Quinoa Khichdi is an easy one-pot meal made with quinoa, yellow moong dal, vegetables, and Indian spices cooked in sesame oil.
Being an Indian means having Khichdi as a dinner almost every week. For some, it's a meal when someone is sick. But I yearn for ghee-topped khichdi teamed with papad, achar, and dahi. It's a wholesome comfort meal for me.
This Indian Quinoa Khichdi is made just like classic Khichdi by swapping rice with quinoa. I also added a few veggies to make it vibrant and colorful and used sesame oil instead of ghee.
Whenever I have busy weekdays, one-pot meals come to my rescue. Gather in a pressure cooker in under 30 minutes, need min prepping, just a few minutes of soaking time.
If you've cooked quinoa mostly in salads or bowls, this one might surprise you. It cooks up soft and almost creamy with moong dal, soaks up the masala really well, and pairs nicely with the bite of green beans. Tastes like khichdi, just made with quinoa instead of rice.
What I loved about quinoa khichdi is that it does soak up the moisture as it sits, but it never turns into a solid lump. With rice khichdi or dal daliya, I'm usually breaking it apart and adding water before reheating. This one just needs a quick warm-up.
Team it with curd or ghee and enjoy!
Want More ways to include Quinoa in daily meals- Sweet Potato quinoa Salad, Quinoa Upma.
Love Lentils and need easy one-pot recipes- Moong Yellow Dal Soup, Green Moong Dal Daliya, Red Lentil Rice Khichdi, Palak Chana Dal,
Wish to explore More Easy Indian meals- find Indian Lunch Recipes.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact measurements of the ingredients.
- Quinoa
- Moong Yellow Dal
- Onion Garlic and Tomato
- Green beans- can add carrots, peas too
- Spices-cumin, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala
- Sesame Oil
- Lemon Juice
- Salt
How To Make Quinoa Khichdi in Pressure Cooker
Step 1 Soak Quinoa and Moong dal
Rinse quinoa and moong dal together till the water runs clear. Soak them together for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Step 2. Prep Veggies and Temper
While quinoa and lentils are soaking, prep veggies. Chop the onion, tomato, and beans as you like. I have grated garlic.
In a pressure cooker, heat sesame oil, add all spices along with onion and garlic. Usually, I first roast onions, but I wanted a quick recipe and didn't roast veggies a lot.
Tip
Not roasting veggies a lot, saves time and doesn't affect the flavor.
Saute for half a minute and add green beans and tomatoes along with salt. Saute on a slow flame for a minute and add drained quinoa dal.
Add water so the level is about an inch above the quinoa and dal. Close the lid and pressure cook on full flame for 1 whistle. Lower the flame and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally before opening.
Step 3 Serve It
Add lemon juice and serve the perfect Quinoa Khichdi with curd, pickle or have as is.
Expert Tips
- Rinsing quinoa well before soaking is important. Quinoa has a natural coating called saponin that can make it taste bitter if not washed off properly.
- Soaking quinoa and moong dal together for 15 minutes is enough. You don't need to soak them longer than you would with other lentils, like whole moong or whole masoor dal.
- Sesame oil has a stronger flavor than neutral oils. A little goes a long way, so don't overdo it.
- Add lemon juice after the pressure cooker opens. Anything sour should be added at the end when the food is cooked.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can. Quinoa cooks well with moong dal and makes a soft, comforting khichdi just like the rice version.
Yes, you can mix quinoa and rice. Use equal parts of both and cook them together with moong dal. The texture will be slightly different from a pure rice or pure quinoa khichdi but it works well.
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a comment below and let me know what sides you served it with! If you loved it, feel free to share this post with your friends who love simple Indian cooking.
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Quinoa Khichdi Recipe
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
- Large Bowl
- Colander
Ingredients
- ½ cup Quinoa
- ½ cup Moong Yellow Dal
- 1 medium Onion chopped
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- ¼ cup Green beans (chopped) can add carrots, broccoli, peas too
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1.5 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- Salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
Instructions
- Step 1 Soak Quinoa and Moong dal
- Rinse quinoa and moong dal together till the water runs clear. Soak them together for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Step 2. Prep Veggies and Temper
- While quinoa and lentils are soaking, prep veggies. Chop the onion, tomato, and beans as you like. I have grated garlic.
- In a pressure cooker, heat sesame oil, add all spices along with onion and garlic. Usually, I first roast onions, but I wanted a quick recipe and didn't roast veggies a lot.
- Tip
- Not roasting veggies a lot, saves time and doesn't affect the flavor.
- Saute for half a minute and add green beans and tomatoes along with salt. Saute on a slow flame for a minute and add drained quinoa dal.
- Add water so the level is about an inch above the quinoa and dal. Close the lid and pressure cook on full flame for 1 whistle. Lower the flame and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally before opening.
- Step 3 Serve It
- Add lemon juice and serve the perfect Quinoa Khichdi with curd, pickle or have as is.
Video
Notes
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 bowl | |
| Servings Per Recipe: 3 | |
| Calories: 231 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat: 7.2g | 9% |
| Saturated Fat: 1.2g | 6% |
| Cholesterol: 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium: 63mg | 3% |
| Total Carbohydrate: 35.7g | 13% |
| Dietary Fiber: 8g | 29% |
| Total Sugars: 5.1g | |
| Protein: 8.7g | |
| Vitamin D: 0mcg | 0% |
| Calcium: 84mg | 6% |
| Iron: 5mg | 27% |
| Potassium: 637mg | 14% |
Sarah M. says
I made this quinoa khichdi for dinner today and it turned out great. It is so easy to make in one pot. The spices are perfect and my family loved it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Deepti says
So glad to know, Sarah. Thanks for sharing here. Thanks for the kind words, too!