Kichdi(Bengali style) and aloo bhaja

Khichdi was the only food I used to eat in the hostel mess during my engineering days in West Bengal, Durgapur precisely..Unfortunately they served it only once in a year on Saraswathi puja's day. The combination of kichdi and aloo fry used to be so tasty that I would go and stand near the mess door much before they started serving.

I got the recipe for Kichdi sometime back from one of my Bengali friends at office and prepared it for breakfast. It came out really good and we had it with aloo bhaja. This can be had for both breakfast and lunch. The best part is my son had the kichdi with aloo bhaja without any complaints. Do checkout Venpongal recipe for the South Indian version of this delicious kichdi made of rice and moong dal.
Here is the recipe

Ingredients for the kichdi to serve 4 to 5 adults
Raw Rice: 1 cup
Yellow Moong dal: 1/2 cup
Masoor dal: 1/2 cup
Water: 5 cups
Onion: 2 to 3 medium(cut into small pieces)
Mustard Seeds: 1/2 tsp
Ginger: an inch(skin removed) and grated
Green chily: 1 medium sized
Red chili powder: 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder: 1 tsp
Jeera/cumin seeds powder: 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp
Mustard oil/Refined Oil: 1 tbsp(I used 1/2 tbsp of each)
Dry roasted jeera/cumin seeds: 1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Procedure
1. Dry roast moong dal for a minute or 2 and keep aside. Wash rice and keep aside.
2. In a large pan, add oil and fry onion and ginger.( I used the same vessel that I keep inside the cooker)
3. Once it becomes soft, add rice and both the dals and mix well.
4. Add all the four powders and salt and mix well.
5. Keep the flame in medium and stir frequently so that rice does not get stuck at the bottom.(around 5 minutes)
6. Add 5 cups of water and pressure cook till 3 whistles. I like the kichdi to be well cooked, so I generally keep in sim after 3 whistles for 5 minutes and then switch off the stove.
7. Before serving, powder dry roasted jeera(I powdered coarsely with a pestle and mortar) and mix with kichdi.
8. Serve warm with aloo bhaja.

Ingredients to make aloo bhaja/potato wedges
Potato: 4 medium sized(peeled and cut into wedges)
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp or less
Salt to taste
Vegetable Oil for frying: around 4 tbsp or more if needed

Procedure
1. Heat oil in a wide mouthed pan. Add potato wedges, as much the pan can hold.
2. Fry well on both sides and drain oil in a paper.
3. Follow the same for the rest of the wedges.
4. Add chilli powder and salt and mix well.

Serve with kichdi