Home About Us Vision Right to Food & Right to Life Photos How We Started Our Recipe HHH Log News Updates Destitute Women Sunstainable Communities The Need in Siliguri Siliguri Project Description Siliguri Projected Budget Siliguri Related Information The Need in Hyderabad Hyderabad Project Description Hyderabad Project Budget Future Expansion Appeal How You Can Help Contact Us Home Our Recipe     Our Recipe for Five Star Khichree Here is our Hearts Healing Hunger recipe for making Five Star Khichree to feed the hungry everywhere. This is not the regular khichree that you will find anywhere in India. This is Five Star Khichree, with far more varieties of spices, more varieties of beans, and as funds permit, luxurious and nourishing additions such as coconut, powdered milk, peanut butter, raisins and ghee. All will love this khichree. It is food for the gods!   Ingredients 5 lbs dried beans (any kind, including garbanzo, kidney, toor and mung dals. If funds permit, amount of beans can be increased up to 10 lbs. 10 lbs vegetables (three or four varieties, generally always to include 2 lbs potatoes and 2 lbs cabbage, which keeps the rice moist) 20 cups rice (the type of rice you choose can be any kind you like, and more importantly, what your budget can afford. We are presently using rice at 20 Rs per kilo grown locally in neighbouring Jalpaiguri District.)   1 large pot measuring 18” in diameter and 12” in depth 1 lb oil 1 cup bay leaves 1 cup curry leaves   ¼ cup broken pieces cinnamon sticks 1 heaping soup spoon cloves 1 heaping spoon cardamom seeds 1 heaping soup spoon black pepper corns   2 heaping soup spoons dry coriander seeds 2 heaping soup spoons cumin seeds 2 heaping soup spoons panch puran (available in Indian stores) 1 heaping soup spoon fenugreek seeds 2 heaping soup spoons poppy seeds 2 heaping soup spoons white sesame seeds   1 lb green chilies, cut in half longitudinally ¼ cup fresh ginger, grated   2 heaping soup spoons coriander powder 2 heaping soup spoons cumin powder 2 heaping soup spoons black pepper 2 heaping soup spoons turmeric powder 1 teaspoon asafetida or hing 1–1½ cups salt 1 cup tamarind pulp Water to fill pot to the brim   Optional Items for Extra Nourishment 1 cup peanut butter 1 heaping cup powdered milk 1 heaping cup desiccated coconut 1 cup ghee or butter 1 cup golden raisins   Method Soak beans such as garbanzo, kidney, black-eyed pea, navy, etc. overnight in water with 1 tsp baking soda added. In the morning drain off the water, fill pot with fresh water, and cook beans on stove for 1 hour, or use pressure cooker. When tender, keep aside. If using toor or mung dal, no prior soaking is required. Prepare vegetables by washing, peeling and chopping into bite-sized pieces. If skin can be eaten, such as on potatoes and sweet potatoes, then scrub thoroughly with brush while washing. Preparing vegetables can be done the day before and vegetables kept in the fridge. If cooking three times a week this is desirable to reduce amount of work on any one day. When ready to start cooking, wash rice in 2-3 changes of water until water is clean. Keep aside. Measure out all whole spices and keep on a plate. Measure out all spice powders and keep on a separate plate along with salt. Put large pot on stove and add l lb oil. When it is hot, add bay leaves and fry, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add fresh curry leaves and fry until they splutter and pop. Then add cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom and black pepper. Stir-fry 2 minutes or until cinnamon has expanded and a beautiful aroma comes from the pot. Add coriander and cumin seeds, panch puran, fenugreek, poppy and sesame seeds and stir-fry 2 minutes until spices are hot and sizzling and a still more beautiful aroma comes from the pot. Add green chilies and grated ginger and stir 1 minute. Add coriander, cumin, black pepper and turmeric powders along with asafetida and salt. Stir-fry again 1 minute until powders are bubbling and smelling oh so yummy! To prevent any possibility of spices burning, in addition to adding more taste and nutrition to your khichree, add now the tamarind pulp and stir 15 seconds. Add chopped vegetables, stir and add 2-3 cups of water, again to prevent any chance of burning. At this point, if any luxury items are available, such as peanut butter, powdered milk, coconut, ghee or raisins, any or all of these should be added and mixed in nicely. The reason is to provide further nourishment to the people you feed. Add rice and mix everything together. Then fill pot to the very brim with water and mix again - carefully to prevent spilling. From this point onwards the khichree will take about 1 hour to cook. It requires constant supervision. If the stove flame is much smaller than the pot, as our stove is, the khichree needs frequent stirring to make sure that all the rice is cooked properly until tender. The best strategy at this point is to pull up a chair and sit next to the pot, stirring at frequent intervals. Gradually the rice and vegetables will cook and water will be absorbed. The critical point is to make sure that all the rice has become soft and tender. Once water is absorbed and rice is tender, your khichree is done and it’s time to go out and feed the people!       © 2010. Hearts Healing Hunger.