Bhoger khichuri recipe | Bengali khichuri recipe | Niramish khichuri | Puja special mug daler khichuri

Bhoger khichuri is always much more than food for any Bengali people. For them, it is a way to connect to the god with pure heart. From ages, people are preparing this anna bhog and first offer to god as a part of naivedyam. It is then distributed to the people as prasad. Naivedyam is a Sanskrit word which means food offering to god. It is a holy part of the worship ritual.

There are certain rules in Hinduism to prepare bhoger khichuri for offering to God. Tasting bhoger khichuri during the time of preparing it is strictly forbidden. It is mandatory to first offer the bhog to the god. Only after this, anyone else can taste it. Only brahmins can prepare bhoger khichuri as a ritual. In brahmins, only men can prepare the bhog. Women are prohibited to prepare the bhoger khichuri which will be offered to the god. These are ancient rules and till now most of the people are following the rules in temples, puja mandaps.

Though, I personally believe that anyone who prepares bhoger khichuri with love, faith and purity, God will accept his or her call. Now a days, it’s not always possible to meet all the goals to prepare bhoger khichuri. Many people also perform the worship on their own at home during puja days like Lokkhi puja or Saraswati puja and prepare bhoger khichuri recipe. It is a total amusement to be a part of any worship ritual where people try to overcome all of their negative energies, tension, anger, frustration and revive positivity, joy and satisfaction.

Bhoger khichuri is a pure niramish khichuri recipe. For Bengalis, niramish recipes during puja or rituals mean complete veg where all the food is without onion garlic recipes. In fact, for Bengalis masoor dal (Red lentils) is also strictly prohibited during those niramish days. So, bhoger khichuri is always prepared with moong dal (Yellow split lentils). It’s a must to clean the kitchen and use separate utensils where only veg items are getting cooked before preparing bhoger khichuri for god.

According to me, there is no Bengali who has never tasted bhoger khichuri at least once in their lifetime. Everyone, from kids to grown-ups, just love bhoger khichuri and devour it with utter satisfaction. For any puja, whenever prasad is distributed, bhoger khichuri always drags everyone’s extra attention.

During Durgastami, in every puja pandal, bhoger khichuri prasad is distributed among common people. People form a line to take the prasad. Every year, the line gets longer like a train but still people wait patiently with lots of joy until their turn comes.

Many people believe that the taste bhoger khichuri can’t be recreated at home or any other place except temples or puja mandaps because it is prepared for god and offered to her first. And it is due to Gods’ blessings that the bhog tastes supreme. Many people also believe that the touch brahmins make it taste unique. There are also beliefs that because it is prepared and divided in earthen pots for a longer period of time, this makes it luscious and gives a soothing aroma to the bhog.

But according to me, as are we all completely devoted to god for those puja days, it makes us feel like that. You can prepare the same bhoger khichuri recipe at your kitchen which will taste the same but anyhow that feeling will be missing on regular days. Bhoger khichuri is not all about recipe. It is a part of our culture and festive celebration.

As a bong, I have grown up eating this divine and every time it totally engages me with its irresistible taste, unbeatable flavour and amazing texture. I have thousands of good memories with the traditional Bengali food and whenever I talk about it, I feel nostalgic.

Since my childhood, I have seen my mom and dad celebrating Lokkhi puja and Saraswati puja at home every year. On those occasions, mom used to cook bhoger khichuri in separate kitchen using separate utensils for the people who used to come to have prasad.

I still remember how my mom used to prepare huge amount of bhoger khichuri, labra, payesh and chatni for friends, relatives and family on Lokkhi puja. We used to fast on the puja days and always used to get tempted by the smell of Bhoger khichuri while it was being cooked. We would be waiting from morning to have Bengali khichuri with other prasad. Anyone who came to our house at the evening to have prasad used to devour the niramish khichuri with ultimate satisfaction.

I have learnt the bhoger khichuri recipe from my mom and she learnt it from her mom. So, you can consider it more than a hundred years old recipe. Even our brahmin thakur prepares the bhoger khichuri in the same traditional way. Preparing normal khichuri is very easy but preparing perfect bhoger khichuri is little bit tricky.

All thanks to my mom. It is both because of her and grandma that I know all the techniques to prepare perfect bhoger khichuri. So, whenever anyone asks me about the recipe, I always give them a lot of Gyan. Sometimes doing decent show off is fun 😊.

