Bengali Mung Dal Kichuri (Kitchari)

Serve this on a rainy day with Begali Begun Bhaja

Mung Dal Kichuri (Kichri recipe)

Serves : 3
Ingredients

0.25 cup yellow split mung dal
0.25 cup white basmati rice
3-4 fingerling potatoes scrubbed  and quartered or 1 large Yukon Gold or a red potato peeled and diced into 0.5 in pieces
1 carrot peeled and cut cross wise into 0.25 in pieces
0.5 cup shelled fresh english peas or frozen peas
0.25 cup cashew
1 medium tomato quartered
2 tbsp ghee - maybe substituted with 2 tbsp of high quality organic sunflower seed oil.
1tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
1tsp ground coriander
0.5 in piece of fresh ginger grated or minced
1 whole dried cayenne pepper (optional)
1 bayleaf
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sugar (optional)

Cooking steps:

1. Rinse and drain the mung dal and rice in 3-4 changes of cold water to remove the starch from the surface.
2. Add the ghee to a 4 quart happy bottomed sauce pan and heat it under medium heat until the ghee melts and just starts to smoke.
3. Add the bay leaf, cayenne pepper (whole) swirl around for 30 secs.
4. Add the whole cumin seeds and use a metal spatula to stir  the seeds for  30s.
5. Add the ground coriander and stir it with the spatula for 15 s and add the ginger and stir for approx. a minute or until the ginger starts to turn golden
6. Add the cashews and stir for 30 s.
7. Add the turmeric and the chopped tomatoes and periodically stir (~3-5 min) until the tomato falls apart.
8. Add the potatoes, carrots, fresh peas and stir for ~ 5 minutes.  If you are using frozen peas add the peas at the end of the 5 minutes and stir for an additional 3-5 minutes
9. Add the drained rice and dal, salt,sugar and stir for 3-5 minutes until the ingredients are well mixed together and coated with the spices
10. Add 5 cups of cold filtered water, increase heat and bring it  to a rolling boil
11. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 30-45 minutes depending on altitude and the freshness of the mung dal.  At the finished stage, the dal should completely disintegrate. You may want to check for every 15-20 minutes.
12. Once done, leave the kichuri covered for another 15 minutes

Serve hot -  normally  the kichuri will be drizzled with melted ghee (optional) on top.

Note - If using a pressure cooker, add only 4 cups of water and cook for approximately 10 minutes under medium heat and let it sit under pressure for another 15 minutes. You can add spinach in step 9 - but the spinach will turn into mush and will impart a greenish color as opposed to a bright yellow.