After centuries of silent service to the subcontinent's rich and poor, the humble khichdi has become a top Twitter trend this week, after the news came that a giant quantity of the rice-and-lentil dish will be cooked at an event in New Delhi this week. The Union food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had to slap down reports that khichdi was going to be declared India’s national dish.
What triggered such thought was a comment of Kaur made on Wednesday that an attempt will be made to cook a record quantity of khichdi at World Food India, an event being organized by her ministry to attract foreign investments and technology in domestic food processing. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor will go to supervise the exercise on Saturday to prepare 800kg of khichdi in a 1,000-litre pan.
The main purpose of declaring 'Khichdi' as a national dish that the food is healthy and even consumed by everybody. “Brand India khichdi symbolizes India’s great culture of unity in diversity at its best,” Harismrat Kaur said. Over the matter of khichdi Chicago-based food historian, Colleen Taylor Sen said in an email interview, “I think khichdi may be the closest the Indian sub-continent has to a universal dish".
“People are now waking up to khichdi, but I have always believed in it,” says chef Manish Mehrotra of the fine dining restaurant Indian manner. For Mehrotra, khichdi is a perfect dish because it mixes different flavours, different tastes and is comforting. His restaurant’s newly opened branch in New York has khichdi on its menu. “We are opening in London soon and even there, khichdi will be on the menu.” And the version he serves? A simple version cooked with Govinda bhog rice served with smoked papad and sweet yoghurt. “It’s comforting, it’s nostalgic and it’s a meal in a bowl. What else could one want?” What else indeed.
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