Rava Kichadi

Rava Kichadi is one pot meal made with semolina and lots of veggies. Great with some sambhar and chutney on the side!

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Rava Kichadi

You know what I think is the most challenging part about food blogging? It’s being able to click what you cook before is disappears from the bowl! Seriously I have lost count on the number of dishes that I made, wrote down everything and then we ate it for dinner. I couldn’t click it! But then sometimes you desperately want to share something even if that means clicking pictures of leftovers, yes like this Rava Kichadi.

Kichadi in Hindi means a mix of everything, it’s a one pot meal made usually with rice, lentils and veggies and has a mushy texture. This version of kichadi is made with fine semolina [rava/sooji] and lots of veggies. It’s total comfort food and mom would always make this for me whenever I wanted to eat something light and nice. Actually mom would make rava upma which is very similar to this recipe except that upma is more grainier and has also less oil/ghee. Regardless both are easy to make and very flavorful.

Rava Kichadi Recipe

I can eat rava kichadi for breakfast/lunch/dinner in a row, yes that’s how much I love it! Just serve it with some sambhar (lentils) and onion tomato chutney on the side and I wouldn’t ask for anything! There’s this restaurant here which serves really awesome rava khichdi. They use a lot of ginger in their khichdi and trust me that makes a lot of difference. Ginger just goes so well in this dish and that is why I have added lots of it in here, you can in fact add even more.

Rava kichadi is very light on your  stomach and I often make it when I feel like having something really comforting. It’s also easy to make and you can make it in around 30 minutes, in fact you can cut down on the time if you already have some roasted rava with you. I didn’t so I had to roast it first. So with a little planning hot rava kichadi can be ready is 15-20 minutes flat which makes it a perfect meal for busy weekday nights! This is also a popular meal given to babies (of course minus the spices) because it’s easily digestible.

PS: The kichadi was prettier than it looks in the pictures, this is all I could manage from the leftovers next day!

 

Method

Start by soaking urad dal and chana dal in enough water for around 20-30 minutes. This will ensure that the lentils stay soft and nice while cooking.

 

In a pan on medium heat, add 1/2 tablespoon of ghee. Once hot, add broken cashew nuts to it. Saute till they turn light golden brown, set aside.

In the same pan now add rava/sooji (semolina) and start roasting it stirring continuously.

After few minutes, around 6-7 the rava will change color and you will also get a nice aroma, at this stage remove from pan and set aside. Be very careful while roasting semolina because it can burn quickly once hot.

Rava Khichdi Recipe-Step-1In another pan on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon ghee and 1 tablespoon oil. Once hot, add mustard seeds and wait till they start popping up.

Then add hing, chana dal, urad dal and curry leaves. Saute till the lentils start turning light golden and then add the chopped ginger. Saute till ginger starts turning golden.

On another stove, put a pan on heat with 4 cups of water.
Rava Khichdi Recipe-Step-2Add sliced onions and cook till onions turn translucent and there’s no raw smell.

Then add sliced tomatoes, chopped carrots and peas (I used frozen carrot and peas and put them in warm water for 5 minutes before adding to the pan].

Cook the veggies for 2 minutes, you don’t really want tomatoes to turn mushy, they should just turn soft because veggies will cook more once we add the boiling water.

Rava Khichdi Recipe-Step-3Add salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder and mix till well combined.

Now add 4 cups of boiling water [that we had kept earlier to boil].

Start adding the roasted rava slowly into the mixture, stirring continuously as you mix. There shouldn’t be any lumps.

Rava Khichdi Recipe-Step-4

Keep stirring till rava absorbs all the water.

Now cover with a lid and let it simmer on medium-low heat for 7-8 minutes.

Open the lid, squeeze in the lemon juice and garnish with roasted cashew nuts and chopped cilantro.

Rava Khichdi Recipe-Step-5Enjoy rava kichadi with some onion tomato chutney on the side.

Rava Kichadi

* Adjust spice levels to taste, add more green chilies for a spicier khichdi.

* Do nut cut down on the amount of ghee and oil used in this recipe, it’s required to get the right texture.

* You can add any veggie of your choice. I used frozen peas and carrots only because they cook very quickly.

* To make this vegan, skip ghee and use only oil.

Rava Kichadi

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Servings: 2
Rava Kichadi is one pot meal made with semolina and lots of veggies. Great with some sambhar and chutney on the side!

