The pride of the humble Khichdi on Raksha Bandhan

Rakhi’s unbroken bond with Khichdi

Recently, at a dinner with friends, the topic of dals came up. My friend is from Andhra Pradesh and she made a toor dal pappu with sorakai or bottle gourd. The dish was very spicy and piquant, toned down with onions, garlic and green chillies. In South India, toor dal is used liberally in sambars and pappus, while in the North, udad, chana and mung dals are preferred. The fresh aroma of my friend’s dish reminded me of the delicious chana dal khichdi that my mother used to make on festivals, especially Raksha Bandhan or Rakhdi, as it is called in Punjab, and Bhai Dooj on the second day of Diwali.

The dish was prepared in a pressure cooker, but still wasn’t very mushy. You could separate each grain of the spicy basmati rice, which was coated in homemade ghee, fried cumin seeds and a pinch of asafoetida. To this day, I can’t forget the feeling of bliss when my taste buds encountered a few plump, cooked, golden, split grams of rice. How the flavor juices flowed! It was served with raita made from fresh curd, lightly spiced with sweet, licorice-flavored dill leaves from our kitchen garden.

As the elder sister, I took on the task of topping the Thali with a Katori made from Khichdi, a Katori Raita, slices of fresh coconut or copra and homemade peda sweets. On another tray, various rakhis were displayed, Cinnabar, mauli (red and white thread), and letters from my father’s sisters and letters with gifts from my mother’s brothers. We had no brother, so my sister and I, and later our daughters, took great pleasure in tying Rachdis around my father’s wrist.

My father sat cross-legged on the sofa with a white headscarf around his head while all of us, one by one, applied tilak on his forehead, fed him khichdi and received crisp notes of 10, 20 and 100 rupees from him.

We especially enjoyed reading the letters from his sisters, which were full of wishes for eternal health and immortality.. My father’s eyes filled with tears of brotherly emotion as he heard the loving words of his sisters, who were unable to visit him on the occasion. Afterwards, he sat down at his desk to write them loving letters and enclose a return gift of a check.

But what he loved most was the Chana Dal Khichdi.

Khichdi: An ancient, tasty health food

Although there is no dish in India that could be called a national dish, the humble khichdi is the closest thing to what could be called Indian comfort food. Today, khichdi is cooked all over India; a mixture of white rice, brown rice, broken rice, millet, oats and cracked wheat. It is usually seasoned with onions and garlic, sometimes mixed with cooked vegetables and served with a spoonful of clarified butter, a dash of garam masala, lemon pickle and raita.

This easily digestible meal serves as a convalescent and detox diet. It is a balanced meal with complex carbohydrates and class A proteins that contain nine essential amino acids. It is rich in fiber, calcium, magnesium and potassium. I love khichdi and can live on this one-pot meal for several days. This gentle meal from my mother’s kitchen is tasty and has helped nourish my mind and body.

The roots of the word Khichdi come from the Sanskrit word khich (lentils and rice). Although the exact timeline is difficult to determine, Khichdi is at least as old as the Vedaswhere it is mentioned as Subscribe. In the The Mahabharata (8th and 9th centuries BCE), Draupadi fed the exiled Pandavas with khichdi cooked on wood fire. Kedgeree is the British colonial version of Indian khichdi and is proudly served in England instead of the traditional porridge.

Raksha Bandhan – The Bond of Protection

Raksha Bandhan is a charming yearly Hindu ceremony that celebrates the bond between sisters and brothers. On the day of Raksha Bandhan (the bond of protection in Sanskrit), celebrated in the monsoon month of Sravan (July-August), sisters tie a talisman or amulet called Rakhi or Rakhdi around the wrists of their brothers. The brothers make a symbolic vow to protect their sisters and give them small gifts, promising to take care of them in times of need.

In West Bengal it is celebrated as Jhulan Purnimawith prayers to Lord Krishna and Radha. The Koli Community of Maharashtra celebrate Rakhi as Narali Purnima (Coconut Festival). Fishermen pray to Varuna, the Hindu god of the sea to seek his blessings. In Odisha, farmers tie an amulet around their cattle.

At home, on this Rakhi, I will prepare Chana Dal Khichdi according to my mother’s handwritten recipe, which is prepared in Vaishnavi style without onions and garlic. And I will make a rachdi to Lord Krishna. It is believed that Krishna enjoyed his friend Sudama’s khichdi with great joy. Since then, khichdi is served as bhog in all Krishna temples. I hope that this year my Krishna will accept my rakhdi and khichdi.

Khichdi Photo by Mario Raj on Unsplash

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