Baja Kichuri, Mixed veggies Mosaranna

A nutritious and a quick breakfast of Baja Kichuri is my contribution to Raaga of "The singing chef" blog who is hosting WBB this month with a theme of "Express Breakfasts". "Weekend Breakfast blogging" event is the brain child of Nandita from "Saffron Trail". Thank you for hosting Raaga, hope you like this dish! :)
Kichuri also fits for "Mixed rice", EC's event. You can take this too if you like EC!:)

Kichuri or Khichdi:
Khichdi literally means "hodge podge" of things thrown in together to make a delicious dish, a popular one dish meal in India. With two quick cooking and "easy on the tummy" dals, rice for energy and veggies, this makes a nutritious dish for Indian style breakfast and a quick one at that if you use a pressure pan or a cooker as we usually do in India. If you have prepared veggies already in the fridge night before, you can make this dish within 15 mins in the morning!
Work and school starts late in India than US, you also get ravenously hungry in the morning in India unlike here, so it's possible and practical to make a good breakfast like this for the family.
For us here in US, I make Khichdi for lunch or dinner with Yogurt salad and a pickle since everybody is out of the door by 6.30am for school and work, grabbing cereal or toast or Muffin with OJ! No work for me! :)

Baja Kichuri:
Baja Kichuri means fried/sauteed Khichdi in Bengali. I found this recipe in an old Indian magazine called "Womans Era", which I used to love for their authentic Indian recipes and subscribe regularly. Now a days, it's full of "fusion" Indian cooking most of the time, so I have stopped the subscription. Anyway, I loved the simplicity and taste of this dish. Enjoy.

You need:
1 cup Long grain rice,
1/2 cup Moong dal (yellow split Moong),
1/2 cup Masoor dal (split red Lentils),
Veggies: (Can use any mixed veggies you have in the fridge, these are what I used)
1 cup or more of Cauliflower florets,
1/4 cup each of Green peas and Carrots,
few Pearl onions,
1 peeled and cubed Potato,
Few strips of red bell pepper.
To season:
(If kids wouldn't like whole spices to bite in the dish, powder all these except Bay leaves instead if you like)
1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp ghee,
2 Bay leaves,
1" Cinnamon/Dalchini stick,
1 green chilly,(optional but for taste)
2 cloves,
2 Whole green Cardamoms, crushed lightly or 1/4 tsp powdered,
1 onion sliced,
Spices:
2 tsp Cumin seeds powder,
1/2 tsp good quality Turmeric powder,
1/2 tsp more Chilli pd,
salt and Lemon juice to taste.
To make Kichuri:
1. Heat oil and ghee in a small pressure cooker or pressure pan. Add all the seasoning ingredients one by one, fry until onions are slightly golden.
2. Add Veggies, saute for few mins. Add both dals, saute and add rice and saute for few minutes.
3. Add salt and spices to it, add enough water and mix well. I added about 3 cups or 1" above the mixture. Use your judgment when adding water for the type of rice you use, can't give you exact amount of liquid. Khichdi should be little wet, not very dry when it's done.
4. Turn down the heat to low (low heat is very important so you don't burn the bottom of the cooker or overcook the dish), cover the lid of pressure cooker and let it cook for 1 or 2 whistles or 3-5 mins after the pressure locks in.
5. Open the cooker lid when are able to and gently mix, adjust the spices and salt.

Serve with plain Yogurt. Traditionally, Baja Kichuri is served with fried Eggplants, Parval and Potato dish, pickle etc.

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EC of "Simple Indian Cooking" has announced a "Mixed or flavored rice Varieties" event this month. As Indians, we can think of literally thousands of mixed rice dishes. Lightly seasoned Mosaranna/Yogurt rice with added fresh veggies is my entry to this event, a much loved south Indian delicacy, is also one of the easiest rice salad to make at home. Enjoy EC!:)

Mosaranna or Yogurt and rice salad, Karnataka style:
Mosaru+anna literally means Yogurt and rice in Kannada, Thair Sadam in Tamil, Dadhojanam in Telugu, which is a very popular dish in South India, specially eaten on Summer days to cool you down when heat is intense and when you don't feel like eating hot food. Usually it's lightly seasoned with some sweet chopped onions added to give it a crunch as my mother makes it back home in Bangalore/Bengaluru!
For this event, I have added fresh veggies to the traditional dish to make it more colorful and interesting and made this into a light, refreshing Summer lunch. Hope you enjoy!

Tomato, Cucumber, Carrots and red bell pepper Mosaranna/Yogurt rice:

You need:
2 cups cooked and cooled Rice,
2 cups plain Yogurt,
1/2 cup milk, if needed,
1/4 cup sliced or chopped Pear or Grape or regular Tomatoes,
1/4 cup chopped Cucumber,
2-3 tbsp of fresh red bell pepper,
2 tbsp grated or chopped Carrots,
1 Garlic and 1/2" fresh ginger, (both crushed in 2 tbsp of water and squeeze to take out just the juice and discard the solids)
Few tbsps of raw sweet red onions, finely chopped, add only if you like to,
Salt, as much as you need.
To season:
2 tsp oil,
1 tsp each Mustard seeds and Chana dal,
few Curry leaves,
few cilantro leaves,
1-2 red or green chillies or 1/4 tsp Chilli flakes,
To make it:
1. Mix cooled rice, all the chopped veggies, Yogurt, salt, ginger-garlic juice, raw onion, mix ell in a big bowl.
2. Heat oil in a small pan, add all the seasoning ingredients one by one. When reddish, cool it down and add to the rice and veggie mix.
3. Mix well. Keep it covered and serve at room temperature when needed. Do not chill, rice gets stiff, doesn't tastes good!
4. As it sits, rice tends to absorb the yogurt and Masaranna gets very thick. If that happens, add some milk to it to thin it down, can add more yogurt if the dish is not already too sour. Dish should be semi-solid when you eat it.
Serve; as it is or with Lemon pickle, Mango pickle and/or with crispy papad on the side! YUMMY! :)

Here is the plain Jane Mosaranna without the bells and whistles.

Have a fun week ahead!:)