Raja Birbal, the legendary wit with rapier sharp repartee, one of Akbar's priceless nine gems, is also known as the 'father' of extremely slow cooking khichadi. He may have had his reasons for adopting weird culinary means to communicate with his sovereign but the fact of the matter is that in the Mughal period, khichadi was considered a delicacy and vied with pulav and biryani.
Akbar had it served to Prince Salim when he returned victorious from a campaign in Gujarat. Of course, in the Imperial dastarkhwan, it was given a name to match the occasion: lazizaan (the delicious). It became Jehangir's favourite. Many Mughal miniatures depict cooks at work in the royal kitchens and it is reasonable to assume that one of the pots is dedicated to laziza.
How the mighty khichadi has fallen. Once meriting mention in court chronicles of Al-Baruni and Abul Fazal, it is now synonymous with an insipid gruel, to be prescribed for an upset stomach. Don't despair, there is much more to the khichadi than the runny rice-husked moong daal mixture.
Makar Sankranti in the Ganga-Jamuna delta is ritually celebrated with maash (un-husked whole urad lentils) ki khichadi. Arhar ki khichadi is enjoyed all the year round, at times with haldi gosht in thin gravy.
In Hyderabad, khichadi paired with keema is a popular traditional breakfast and in Bengal, it is a spicy delight during Kali Puja. In Rajathan and Gujarat, khichadi prepared with bajra (millets) is considered a delicacy. And, what is pongal in Tamil Nadu if not a flavourful version of kshirika mentioned in ancient ayurvedic texts?
Long, long ago when Hinglish hadn't yet vanquished the Rashtrabhasha, one frequently heard the rhymed wisdom, 'Khichadi ke chaar yaar – dahi, papad, ghee, achaar.' (Khichadi has four bum-chums – yoghurt, papad, ghee and pickles). Sometimes, papad was replaced with muli (horse radish). Those of us who don't belong to the post-globalization generation still pine for a well-made khichadi when served a pretentious but indifferently made biryani and pulav.
The Hobson-Jobson dictionary documents Kedgree, a pish-pash of left-overs served for breakfast. In Hindi, a motley crowd is bemel khichadi, hence a coalition government is called khichadi sarkar!
Akbar had it served to Prince Salim when he returned victorious from a campaign in Gujarat. Of course, in the Imperial dastarkhwan, it was given a name to match the occasion: lazizaan (the delicious). It became Jehangir's favourite. Many Mughal miniatures depict cooks at work in the royal kitchens and it is reasonable to assume that one of the pots is dedicated to laziza.
How the mighty khichadi has fallen. Once meriting mention in court chronicles of Al-Baruni and Abul Fazal, it is now synonymous with an insipid gruel, to be prescribed for an upset stomach. Don't despair, there is much more to the khichadi than the runny rice-husked moong daal mixture.
Makar Sankranti in the Ganga-Jamuna delta is ritually celebrated with maash (un-husked whole urad lentils) ki khichadi. Arhar ki khichadi is enjoyed all the year round, at times with haldi gosht in thin gravy.
In Hyderabad, khichadi paired with keema is a popular traditional breakfast and in Bengal, it is a spicy delight during Kali Puja. In Rajathan and Gujarat, khichadi prepared with bajra (millets) is considered a delicacy. And, what is pongal in Tamil Nadu if not a flavourful version of kshirika mentioned in ancient ayurvedic texts?
Long, long ago when Hinglish hadn't yet vanquished the Rashtrabhasha, one frequently heard the rhymed wisdom, 'Khichadi ke chaar yaar – dahi, papad, ghee, achaar.' (Khichadi has four bum-chums – yoghurt, papad, ghee and pickles). Sometimes, papad was replaced with muli (horse radish). Those of us who don't belong to the post-globalization generation still pine for a well-made khichadi when served a pretentious but indifferently made biryani and pulav.
The Hobson-Jobson dictionary documents Kedgree, a pish-pash of left-overs served for breakfast. In Hindi, a motley crowd is bemel khichadi, hence a coalition government is called khichadi sarkar!
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