These days everyone is looking for ways to get a little bit of their time back, especially when it comes to weeknight cooking. So it’s no surprise why appliances like the Instant Pot and rice cookers are so popular since they allow people to cut their time in the kitchen while still creating delicious meals everyone will love. But sometimes home cooks are still in need of a little help to get the creative juices flowing. Enter: The 100 Best Curries for Your Instant Pot by Fun FOOD Frolic founder Hina Gurjal.
In ‘The 100 Best Curries for Your Instant Pot’ banker-turned food blogger, Hina Gurjal has carefully curated the all-time tastiest, most essential curries around, all easily cooked in a fraction of the time thanks to the Instant Pot. From creamy, restaurant-style Garlicky Butternut Squash Dal to innovative recipes featuring flavor fusion profiles like the Parsi-Style Chicken and Apricot Curry to vegetarian-friendly dishes like Pineapple Curry and Kale Mushroom Matar Malai, readers are guaranteed to find something special for every appetite.
Here’s a favourite vegetarian recipe:
Lehsuni Palak Khichdi: Garlicky Rice, Yellow Moong Bean and Spinach Porridge
Khichdi is a popular casserole from the Indian subcontinent. A combination of lentils and vegetables are cooked with rice in one pot to create a wholesome and delicious vegetarian dish. From the food memoirs of Mughal emperors to the British kedgeree, one can find a lot of interesting tales about the khichdi. This recipe is for a spinach and garlic–flavored moong bean and rice khichdi that is a comforting bowl of green goodness. If you are a garlic lover like me, then this khichdi will soon become your favorite curried meal.
Serves 2
Vegetarian, Gluten Free
1 cup (200 g) uncooked short-grain white rice
⅓ cup (67 g) dried yellow moong beans
4¼ cups (1 L) water, divided
2 cups (60 g) spinach leaves
1 green chile, such as jalapeño, Thai green chile or serrano pepper, chopped
1 tbsp (5 g) chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic
4 tbsp (55 g) ghee
2 dried red chiles
1 tbsp (10 g) sliced garlic
¼ tsp asafetida
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ cup (80 g) finely chopped red onion
1 tsp salt
½ tsp red chili powder
Combine the rice and moong beans. Rinse until the water runs clear. Soak in water for 15 minutes.
Bring 2 cups (480 ml) of water to a boil in the Instant Pot. Add the spinach leaves. Cook for 1 minute. Transfer the leaves to a blender along with the green chile, ginger and garlic cloves. Blend into a smooth paste. Set aside. Discard the water from the Instant Pot.
Set the sauté mode of the Instant Pot for 10 minutes.
Add the ghee to the inner pot. Once the ghee is hot, add the dried red chiles, sliced garlic, asafetida and cumin seeds, and fry for 50 seconds. Add the red onion and fry until lightly golden.
Drain all the water from the soaked rice and moong beans. Add to the pot. Sauté until the timer goes off. Add the remaining 2¼ cups (540 ml) of water, salt and red chili powder, and mix. Close the lid. Set the steam valve to the sealing position. Pressure cook at high pressure for 6 minutes. Wait for the natural release of steam.
Add the spinach puree to the khichdi. Stir to combine. Cover the pot with the glass lid and let it rest for 5 minutes. Serve the khichdi warm.
Credit:
Reprinted with permission from The 100 Best Curries for Your Instant Pot by Hina Gujral. Page Street Publishing Co. 2022. Photo credit: Hina Gujral.
