Mung bean - Rice Khichu (Porridge-style)

I hope everyone is doing okay and staying safe through the COVID-19 pandemic. Week 3 of staying home... and my Instant Pot is getting more use than ever. I've made so many batches of khichu during the past 3 weeks, that I figured it's finally time to post my favorite version. Below is a recipe for green mung bean khichu, modified to be a one pot dish that's more of a porridge than a steamed dumpling. If you don't have green mung bean flour or rice flour, you can use a high power blender like a Vitamix to grind the whole mung beans and/or rice into a fine powder.

Ingredients

3/4 cup rice flour

3/4 cup green mung bean flour

4 cups water

1 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp sesame seeds

6 oz spinach, chopped (fresh or frozen will work in this recipe)

2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

1.5 tsp sea salt

1 tsp finely chopped green chili, or 1/2 tsp red chili powder

1/4 tsp kharo

Optional for serving: ghee, oil, butter, red chili powder

Instant Pot Directions

Important Note: For this recipe, I use the pot-in-pot method and a 6-quart instant pot. If you have the 3-quart Instant Pot, you can halve the quantities in this recipe and follow the same cooking times and method. It has NOT worked well when I cooked it directly in the Instant Pot pot.

1. Find a pot ("inside pot") that that holds at least 8 cups and fits inside the pot that came with the Instant Pot ("Instant Pot pot").

2. Put the rice flour and mung bean flour in the inside pot. Stir 1 cup of water into the flours until you get a smooth paste. Once you get a smooth paste, add the remaining water and mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well until there are no big lumps of flour.

3. Place a trivet on the bottom of the Instant Pot pot. Add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot pot. This is really important since the khichu won't cook properly without water in the Instant Pot pot. Put the inside pot on the trivet and close the Instant Pot lid.

4. Set the Instant Pot to “High” pressure for 20 minutes. Turn the pressure valve to “Sealing” and start the Instant Pot. When the Instant Pot beeps that it’s done, let the pressure release naturally.

5. As it cooks, the khichu will separate into a thick layer on the bottom and a watery layer on top. This is totally normal. Take the inside pot out, and use an immersion blender to mix the thick and thin parts together. The final consistency should be a thick, uniform porridge.

6. Serve the khichu hot.

Optional: you can top the hot khichu with a dollop of ghee (my favorite!), butter, or oil and red chili powder. Any uneaten khichu can be stored in the fridge or frozen. Reheat it in the microwave by covering the bowl you are heating it in with a wet napkin.