Khichdo (Sweet) (sweet daliya)
Khichdo (sweet version of dalia) is a nutritious and heavenly delicious Gujarati sweet dish prepared from cracked wheat(dalia), milk and lots of dry fruits. In Gujarat, people celebrate festivals like Makar Sankranti (Uttarayan – a kite festival) by preparing, eating and sharing homemade sweet khichdo.
| Ingredients: |
| 1/4 cup Cracked Wheat (dalia/wheat fada) |
| 1 tablespoon Chana Dal, optional |
| 1 tablespoon Toor Dal (tuvar dal/ arahar dal), optional |
| 1/4 cup Milk |
| 1 tablespoon Ghee |
| 4 tablespoon (1/4 cup) Sugar (or less, according to taste) |
| A pinch of Cardamom Powder |
| A pinch of Nutmeg Powder, optional |
| A pinch of Clove Powder, optional |
| 4-5 Raisins (kismis) |
| 4-5 Cashew nuts (Kaju), chopped |
| 4-5 Almonds (badam), chopped |
Directions:
- Craked wheat is known as dalia and wheat fada in some regions. It is easily available in grocery stores.
- Wash 1/4 cup cracked wheat (dalia/fada), 1 tablespoon tuvar dal and 1 tablespoon chana dal and soak them in water for an hour.
- Drain excess water from soaked cracked wheat, chana dal, tuvar dal and add them in a 2-3 liter capacity pressure cooker. Add 1-cup water and close the lid.
- Pressure cook it for 4-whistles over medium flame. Turn off the flame and let the pressure releases naturally. Open the lid, as you can see the cracked wheat is cooked and turned soft.
- Add 1/4 cup milk and 4 tablespoons sugar (or to taste).
- Mix well and cook it over medium flame until mixture turns thick for around 3-4 minutes. Stir in between occasionally to prevent sticking.
- As you can see in the photo, the mixture has started to thicken now.
- Add 1 tablespoon ghee, a pinch of cardamom powder, a pinch of nutmeg powder, a pinch of clove powder and half of the dry fruits (4-5 raisins, 4-5 almonds, 4-5 cashew nuts). Mix well and cook for a minute.
- Turn off the flame. Garnish Gujarati khichdo (sweet dalia) with the remaining dry fruits and serve hot or chilled.
Tips and Variations:
- Add the spices powder (cardamom, nutmeg and clove) according to your taste.
- If you don’t want to add chana dal and toor dal, add 2-tablespoons more cracked wheat instead of it.
Taste: Sweet
Serving Ideas: Serve it on uttarayan day with peanut chikki and undhiyu. It can also be served as alone as a dessert.