To prepare bhoger khichuri recipe, you would need a little bit of arrangement and ample amount of time to cook the food. It is a pure Bengali delicacy and it requires core Bengali ingredients, including the specific rice variety to get prepared. The best part of preparing bhoger khichuri is that you can prepare it in vast quantity investing equal amount of time and energy.

Bhoger khichuri recipe with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. I have included all the tips and tricks to prepare perfect Bengali khichuri. If you follow the steps precisely then this recipe will remind you of the Durgashtamir bhog. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about the Bengali veg recipe.

Tips to prepare perfect Bhoger Khichuri

How to make bhoger khichuri?

To prepare the bhoger khichuri, first I have dry roasted the sona moong dal (Moong Dal) for some time in medium flame and then soaked it in boiling water for an hour.Drain the water and keep the sona moong dal aside. It will almost be double in size. This step helps the dal to get cooked quickly.

Then wash the gobindobhog rice (Small grain rice) and strain the water completely. Keep it aside for air drying.

Prepare the bata masala, I mean the homemade masala for the khichuri recipe. For the masala, add ginger, green chilli, cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon stick and little water into the small jar of the grinder. Make a smooth paste with them. Then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder into the paste and give a nice blend. Keep the masala aside.

After this, cut the vegetables into large pieces, wash them and keep them aside.

Take a pan and add mustard oil into it. Bhoger khichuri is always cooked in mustard oil. Fry the cashew nuts till golden and raisins until they plump up and keep them aside on a separate plate. Then add the potato chunks and fry them on high flame till golden brown with some salt and turmeric powder. After this, fry cauliflower florets with some salt and turmeric powder until they are around 75%-80% done.

Then add some more oil into the pan and add whole spices cumin seeds, dry red chillies, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamoms and bay leaves for tempering. Add grated coconut into the pan and cook them in low flame for some time.

Add the tomatoes and let them become soft. Add the masala paste and cook until it releases oil. Add the gobindobhog chaal and fry it for couple of minutes. Then mix the soaked dal and fry the rice and dal together thoroughly.

After this, add 1 litre boiled water, salt, green chillies into the pan and cook the khichuri on low flame. When the water gets absorbed, add 2 more cups of boiled water into khichuri and add fried potatoes into it and cook them in low flame with the lid on.

Again, when the water gets absorbed, add 1 more cup of water fried cauliflower, blanched peas, cashew nuts, raisins, sugar and give a nice mix. Cover the pan and cook the khichuri until the moong dal gets cooked completely. But be careful to not overcook the dal or else your khichuri would become sticky. Add more water during the time of cooking, if required.

Bengalis always prefer little sweetness in khichuri recipe. So, I have added little bit of sugar to the preparation. I refer not to skip it.

Add Bengali garam masala powder, ghee and roasted cumin powder into the khichuri and mix it nicely. Then switch off the flame.

Bengali garam masala is the combination of cinnamon, cardamom and cloves powder of equal proportions.

The addition of ghee makes the taste and flavour of the dish heavenly. I highly recommend this for the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Gobindobhog chal (Small grain rice)
• 1 cup Sona moong dal (Yellow Split lentils)
• 2 medium potatoes, cut into 4 pieces
• 10 large Cauliflower florets
• 2 Tomatoes, medium diced
• ½ cup green Peas, blanched
• 3 green Chillies
• 1/3 cup grated Coconut
• 2 tablespoons Cashew nuts
• 2 tablespoons Raisins
• 1 ½ teaspoons bengali Garam Masala powder
• ½ teaspoon roasted Cumin powder (Optional)
• 1 tablespoon Ghee (Clarified Butter)
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder, divided during the time of frying the potatoes and cauliflower
• Salt to taste
• Mustard oil for cooking
• 7-8 cups of hot Water, to cook the khichuri

• 2 dry red Chillies
• 2 Bay leaves
• ¾ teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 4 Cloves
• 2-inch Cinnamon stick
• 5 Cardamoms

• 3-inch Ginger, peeled and diced
• 1 green Chilli
• ¾ tablespoon Cumin seeds
• 1-inch Cinnamon stick
• 2 Cardamoms
• 3 tablespoons Water
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Chilli powder

1. First take a pan and let it become completely dry. Add the moong dal into the pan and dry roast it over medium low flame for 3-4 minutes until the nutty aroma comes up from the dal.
   

2. Transfer the dal on a separate utensil and wash the dal once. Then soak the dal in boiled water and cover it. Soak the dal for an hour and then drain the water. Keep the moong dal aside.
   

