Masala Khichdi Recipe
Masala Khichdi is a nourishing one-pot dish made with lentils, rice, spices, and vegetables. It is perfect for quick weekday lunches or dinner. Use my easy recipe to make it in an Instant Pot or a traditional stovetop pressure cooker.
You can also try Barley Khichdi, Urad Dal Khichdi, Jowar Khichdi, Bajra Khichdi, and Dalia Khichdi.
A Quick Look At This Masala Khichdi Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Soaking Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Serves: 4
- Cuisine: Indian
- Course: Main Course
- Diet: Vegetarian, Gluten-Free
- Skill Level: Beginner
- Equipment: Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot, Ladle, Cutting Board
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Why You’ll Love This Family Favorite Recipe!
- A complete one-pot meal: Protein, carbs, and veggies all cook together in a single pot — zero fuss, maximum comfort.
- Wholesome & nourishing: Moong dal and rice make it light on the stomach yet satisfying enough for lunch or dinner.
- Customizable heat & texture: Make it spicy or mild, mushy or fluffy — it adapts to your mood.
- Perfect for busy days: Quick prep, minimal chopping, and hands-off pressure cooking.
- Soothing Indian comfort food: Warm spices and ghee transform humble ingredients into a cozy, homestyle bowl.
- Ideal for kids & adults alike: Gentle flavors that suit everyone at the table.
Table of Contents
About Masala Khichdi
Masala Khichdi (pronounced khich-dee) is a hearty Indian dish perfect for lunch or dinner. It is a savory porridge made with rice, lentils, veggies, and a few spices.
This popular one-pot meal is the ultimate comfort food for many Indians and is made all across the country.
Khichdi is made in different ways in Indian homes. While plain khichdi and vaghareli khichdi are my all-time favorites, this masala khichdi also tops the chart with its incredible flavors.
Masala khichdi is best served with ghee, green chutney, yogurt, and papad (poppadum). It is also an excellent dish for a gluten-free diet.
This recipe can be made in a traditional stovetop pressure cooker or an Instant Pot. I share both methods in the post below.
This recipe can be easily scaled. I used my 3-quart Instant Pot to make masala khichdi for four people. If you are doubling the recipe, then use a 6-quart Instant Pot. The cooking time will not change.
Ingredients
Rice – Use any short-grain, sticky white rice to make khichdi.
My preferred choices are Indrayani rice and Jasmine rice.
Broken basmati rice, Sona Masuri rice, or Ambemohar rice also works well.
Lentils – I used split green gram lentils (green moong dal) to make this khichdi, but you can also use split and skinned green gram lentils (yellow moong dal), pigeon pea lentils (toor dal), Bengal gram (chana dal), or pink lentils (dhuli masoor dal).
Whole Spices – You will need Indian spices like cloves (laung), cinnamon (dalchini), black peppercorns (kali mirch), and cumin seeds (jeera).
Veggies – I added onions, green chilies, potatoes, green peas, and carrots to this recipe, but you can add vegetables of your choice, such as green French beans, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, corn, etc.
Adjust the green chilies as per your taste.
Spice Powders – This recipe uses elemental spice powders, such as coriander powder, turmeric powder, and Kashmiri red chilli powder.
Others – You will also need ghee, ginger-garlic paste, freshly squeezed lime juice, salt, and cilantro (fresh coriander leaves).
To make it vegan, replace ghee with canola, olive, or coconut oil.
You can also use brown mustard seeds and curry leaves in tempering. Other spice powders, such as garam masala, cumin, and black pepper, can also be added.
For a taste change, add ½ cup of chopped tomatoes (or ½ cup of pureed tomatoes) to this vegetable khichdi recipe.
How To Make Vegetable Masala Khichdi
In An Instant Pot
Add ½ cup white rice and ½ cup green moong dal to a medium-sized bowl. Rinse them 2-3 times with water until the water runs clear.
Soak the washed rice and lentils in 3 cups of water for 20 minutes.
Press the SAUTE button on the Instant Pot.
Add 2 tablespoon ghee to the pot.
Once the ghee is hot, add the spices listed below and let them crackle for 4-5 seconds.
