, but have not tried it in stew. By the way, I find that if you dry roast the buckwheat before using it in dishes, it adds a really delicious nutty flavour.

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    1. Yes Jenny, dry roasting makes it nuttier. I do that for my pilaf kind of recipes..
      Glad you liked it :-)

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  3. We had this khichdi for dinner yesterday, and it was superliciously delicious :). Initially, I was little skeptical as it only had lauki but still gave it a shot (since it was your recipe :)). Am sure will be making it on regular days too....:) I used combo of lauki and raw papaya as I had very little lauki with me, and roasted paneer in little ghee since it was not home made...

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    1. Glad you liked the recipe Puja. We both love it and eat it even if we are not fasting. Availability of buckwheat during navratri is great for this treat but I wish it was available freely round the year.
      Thanks for the sweet comment.

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