Barley Khichdi / Spicy Barley - Lentil Stew

(This was originally published on 3/13/2011.)

When trying out new grains and that too when I am not sure how well our palates are going to receive the new textures, I prefer to go back to my own cuisine to borrow ideas. The south Indian cuisine, the familiar zone seems so comforting and forgiving like a mother. When I have to deal with the unfamiliar grains for the first time, I prefer to combine the typical ingredients used in my (south Indian) kitchen and add spices for more layers of flavor. This barley dish is a proof of it.

Though barley is available in India, it was never used in my mother's or any relatives' kitchens. I used barley for the first time when I prepared this barley - raisin bread. The barley I have been left with has gone in to the preparation of typical Indian style dishes.

Barley has a chewy texture when cooked that I am not very fond of. I have therefore allowed the barley to cook until it reached a fall apart stage, where you don't feel its texture at all. As I mentioned above, this dish relies on South Indian style cooking and is somewhat a cross between Karnataka's Bisibelebhath and Tamilnadu's Kadamba Saadam. I simply called it a khichdi since I didn't want to wreck my brains in search of a perfect name for this dish. This was a wholesome, healthy and hearty meal that was liked by everyone at our home.

 Ingredients: (Yield - 4 servings)
1/2 cup barley
1/2 cup pigeon peas / toordal
1 cup chopped mixed veggies (I used carrots, green beans, potatoes, peas)
A pinch of ground turmeric 
Salt to taste
2 to 3 tbsp. thick tamarind juice (extracted by soaking about lemon sized tamarind in water) 
Ingredients for seasoning:

2 tsp. ghee / oil

1 tsp. mustard seeds

A sprig of curry leaves
Ingredients for spice powder:

2 tbsp. split chickpeas / bengal gram / chanadal

1 tbsp. skinned black gram / uraddal

1 tbsp. coriander seeds

1/4. tsp fenugreek seeds / methi seeds, 

6 - 8  or to taste, dried red chilies, 

2 tbsp. grated dry coconut 

3 - 4 black stone flower / dagad phool / rathi puvvu

Directions:
* Soak barley for at least an hour and this step is optional if you are using a pressure cooker. 
* Add barley, lentils, vegetables, turmeric powder and about 2 cups of water to a pressure cooker and cook until done. If you cook rice for 3 whistles, then let this go for 12 - 15 whistles.
* Meanwhile, add split chickpeas and skinned black gram to a small pan and dry toast them on medium flame. Continuously stir them , until they start to change the color. Transfer them onto a plate. Next add coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chilis and stone flower to the same pan and dry toast them on low flame until coriander seeds start to change a shade darker. Add the coconut and turn off the stove. Transfer them on to the plate. Once cool, grind them finely. 

* When the cooker's valve pressure is gone, remove the container, and check the barley consistency. If you wish to cook it further, add the mixture to a pan. Add water as needed and cook further until the desired consistency is reached. Also if you prefer your veggies crunchier, you can cook them separately instead of adding them to the pressure cooker.
* Add salt, tamarind puree and the spice powder to the barley mixture. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Simmer the mixture for a couple of minutes more.
* Heat the ghee / oil in a pan. Toast the mustard seeds and curry leaves and add to the barley mixture.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page to find what other marathoners are cooking.

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