Instant Pot Vegetable Daliya (Broken Wheat Khichdi)

Name: Instant Pot Vegetable Daliya
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 2 teaspoon oil; 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds; 1 medium red onion (chopped); 2 teaspoons chopped ginger; 1 chopped green chili (optional); 2 medium carrots (diced); 1/2 cup green peas (I used frozen); 1/2 cup daliya/broken wheat (97 grams); 2 cups water; 1/4 teaspoon turmeric; 1/2 + 1/8 teaspoon salt (or to taste); cilantro (to garnish); lemon wedge (to serve)

By Manali Singh

Aug 19, 2022

One-pot, easy and vegan meal made with broken wheat and veggies, this Vegetable Daliya is my go-to meal for busy days!

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Simple one-pot and nutritious Vegetable Daliya made with broken wheat and veggies is my go-to meal for busy days. It’s easy to make, vegan, minimally spiced and very filling with all the veggies and fiber.

vegetable daliya served on a white plate with spoon on the side

When I was a kid, I wasn’t very fond of daliya aka broken wheat (it is also known as cracked wheat). My mom always made daliya for breakfast and it was made in 2 days in my house- meetha daliya (sweet daliya) and namkeen daliya (savory daliya). The sweet version just had daliya pressure cooked with water and then we would add milk and sugar to it and eat.

The savory version was like khichdi, little runny in consistency and packed with veggies. I wasn’t a fan of either version but I liked the savory more than the sweet. The consistency of the namkeen daliya as mom would call it was like khichdi but we never quite called it khichdi, and now I wonder why? It was basically broken wheat khichdi.

My mom learnt it from one of our relatives and he taught mom to always serve it with amul butter. And so for breakfast, we would always add a pat of amul butter to our daliya, it tastes so good with it. Have you guys tried it?

These days, I have been making a conscious effort to include daliya more often in my diet because of its health benefits. Daliya is rich in fiber and nutrients. I remember my mom always cooked it for my nana ji (grandfather) who had diabetes. I had kind of forgotten about it and haven’t cooked much with it in years. But now I cook it once a week and it’s mostly this vegetable daliya khichdi or namkeen daliya as I called it growing up.

It is so easy to make in the Instant Pot. Just stir everything together and your easy, one-pot meal is ready. You can pack this with as many veggies as you like to make it more filling.

Ingredients

Daliya: also known as broken wheat/cracker wheat is a popular grain used in Indian cooking. You can find it at most Indian grocery stores.

Vegetables: I have used onions, carrots and peas but you can use lots of vegetables here too. Like my mom always added tomatoes. Green beans will also be nice.

Spices: this is a very minimally spiced dish so the only spices used here are cumin seeds and turmeric. If you want you can add coriander powder, red chili powder but I like to keep this simple.

Step by Step Instructions

1- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add 2 teaspoons of oil to it. Then add 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds and let it sizzle.

2- Add the chopped onion (1 medium red onion), 2 teaspoons chopped ginger and a chopped green chili (if using).

3- Stir and cook for around 3 minutes until the onions soften.

4- Then add the veggies- diced carrots (from 2 medium carrots) and 1/2 cup green peas (I used frozen peas).

step by step picture collage of making vegetable daliya in instant pot

5- Also add 1/2 cup of daliya and stir everything together.

6- Add 2 cups of water. The amount of water can vary depending on the consistency you prefer. My mom always made it a little runny so for me this amount works the best. You can even add more water for an even runnier consistency.

7- Add 1/4 teaspoon turmeric and salt to taste. Stir and close the lid.

8- Press the manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then do a quick pressure release.

Open the pot and give it a stir. Garnish with cilantro and serve. You can also squeeze some lemon juice before serving.

Add More Veggies

You can definitely load this daliya khichdi with veggies. I often use tomatoes, I just didn’t have them on hand the day I shot this recipe. You can add tomatoes, beans, bell peppers. And you can also increase the quantity of veggies being used in this recipe.

Reheating Daliya Khichdi

This vegetable daliya absorbs all the water and dries up quite a bit as it cools down. So, it is best served warm. But if you have leftovers, you will need to add some water while reheating it, either on stove-top in a pan or using a microwave.

Tips & Notes

If you want, you can add more spices here like coriander powder, red chili powder, garam masala etc. You can even add curry leaves for extra flavor.
Pack it with as many veggies you want. Tomato, peppers go well in this vegetable daliya. You can also add some chopped spinach. If adding spinach, add it after the pressure cooking process is done. Press the sauté button, add spinach and stir 2 to 3 minutes until the leaves wilt.
You can serve it with some butter on top like my mom did. It tastes really good that way even though I usually just have it as it.
Adjust the consistency of this vegetable daliya to preference. You can add more water to make it thinner.

vegetable daliya in a bowl with a side of lemon wedge

More Easy One-Pot Meals

Here are some of my other favorite one-pot meals that I make in the Instant Pot. These especially come in handy on busy days. This Quinoa Khichdi is a top favorite, packed with nutrients and flavor and comes together rather quickly.

You can’t say no to a good bowl of pasta especially if it’s made in less than 30 minutes and in one-pot. This Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta and Makhani Pasta are my top favorites.