Bilkul Online | Sunday Special | 31 Aug 2025
By Sarita Shah
Moong Dal Khichdi with Ghee Tadka 🍲🌼
A comforting, earthy dish – light on the stomach after the heavy monsoon foods, yet full of flavor.
- Ingredients:
- 1 cup yellow moong dal
- ½ cup rice
- 1 medium onion (sliced)
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 green chilies (slit)
- 1 bay leaf, 1 small cinnamon stick
- Salt to taste
- Fresh coriander for garnish
- Method:
- Wash rice and dal, then pressure cook with 3 cups water, turmeric, salt, and bay leaf.
- Once cooked, mash lightly for a soft texture.
- In a small pan, heat ghee. Add cumin seeds, cinnamon, onion, ginger paste, and green chilies.
- Pour this tadka over the khichdi, mix gently.
- Garnish with coriander and serve hot with papad, pickle, or kadhi.
👉 A soothing bowl of khichdi is ideal as monsoon ends – balancing warmth, comfort, and nutrition.
Gud (Jaggery) Coconut Kheer 🥥🍯
A traditional South-Indian-inspired kheer, lightly sweetened with jaggery instead of sugar — earthy and aromatic, perfect for the season shift.
- Ingredients:
- ½ cup grated coconut (fresh or desiccated)
- ½ cup jaggery (grated or powdered)
- ½ cup rice (small-grain works best)
- 3 cups full cream milk
- 3–4 green cardamoms (crushed)
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 10–12 cashews
- 8–10 raisins
- Method:
- Wash and soak rice for 30 minutes. Cook with 2 cups milk until soft.
- Add grated coconut and stir well.
- In another pan, melt jaggery with ¼ cup water, strain to remove impurities.
- Add the jaggery syrup slowly into the cooked rice-coconut mixture (keep flame low so milk doesn’t curdle).
- Add cardamom for aroma.
- In a small tadka pan, fry cashews and raisins in ghee, pour into the kheer.
Serve warm.