Khichdi Prasadam in Donna (Iskcon Bangalore)

''Khichdi'' or ''khichri'' (, , , , Odia: ଖେଚୁଡି) is a dish in

South Asian cuisine South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

made of rice and

lentil The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest pro ...

s (''

dal In Indian cuisine, ''dal'' (also spelled ''daal'' or ''dhal''; pronunciation: , Hindi: दाल, Urdu: ) are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pu ...

'') with numerous variations. Variations include ''bajra'' and mung ''dal'' ''khichri''. In

Indian culture Indian culture is the heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, artifacts and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse India. The term al ...

, in several regions, especially in the northern areas, it is considered one of the first solid foods that babies eat. See ''MasterChef'' (American season 6) ''Khichri'' is a salty porridge. ''Dalia'' is another similar sweet porridge made from the crushed wheat or barley mixed with sugar and milk.

Etymology and spelling

The word ''Khichdī'' is derived from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

', a dish of rice and legumes. Some divergence of transliteration may be noted in the third consonant in the word ''khicṛī''. The sound is the

retroflex flap The voiced retroflex flap is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r`. Features Features of the voice ...

, which is written in

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

with the

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...

letter ⟨⟩, and in

Urdu script The Urdu alphabet (), is the right-to-left alphabet used for Urdu. It is a modification of the Persian script, which is itself a derivative of the Arabic script. The Urdu alphabet has up to 39 or 40 distinct letters with no distinct letter c ...

with the

Perso-Arabic The Persian alphabet ( fa, الفبای فارسی, Alefbâye Fârsi) is a writing system that is a version of the Arabic script used for the Persian language spoken in Iran ( Western Persian) and Afghanistan (Dari Persian) since the 7th cen ...

letter ⟨⟩. In

Hindustani phonology Hindustani language, Hindustani is the ''lingua franca'' of northern India and Pakistan, and through its two standardized Register (sociolinguistics), registers, Hindi and Urdu, a co-official language of India and co-official and national langua ...

, the etymological origin of the retroflex flap was when it occurred between vowels. Hence in Devanagari the letter ⟨⟩, representing , was adapted to write by adding a diacritic under it. In Urdu script, the phonological quality of the flap was represented by adapting the letter ⟨⟩, representing , with a diacritic added above it to indicate the retroflex quality. The occurrence of this consonant in the word has given rise to two alternative spellings in English: ''khichri'', which reflects its phonology, and ''khichdi'', which reflects its etymology.

History

The Greek king Seleucus during his campaign in India (305-303 BC), mentioned that rice with pulses is very popular among people of the Indian subcontinent. Strabo also notes that Indian food mainly consisted of rice porridge and a beverage made of rice, presently called Arak. The Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta mentions ''khichdi'' as a dish in India composed of rice and mung beans, during his stay around 1350. ''khichdi'' is described in the writings of Afanasiy Nikitin, a Russian adventurer who travelled to the Indian subcontinent in the 15th century. It was very popular with the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, especially Jahangir. '' Ain-i-Akbari'', a 16th-century document, written by

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Akbar's vizier, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, mentions the recipe for ''khichdi'', which gives seven variations. There is an anecdotal story featuring Akbar,

Birbal Birbal (; born Mahesh Das; 1528 16 February 1586), or Raja Birbal, was a Saraswat Hindu Bhatt Brahmin advisor and main commander (''Mukhya Senapati'') of army in the court of the Mughal emperor, Akbar. He is mostly known in the Indian subcon ...

and khichdi. The Anglo-Indian dish Kedgeree is thought to derive from khichri.Anne Chotzinoff Grossman and Lisa Grossman Thomas (1997) ''Lobscouse and Spotted Dog; Which It's a Gastronomic Companion to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels'', Norton, p. 12.

Regional variations

Khichdi is a very popular dish across the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, including in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

also. The dish is widely prepared in many Indian states, such as

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, and Maharashtra. Vegetables such as cauliflower, potato, and green peas are commonly added.

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, mainly from north/northwest, who avoid eating grains during fasting, eat Sabudana khichri made from

sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is c ...

.Sean Williams, 2015
"The Ethnomusicologists' Cookbook, Volume II: Complete Meals from around the world"

Routledge Taylor & Francis group Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Kin ...

, page 37.Uma Aggarwal, 2009
"The Exquisite World of Indian Cuisine"
Allied Publications, page 106. In the southern part of India, however, the word ''khichri'' is not that popular. While people of Tamil Nadu and Andhra regions cook ''Pongal,'' and Kannadigas prepare ' which is

mung dal The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract G ...

khichdi and '','' a pigeon pea variation with vegetables, Keralites have no similar dish. Khichdi was the inspiration for

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The '' Oxford English ...

kedgeree and was said to be related to the

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

koshary Koshary, kushari or koshari ( arz, كشري ) is Egypt's national dish and a widely popular street food. A traditional Egyptian staple, mixing pasta, rice and brown lentils, and topped with a zesty tomato sauce, garlic vinegar and garnished wi ...

