Bhuni Khichuri (Bengali Gobindobhog Khichdi)

When it rains in Kolkata, every home makes khichuri. 'Bhuni' means roasted: the moong dal is dry-roasted until golden, then cooked with short-grain, buttery-scented gobindobhog rice, vegetables, ghee and warm spices. At Durga Puja it is served as bhog with labra and begun bhaja.

Video by Bong Eats on YouTube. Our recipe below is our own home-style version, written in our own words – quantities and steps may differ from the video.

• Serves 4
• Prep 15 min
• Cook 40 min
• Vegetarian · gluten-free
• Famous in West Bengal

Ingredients

• 150 g gobindobhog rice (or another short-grain aromatic rice)
• 150 g yellow moong dal
• 1 potato and ¼ cauliflower, in pieces
• 100 g green peas
• 3 tbsp ghee
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 dried red chillies
• 3 green cardamom, 3 cloves, 2 cm cinnamon
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar
• 1.2 litres hot water
• ½ tsp garam masala

Method

1. Dry-roast the moong dal in a pan until golden and nutty. Wash it together with the rice.
2. Heat 2 tbsp ghee, fry bay leaves, cumin, chillies and whole spices, then the potato and cauliflower until golden at the edges.
3. Add ginger, turmeric and chilli powder, then rice and dal and stir for 2 minutes.
4. Pour in the hot water, add salt and sugar and simmer covered for 20–25 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft. Add peas for the last 5 minutes. It should be loose, not dry.
5. Finish with garam masala and the remaining ghee. Serve hot with fried eggplant (begun bhaja), papad and pickle.

Tip: Add more hot water as needed – Bengali khichuri should flow gently on the plate.

Shop the ingredients

Everything you need for this recipe is in stock at Farmah’s – order online or pick it up at Annenstraße 41, Graz.