Khichdi (Indian rice and lentil porridge)

After an amazing New York weekend filled with fancy food, junk food, street food, and incredible drinks, all I could think about on the trip home was having khichdi. If you haven't had it before, khichdi is the epitome of Indian comfort food- healthy, tasty, easy to digest, and easy to make. Everyone has their own version of khichdi, and mine has evolved over the years to include a variety of lentils, minimal spices, and a soft porridge consistency. Sometimes I dress it up with more spices and veggies, but usually, when I'm craving comfort food, it's this simple version that comes to mind.

Ingredients

1 cup rice (I use Jasmine or Basmati)

1 cup mixed lentils (1/4 cup each of channa daal, yellow moong daal, masoor daal, white urad daal)

2 tbsp ghee (or oil if you want to make it vegan)

1/2 tbsp cumin seeds

4-5 curry leaves (or 1 large bay leaf)

4 cups water

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tsp turmeric powder

Instant Pot Directions

1. Rinse the rice and lentils thoroughly until the water is clear.

2. Turn the Instant Pot to "Saute" mode. Add the ghee and let it melt. Once it is hot, add the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Let these fry for 1 minute, until the cumin seeds turn brown. Cancel the "Saute" mode.

3. Add the rice, lentils, water, salt, and turmeric powder. Set the Instant Pot to "Low" pressure for 5 minutes. Turn the pressure valve to "Sealing." When the Instant Pot beeps that it's done, let the pressure release naturally.

4. As soon as the pin drops, the khichdi is ready to eat!

Optional- I like to finish mine off with a small bit of ghee on top.