Ingredients 

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Instructions 

  • Start by soaking urad dal and chana dal in enough water for around 20-30 minutes. This will ensure that the lentils stay soft and nice while cooking.
  • In a pan on medium heat, add 1/2 tablespoon of ghee. Once hot, add broken cashew nuts to it. Saute till they turn light golden brown, set aside.
  • In the same pan now add rava/sooji (semolina) and start roasting it stirring continuously.
  • After few minutes, around 6-7 the rava will change color and you will also get a nice aroma, at this stage remove from pan and set aside. Be very careful while roasting semolina because it can burn quickly once hot.
  • In another pan on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon ghee and 1 tablespoon oil. Once hot, add mustard seeds and wait till they start popping up.
  • Then add hing, chana dal, urad dal and curry leaves. Saute till the lentils start turning light golden and then add the chopped ginger. Saute till ginger starts turning golden.
  • Meanwhile on another stove, put a pan on medium-high heat with 4 cups of water. We are going to boil this water and add to the rava later on.
  • Add sliced onions and cook till onions turn translucent and there's no raw smell.
  • Then add sliced tomatoes, chopped carrots and peas (I used frozen carrot and peas and put them in warm water for 5 minutes before adding to the pan].
  • Cook the veggies for 2 minutes, you don't really want tomatoes to turn mushy, they should just turn soft because veggies will cook more once we add the boiling water.
  • Add salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder and mix till well combined.
  • Now add 4 cups of boiling water [that we had kept earlier to boil].
  • Start adding the roasted rava slowly into the mixture, stirring continuously as you mix. There shouldn't be any lumps.
  • Keep stirring till rava absorbs all the water.
  • Now cover with a lid and let it simmer on medium-low heat for 7-8 minutes.
  • Open the lid, squeeze in the lemon juice and garnish with roasted cashew nuts and chopped cilantro.
  • Serve hot with sambhar and chutney on the side.

Nutrition

Calories: 596kcal, Carbohydrates: 82g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 133mg, Potassium: 518mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 5830IU, Vitamin C: 94.1mg, Calcium: 76mg, Iron: 5.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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 Rava Kichadi

Rava Kichadi Collage-nocwm


Hi, I’m Manali!

Bringing you easy, delicious vegetarian & vegan recipes! Eating veggies can be fun, you just need to get creative in the kitchen with the right set of ingredients!


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22 Comments

  1. I know what you mean – there are so many dishes we’ve eaten before I had the chance to photograph them!! This meal looks so comforting Manali! Pinned 🙂

  2. Ooo I always get so excited when you post a recipe that I can easily make vegan. This looks so yummy and like such a beautiful breakfast. Do you think it would be best to sub ghee for coconut oil? Thanks Manali! You’re the best!

    1. Thanks Vanessa! you are so sweet! 🙂 Yes, coconut oil should work well, you can use vegetable oil as well!

  3. Totally agree, I make so many dishes that I can’t seem to photograph fast enough or sometimes the lighting isn’t right. This dish looks beautiful, Manali! I’ve never tried it before but the flavors sound wonderful!

  4. This rawa khichdi looks beautiful and delicious, Manali! This is indeed a light & healthy meal—full of awesome flavors! Loved your beautiful presentation too! 🙂

  5. So I totally need to start making some of these awesome Indian dishes you keep sharing, Manali! We have a ton of Indian spices in our cupboard, but I rarely pull them out…and it’s mainly because I don’t know how to use them! (Long story about the Indian spices, but I used to coordinate cooking classes at a local kitchenware store. We had a famous Indian chef come in for a couple of classes and I had to prep all of his ingredients. The upside was I got to keep all of the leftovers…but now I need to learn how to use them!)

    I could be WAY off here (and probably am), but I thought urud dal and chana dal were beans? But you call for 1/2 Tbsp of each? Teach me, oh wise one!!

    1. Wow David, you need to use those spices!! take them out of the cupboard! urad dal and chana dal are lentils, I updated the recipes with their English names 🙂 Dal is the common term use for lentils in India. Chana dal is readily available everywhere, I have seen it at Whole Foods too!

  6. This looks beautiful, Manali! I’ve never heard of this before but I love the flavors. Gorgeous presentation!

    1. Thanks Gayle! I’m glad you like the presentation, I used my steel plate and bowls from India for these pictures! 😀

  7. Clicking the photos is really the hardest part — you’re so right! I’ve never heard of Rava Kichadi before — it looks delicious and I love that it’s made in such a short amount of time!

    1. I know so many dishes never make it to the blog! annoying! 🙁 Thanks Marcie, you should give it a try, it’s really good! 😀

  8. Really delicious Kichadi, Manali! I’m addicted to it’s other version, Upma! and, you are right, regardless of the how prepared, both rava dishes taste amazing. light and healthy!