3. Wash the Gobindobhog chaal 3-4 times until the water gets clear. Then strain the excess water and keep it aside to become air dry.
   

4. For the masala, add the ginger pieces into the small jar of the grinder. Then add green chilli, cinnamon stick, cardamom into the jar. Add a little bit of water around 3 tablespoons and pulse the spices to a smooth paste.
   

5. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder into the jar and blend it once more. Keep the masala aside.
   

6. Take a pan and add mustard oil into it. Once the oil is hot, add cashew nuts into it and fry them till golden. Keep the cashews on a separate plate.
   

7. Add raisins into the pan and fry them till they plump up. Keep them aside on a separate plate.
   

8. Add potato chunks into the pan.
   

9. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder into the pan and give a nice stir.
   

10. Fry them on high flame until the potato chunks become evenly crispy golden brown from all sides. Transfer them on a separate plate.
    

11. Add cauliflower into the pan and sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder into it. Give a nice stir and cook them over medium flame until the cauliflower florets lose their crunch and brown spots occur on their body. Cook them till 75%-80%. Don’t cook them completely or else they will get mash into the khichuri. Take the cauliflower florets out on a different plate.
    

12. Either take a separate pan or on the same pan add mustard oil for the khichuri. Wait until the oil is hot.
    

13. Add whole spices cumin seeds, dry red chillies, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamoms, bay leaves for tempering. Let the spices get crackle.
    

14. Add grated coconut into the pan and give a nice stir. Cook it over low flame for 1-2 minutes until the raw smell of coconut disappears.
    

15. Add tomato chunks and give a nice mix.
    

16. Cover the pan and cook it in low flame for couple of minutes.
    

17. Add masala paste (Step 5) into the pan and give a nice stir.
    

18. Cook it in low flame for 1-2 minutes until the raw smell disappears.
19. Add 3-4 tablespoons of water into the pan and cook the masala until it releases oil.
    
    

20. Add the washed Gobindobhog chal into the pan and fry the rice for couple of minutes in low flame.
    

21. Add the soaked moong dal (yellow lentils) into the pan and give a nice mix.
    
    

22. Fry the dal and rice together for 1-2 minutes in medium flame until you hear some sound.
23. Add 1 litre or 4 cups of hot water into the pan and give a nice mix.
    

24. Add salt into the pan and stir it. Cover the pan and cook it in low flame for 8-10 minutes.
    
    

25. Add potato chunks, green chillies into the pan and mix it. Cover the pan and cook it in low flame until the water gets absorbed. Scrap it from the bottom, if required.
    
    

26. Add 2 cups of hot water into the pan and mix it nicely. Cover the pan and cook it in low flame for another 10 minutes.
    

27. Add the cauliflower florets, blanched green peas, sugar into the pan and give a nice mix.
    
    
    

28. Add cashew nuts, raisins into the pan and mix it.
    

29. Add 1 more cup of hot water into the pan and give a nice stir.
    

30. Cover the pan and cook them in low flame until the dal gets cooked. Don’t forget to scrap the bottom on regular intervals or else the khichuri will stick to the bottom of the pan. Add more water in between if required. For me it took ½ cup more of water. The consistency of Bhoger khichuri is neither too thick nor too runny.
    Note: Don’t overcook the dal or else the khichuri will become sticky.
    
31. Add Bengali garam masala powder, ghee, roasted cumin powder into the pan and mix it nicely.
    
    
    

32. Switch off the flame.
    

Keywords:
bhoger khichuri, bhoger khichuri recipe, mug daler khichuri, mug daler khichuri recipe, niramish khichuri, niramish khichuri recipe, niramish khichuri ranna recipe, bengali khichuri, bengali khichuri recipe, khichuri bengali recipe, recipe for bengali khichuri, easy bengali khichuri recipe, how to make bhoger khichuri, bengali khichuri ranna, bangla khichuri ranna, bengali bhoger khichuri recipe, khichuri, how to make khichdi, moong dal khichdi, bengali bhoger khichuri recipe, bengali recipe, bengali recipes, bengali food, bengali food recipes, recipes of bengali food, traditional bengali food, bengali recipes veg, niramish recipe, traditional food of Bengali, bengali veg recipes, bengali vegetarian recipe, without onion garlic recipe, no onion no garlic recipe, vegetarian recipes of india, vegetarian recipes in India