When Indian and Italian comfort foods collide, amazing things happen.
Kichdi is a classic, hearty Indian dish comprised of pressure cooked split peas and rice. From the moment we were introduced to arancini in Italy, this was meant to be.
INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
1/2 cup basmati rice, soaked in water for 30 minutes
1/2 cup green split peas (moong dal), soaked in water 30 minutes
1.5 cups water
1 tsp cumin seeds (optional)
1 tsp mustard seeds (optional)
1.5 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1 tsp garam masala (optional)
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil (or equivalent)
1 tbsp ghee (optional, but preferred)
Traditional bread crumbs
Oil for frying
STEPS FOR KICHDI:
Add oil to instant pot on sauté setting
When oil is hot, add mustard and cumin seeds (optional, preferred by us)
Once fragrant, switch instant pot to “keep warm” setting
Add soaked/drained rice and split peas and mix
Add water, turmeric, salt, garam masala, red chili powder and combine
Set IP to “high pressure” for 10 minutes, natural pressure release
Add hot water if on the dry side, if needed
Add ghee and combine
Adjust salt as needed
STEPS FOR ARANCINI:
Chill the kichdi in the fridge for at least an hour, until its cold
Roll into balls, roughly the size of pool table balls
Optional: stuff with mozzarella, paneer (although this won’t melt well), achar/pickle, hot peppers, whatever you want and re-form into a ball
Roll in traditional bread crumbs
Shallow or deep fry until golden brown
(While an egg dip is typically used, we didn’t find it necessary)
Ours is pictured on a traditional ginger-garlic onion and tomato curry – use your imagination, go HAM! But since this is a vegetarian dish, the ham should probs be seitan.
Time saving tip:
If you can’t wait to soak the rice/peas, rinse them thoroughly and add more water, closer to 2 cups. In our experience, if it’s dry, adding hot water is easier than trying to salvage mush.
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