Oats khichdi is one of the easiest Indian oats recipes - It is a quick one pot oatmeal and lentils dish cooked with basic spices. It is a comfort food and can be had for a breakfast or meal. Serve it with pickle or papad.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 2 · 2 to 3
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • ½ cup moong dal ((yellow split mung lentils))
  • 1 cup rolled oats ((or instant))
  • 1 small tomato (deseeded (optional))
  • ½ cup carrots ((chopped, 1 small))
  • ½ cup green peas ((frozen or fresh))
  • ⅓ cup green beans ((10 to 12))
  • ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder ((or black pepper))
  • 4 cups water ((read notes))
  • 2 tablespoon ghee (or 1 tbsp oil)
  • 1 small bay leaf ((optional))
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds ((jeera))
  • 1 teaspoon ginger (grated or crushed)
  • 1 green chili ((slit, deseeded for low heat, optional))
  • ½ teaspoon salt (as needed)
  • ⅛ teaspoon turmeric ((haldi))
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((Hing, optional))

Method

Preparation

  1. Rinse moong dal well a few times. Drain the water.
  2. Rinse and chop tomato, carrot, green beans & green chili. Grate ginger.

How to Make Oats Khichdi

  1. Heat a pot or pressure cooker on a mdeium heat. When the ghee melts, add cumin seeds and bay leaf. As soon as the seeds begin to sizzle, add ginger and green chili.
  2. Quickly mix and add hing, carrots, beans and peas. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes. Add salt and red chili powder. Give a good stir.
  3. Pressure cooker: Add the drained lentils and oats. Pour water. Give a good stir. Cover and pressure cook for 3 whistles on a medium flame. Let the pressure release naturally.
  4. Cooking in a pot: Add the drained lentils and pour water. Bring the water to a rolling boil and then simmer until the lentils are soft and tender. Keep stirring. When the lentils soften, add oats. If there is not enough water, pour some hot water.
  5. Open the lid. Oats and lentils both must be softened and the texture has to be thick, mushy and of pouring consistency. I usually pour some boiling hot water if required at this stage and simmer for a minute becaue the khichdi becomes too thick as it cools down.
  6. Taste test and add more salt if required and garnish with coriander leaves. Drizzle some ghee if you want. Squeeze some lemon juice and serve hot.

Instant Pot

  1. Perform all the same steps as done for the stovetop cooker. Pressure cook for 9 mins on porridge mode. Wait for the pressure to release naturally for 8 mins. Release the rest manually. Pour some hot boiling water for perfect consistency.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.