Waiting ... to do so many things - Khichda

We are all waiting. We are waiting to spend time with family and friends, waiting to celebrate birthdays and weddings, waiting to do the many things that are important to us. One of the things I'm waiting to do is travel. I miss all the memories and experiences that come with it. I understand there is a light at the end of this tunnel. With a vaccine (or vaccines), we can all return to some version of normalcy. We are almost there, perhaps that is more of a reassurance to myself.

While we wait, I've thought about all the places that we could go. I feel a little like the Cat in the Hat. "Too wet to go out, too cold to play ball, all we could do was to sit, sit, sit." The excitement of planning our trip sometimes taking months. And planning is often one of the best parts of the trip. I love researching our destination, finding great restaurants. I am reluctant to say it, but I enjoy spending hours pouring over reviews and looking for great kid-friendly places to visit. To say planning is half the fun is an understatement.

Poet and Flower love to travel. They love the excitement of leaving early for the airport. Much to G's chagrin, I have booked some notoriously early flights that really did seem like a good idea when I booked them. They love running through the airport and watching the airplanes through the giant windows. One time they methodically ate their way through a whole stack of pepperoni while waiting for our flight. And Poet loves flying. He waits excitedly as the airplane slowly gains speed and then takes flight, feeling weightless for just one moment, and then we are off.

And of course, once we've arrived, there are so many experiences and wonderful new people. They have just begun to meet all their family and friends scattered across the globe. In Calfornia, my cousin watched astonished as Poet polished off a plate of sushi. And in Dallas, the kids ran through a splash pad in December - totally oblivious to the fact that it was winter and finding the Texas weather perfectly balmy compared to Indiana. These are just a few of my travel memories that have not happened this year.

2020 is the year of missed trips, missed experiences, and missed memories. Next year we will have to work doubly hard to make up for this. This week, as we wait and sit, I made khichda, a Hyderabadi lentil and rice dish. Perfect comfort food for the winter ahead because waiting is hard. It's not a rice dish and not quite a stew. Khichda is a comforting dish to get us through the winter. Gently simmer rice with moong, toor, pink masoor, and channa dals. Khichda's intense and rich flavor comes from slowly simmering it. Typically there is ground beef gently sauteed in, but you can easily make it vegetarian.

I look forward to spring and the thought of our next adventure. Until then, at least we can all enjoy some good food.

Khichda

A slowly simmered porridge, made with ground beef, rice and lentils. A warm, delicious Indian comfort food.  You can easily make it vegetarian and it is just as good.

Servings 8-10

• 1/3 cup channa dal
• 1/3 cup chili dal (also called val dal)
• 1/3 cup moong dal
• 1/3 cup pink masoor dal
• 1 cup rice
• 1/3 pound ground beef
• 1 large onion (chopped finely)
• 6 tablespoons neutral oil
• 2 sticks cinnamon (1 inch)
• 6 cloves
• 6 cardamom
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 1/2 inch piece of ginger (minced)
• 2 medium tomatoes (chopped)
• 3 green chilis or 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 3 teaspoons coconut powder
• 3 teaspoons salt

1. In a medium saucepan, add 1 cup of rice, 2 cups of water, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the channa dal and chili dal and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Add the moong dal to the dals and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. In a separate dutch oven or large pot, heat the oil. Add the cardamon, clove and cinnamon. Saute 30 seconds.

5. Add the onions and saute until soft about 10 minutes.

6. Now add the garlic and ginger and saute for about 5 minutes, just until the garlic and ginger begin to stick to the pan.

7. Add the ground beef, tomatoes, red chili flakes, cilantro, turmeric, coriander powder, coconut powder and salt. Saute 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes are soft

8. Add the cooked rice and pink masoor dal. Add 4 cups of water. Mix well and bring to a boil then simmer for 25 minutes. It may need a few stirs as it does tend to stick.

9. Now add the cooked dals and mix well. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt. Give it a few stris in between as it tends to stick. Add a little water to adjust to how thick you'd like it be.