, though the latter has more

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

influence. ''Khichdi'' is a popular traditional staple in Haryana, specially in the rural areas. ''Haryanvi khichdi'' is made from pearl millet and mung ''dal'' (split mung bean) pounded in mortar (''unkhal''), and often eaten by mixing with warm ''ghee'' or ''

lassi Lassi () is a regional name for buttermilk, the traditional dahi (yogurt)–based drink, consumed in the South Asian region. Lassi is a blend of yogurt, water, spices, and sometimes fruit. Salty lassi is similar to doogh, while modern sweet l ...

'', or even yogurt.1990
"Haryana District Gazetteers: Sonipat"

Government of Haryana The Government of Haryana, also known as the State Government of Haryana, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Haryana and its 22 districts. It consists of an executive, ceremonially led ...

publication, Page 83. 1912
"Haryana District Gazetteers: Delhi district gazetteer"

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

Gazetteers Organisation, Page 90.1987
"Haryana District Gazetteers: Hisar"

publication, Page 65.Charmaine O' Brien, 2013
"The Penguin Food Guide to India"

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.''jowar'' is also mixed with ''bajra'' and ''mung dal''. ''Khichri'' is salty and ''dalia'' is another similar sweet porridge made from the crushed wheat or barley mixed with sugar and milk. The

Hyderabadi Muslim Hyderabadi Muslims, also referred to as Hyderabadis are a community of Deccani people, who are part of a larger ethnic group of Urdu-speaking Muslims, from the area that used to be the princely state of Hyderabad in the regions of Marathwada ...

community, of the erstwhile Hyderabad State, in present-day

Marathwada Marathwada () is a proposed state and geographical region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurangabad division of Maharashtra. I ...

, and

Kalyana-Karnataka Kalyana-Karnataka is a region of the Indian state of Karnataka, which was part of Kingdom of Hyderabad ruled by the Nizams and the Madras presidency of British India. The region comprises Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Kalaburagi of Hyder ...

regions, make ''khichdi'' as a common breakfast dish, and is an important part of

Hyderabadi cuisine Hyderabadi cuisine (native: ''Hyderabadi Ghizaayat''), also known as Deccani cuisine, is the native cooking style of the Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The ''haute cuisine'' of Hyderabad began to develop after the foundation of the Bahmani Sultan ...

. The dish is called ''khichri'', ''kheema'', ''khatta'', or other switch-around versions of the previous, named after the three parts of the meal, ''Khichri'', ground beef, and a sour sauce, made of tamarind and sesame. ''

Khichra Khichra or Khichda ( ur, ) is a variation of the dish Haleem, popular with Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. Khichra is cooked all year and particularly at the Ashura of Muharram. It is made using goat meat, beef, lentils and spices, slowly c ...

'' is similar to ''

haleem Haleem is a type of stew that is widely consumed in South Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia. Although the dish varies from region to region, it optionally includes wheat or barley, meat and lentils. It is made by blending or mashing the m ...

'', a meat dish, while ''khichri'' is a vegetarian dish with rice and pulses or lentils, with no spices.

National dish controversy

In 2017, Indian media unofficially designated it as the "national dish", as it is being globally promoted by the

government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

as "queen of all foods". The report that the government may designate ''khichri'' as India's "national dish" brought significant ridicule from the opposition politicians. However, India's Minister of Food Processing Industries

Harsimrat Kaur Badal Harsimrat Kaur Badal (born 25 July 1966) is an Indian politician and a former Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing Industries in the Government of India and Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Bathinda. She is a member of Shiromani ...

clarified that while ''Khichdi'' is considered nutritious and healthy food in India, the government did not have any plans to designate a national food.

In popular culture

''Khichdi'' has lent its name to media synonymous with ensembles or potpourri as depicted in the popular culture through movies such as '' Khichdi: The Movie'', and TV sitcoms such as ''

Khichdi (franchise) The ''Khichdi'' franchise is a Hindi language franchise of sitcom series and film created by Hats Off Productions and UTV Software Communications, which debuted on STAR Plus on 10 September 2002. The series has been rerun on STAR Plus and its ...

, Khichdi (TV series)'', and ''

Instant Khichdi ''Instant Khichdi'' is an Indian sitcom that aired on STAR One from 1 July 2005 to 7 August 2005. The series served as the second season of ''Khichdi'' franchise and a sequel to the show '' Khichdi'', which aired on STAR Plus channel. The show h ...

''. The dish has been cooked at both MasterChef Australia and America.

References