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...

Vrat ka khana | kuttu ki tikki or buckwheat savory pancakes

Another fasting recipe for navaratra brings me here today, the kuttu ki tikki or savory pancakes with buckwheat flour and grated zucchini(or use any gourds). Kuttu or Buckwheat is a grain which is a popular health food all over the world, this is the grain behind soba noodles and they can be cooked whole to make khichri or tahiri. However this time I could not get hold of any whole buckwheat and had to make do with this flour which is called kuttu ka atta (buckwheat flour)......

Most of the people make kuttu ki poori or kuttu ke pakore for fasting. I love those preparations too but they are better to be had occasionally. When on a nine day fast you need to have lighter meals, kuttu ki tikki (savory pancakes) will be a better option for you too.

I have been buying whole buckwheat as it gets powdered very easily in the mixie, the taste of the freshly ground buckwheat flour is far more superior that the store bought kuttu ka atta. I try and get whole buckwheat if possible and get it powdered freshly whenever required.

Another interesting fact is that the flour gets quite sticky when mixed with water and makes a very adhesive batter, needless to say it is easier to spread on the pan and it easily incorporates any grated veggies.

For this simple recipe I grated a small yellow zucchini and a small green on. I used zucchini as I had plenty of them from here, grated bottle guard, pumpkin or grated cabbage work very well too, and if you are not fasting try using chopped onions and make a batter with curds instead of water. That makes it taste almost like a vada. Will share that recipe sometime soon.

I added grated ginger and finely chopped green chillies to taste and a handful of chopped coriander leaves, salt n pepper to season and just a little water (curds can be used too) to make a thick batter, the grated vegetables release water after adding salt so be careful while adding water...

Heat a pan with a little ghee and shallow fry like pancakes. Drop spoonfuls over the pan and flip when one side is cooked. Let it brown on the other side too and serve hot with any green chutney. Mint or coriander chutney is great with it.

This pancake tastes really good with a cucumber raita or tempered yogurt. Even a coconut chutney makes a nice pairing with it. You see it is a versatile recipe, can be adapted to many versions with many vegetables and many accompaniments.

Cheers for fasting.........