At the World Food India 2017 event, celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor stirred off that steamy Khichdi with a boat-paddle sized spoon so that India booked a Guinness World Record of cooking 918 kg khichdi.
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Described as a humble comfort food, Khichdi got itself a hell lot of glam in the gourmet food fare. Irony? Could be, but this dish was selected as Brand India food, by the Ministry of Food Processing and organisers of World Food India event – for quite some legitimate reasons. This one-pot rice and lentil dish has been relished in every kitchen for its simplicity and adaptability. From rural homes to fine dining kitchens of India, this dish has easily moulded itself into the aura of the place where it is being served – without losing its essence of being a comfort food for all.
Historically, Khichdi is the only staple food that has remained unchanged since nearly 600 years and was being regularly consumed by the peasants of pre-historic India, the common man and even by the emperors of Mughal era. In fact, a 17th century text called Khulasat-i-Makulat u Mashrubat described how khichdi was adapted in regal Mughal kitchens. Here it is – “Fry garlic, onion rings, cinnamon and cumin. Remove the mixture from the fire and set it aside. Fry mung dal in ghee. Add rice and mix well. Add the spice mixture along with ginger and hot water. Finally add ghee and slow cook to finish.” This is a recipe found in one of the cookbooks of Aurangzeb’s era and one of the Mughal emperors was so fond of it that he gave the dish, his own name – Alamgiri Khichdi.
Today, there are thousands of khichdi variants you can find – there are fusions like black olive khichdi, rosemary chili tadka khichdi, broccoli khichdi and even a lobster khichdi. The dish is so versatile that it can be mixed with almost anything and it would still taste great, and will be easy on your stomach. So that is why the historic Gujarat ki Khichdi was flavoured with the spicy tadka of Guinness World Records – it is literally gold in a pot.
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