I spent the late part of the day working in the garden under a big, white, round moon…

Guaranteed to soothe unsettled hearts.

SUMMER MOON KICHADI

generously serves 3 

ingredients

½ cup brown basmati rice

½ cup split moong dal

3 cups water

¼ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp ghee

voggarane

2 tsp ghee

1 tsp cumin seeds

⅛ tsp asafoetida powder

1 Tbsp finely chopped ginger

¼ – ½ tsp chilli flakes/or a fresh green chilli, chopped (depending on your level of spice)

½ tsp rasam powder

6 curry leaves

2 small carrots

6 small zucchinis (just a little bit bigger than your index finger)

½ cup fresh/frozen green peas

1 tsp salt

½ tesp jaggery

¼ cup coriander leaves

squeeze fresh lemon

serve

with lots and lots of ghee

preparation

  1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Add water, ghee, and turmeric powder, bring to a boil, then turn down to a slow simmer for 20 minutes.
  2. Rinse the dal until the water runs clear, add it to the rice, and continue to simmer. If it looks like it is drying out, you may have to add a little water.
  3. Cut the carrot and zucchini into moons and set aside.

prepare the voggarane

  1. In a medium pan, add ghee, cumin seeds, asafoetida powder, ginger, chilli, rasam powder, and curry leaves—fry for 30 seconds.
  2. Add carrot and zucchini, cover and saute until just tender.  You may need to sprinkle a little water once or twice.
  3. Add the green peas and saute for a few minutes, then turn off the heat and set aside.
  4. When the rice and dal are soft, add the vegetable mixture, salt to taste, and jaggery and combine well—simmer for a few minutes. Depending on the desired consistency, you can add water.
  5. Add the coriander and a squeeze of lemon.

When serving, drizzle each bowl lavishly with ghee.

Goodness shared from Stacey