Rava Kichadi kichidi with peanut chutney

Rava Kichadi kichidi with peanut chutney

Rava Kichadi happens to be one of my favorite breakfast or an evening tiffin to be enjoyed with dollops of ghee.As I have grown up used to this recipe, I dislike it when people pass off a humble rava upma with vegetables as rava khichdi. The difference between a rava khichdi and the upma is of course the addition of vegetables plus the the khichdi does not have dals added to the tempering unlike the upma and also it has other whole spices unlike the upma.I made Peanut Chutney for this from good friend and well wisher Sridurga G

Preparation Time: 15min
Cooking Time: 15min
Serves: 2 
Shelf life:1day
Serving Suggestion:Peanut Chutney by Sridurga G . I have mentioned the procedure below.

Ingredients:

• Rava (semolina/Suji) - 1 cup
• Onion - 1
• Carrot, small - 1
• Potato, small - 1
• Fresh peas - 1/4 cup
• Ginger - 1 inch piece
• Green chili - 3
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Cloves - 2
• Cardamom - 1
• Cinnamon stick - 1 inch piece
• Bay leaf - 1
• Curry leaf - 1 sprig
• Water - 3 cups
• Salt - to taste
• Ghee (clarified butter) - 1 tbsp (optional)
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Instructions:

1. Chop the onions finely. Thinly slice the potatoes and carrots.
2. Microwave carrots, potatoes, green peas at high for 2 minutes. You can also blanch them. Keep aside.
3. Grind both green chili and ginger without adding any water and keep aside.
4. Add oil to the pan. Add cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf and sauté till you get the aroma.
5. Add mustard seeds and let them crackle. Now add onions, curry leaves and sauté till the onions turn pink.
6. Add the ground ginger and chili paste, mix well and cook for a minute.
7. Add rava, turmeric powder, salt and keep sautéing over low flame for 2-3 minutes. The rava will get roasted well.
8. Raise the flame to full. Add the blanched vegetables and pour the water with one hand into the rava mixture while mixing with a spatula with the other hand.
9. Mix well. You can see the khichdi thickening while the water starts to bubble around. Simmer the flame now. Close with a lid a let it cook for 4-5 minutes.
10. Switch off stove and keep the khichdi closed with a lid so that the khichdi gets further cooked in the heat and it will become grainy and separate instead of being mushy.
11. You can add another tbsp of ghee, roasted cashews and mix well before serving the hot khichdi which is optional.
    
    PEANUT CHUTNEY
    
    Ingredients:
     1 cup ground nuts 
    3 to 4 green chillies (as per taste)
    2 red chillies
    few curry leaves
    half lemon size tamarind ball
    1 tea spoon rai (mustard seeds)
    1 tea spoon jeera
    2 tea spoons chana dal
    1 tea spoon salt (as per taste)
    half tea spoon sugar (optional)
    2 to 3 tea spoons oil
    
    METHOD 

    1.Roast ground nuts without oil in a medium flame to golden color.  Cool and remove the skin.  2.Keep it aside. Heat 2 tea spoons of oil in a pan.  Fry half tea spoon rai, 1 tspn jeera, urad dal and chana dal until the chana dal turns golden color.  Add green chillies fry for a while and switch off the flame.

    3.Let the ingredients cool.  Grind them along with the roasted groundnuts, tamarind, salt and sugar adding sufficient water to paste.  (chutney consistency)

    4.Heat a tea spoon of oil in the pan.  Add few mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves.  When the mustard seed starts spluttering, switch off the flame and add the thadka to the chutney.