- 2 cloves
- 2-inch piece of cinnamon stick
- 4 whole black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Add ½ cup thinly sliced onions and 2 green chilies (slit into half) to the pot and cook until the onions turn slightly browned (4-5 minutes), stirring at regular intervals.
Once the onions are browned, add 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring at regular intervals.
Add the following veggies and cook for a minute.
- ½ cup peeled and cubed potatoes
- ½ cup green peas
- ½ cup peeled and cubed carrots
Now add the following spice powders and cook for a minute.
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Drain the water from the rice and lentils. Add them to the instant pot with 3 cups of water, 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice, and 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro, and stir gently.
Close the Instant Pot lid and set the valve to the sealing position.
Press CANCEL, then PRESSURE COOK, and set the timer to 12 minutes at high pressure.
Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
Release the remaining pressure manually, then open the pot lid.
Stir the khichdi with a large spoon.
If the khichdi is thick, add some boiling water and adjust its consistency. The consistency of khichdi should be like porridge.
Check for salt and add more if needed.
Garnish the ready masala khichdi with fresh cilantro and serve hot with a dollop of ghee, plain yogurt, papad, and green chutney.
In A Traditional Pressure Cooker
To make masala khichdi in a pressure cooker, add the spices, moong dal, rice, and vegetables.
Add 4 cups of water and stir gently. Pressure cook for 1 whistle on high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 12 minutes.
Remove the cooker from the heat and let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid and stir well.
Serve hot with ghee, green chutney, yogurt, and papad (poppadum).
Masala Khichdi FAQs
To make this dish vegan, replace ghee with oil. Serve it with vegan yogurt.
Yes, you can. To make khichdi with brown rice, follow the recipe below. Just add an additional cup of water and cook it at high pressure in the IP for 20 minutes.
In a traditional pressure cooker, cook for 1 whistle on high heat. Then, reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes.
Pro Tips By Neha
You can mix moong dal and toor dal (arhar dal) to make this recipe.
Adjust the amount of green chilies to your preferred level of spice.
If you want a more soupy consistency, add more water while cooking.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of extra ghee while cooking for a richer flavor.
You can also use vegetable stock instead of water for an even tastier khichdi.
You can replace white rice with brown rice, quinoa, or couscous, but the cooking time and water quantity will change.
Other Rice Recipes We Recommend
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Masala Khichdi Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup uncooked white rice (preferably short-grain sticky rice)
- ½ cup split green gram lentils (green moong dal)
- 2 tablespoons ghee (use oil for vegan)
- 2 cloves (laung)
- 2 inch piece of cinnamon stick (dalchini)
- 4 whole black peppercorns (kali mirch)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ½ cup thinly sliced onions
- 2 green chilies (slit into half)
- 2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
- ½ cup peeled and cubed potatoes (½-inch cubes)
- ½ cup green peas
- ½ cup peeled and cubed carrots (½-inch cubes)
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
Instructions
- Add rice and moong dal to a medium-sized bowl. Rinse them 2-3 times with water until the water runs clear.
- Soak the washed rice and lentils in 3 cups of water for 20 minutes.
- Press SAUTE button of the instant pot.
- Add ghee to the pot.
- Once the ghee is hot, add cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorns, and cumin seeds, and let them crackle for 4-5 seconds.
- Add onions and green chilies to the pot and cook until the onions turn slightly browned (4-5 minutes), stirring at regular intervals.
- Once the onions are browned, add ginger garlic paste and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring at regular intervals.
- Add potatoes, peas, and carrots, and cook for a minute.
- Now add coriander powder, turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, and salt, and cook for a minute.
- Drain the water from the rice and lentils and add them to the instant pot along with 3 cups of water, lime juice, and cilantro, and stir gently.
- Close the lid of the instant pot and set the valve to the sealing position.
- Press CANCEL and then PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 12 minutes at high pressure.
- Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
- Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid of the pot.
- Stir the khichdi with a large spoon.
- If the khichdi is thick, add some boiling hot water and adjust its consistency. The consistency of khichdi should be like porridge.
- Check for salt and add more if needed.
- Garnish the ready masala khichdi with fresh cilantro and serve hot with ghe, yogurt, papad, and green chutney.
This khichdi is so comforting, you must definitely try!