Palak Khichdi (Spinach Khichdi)

Palak khichdi is a one pot nutritious meal of mung lentils and rice with spinach (palak), onions, tomatoes, peanuts, herbs and spices. This dish is easy to prepare as well as healthy. In this palak khichdi, the addition of spinach and peanuts gives a lot of nutrition boost to the otherwise healthy khichdi.

This recipe of palak khichdi was shared with me by my sister. In this recipe, I have included peanuts not only for the nutritional benefit but also for the nice texture they give to the otherwise smooth khichdi.

Being from Indian state of Maharashtra, I am used to having peanuts in many recipes like Poha and some dry vegetable dishes. I also make a spicy and hot peanut – green chili mixture called as ‘thecha’ in the Marathi language. In fact, peanuts and cashews are two of my favorite ingredients to add crunch and texture to many recipes.

The palak khichdi has a consistency like that of thick porridge and not like that of a Pulao. You can easily adjust the consistency as per your preference by adding less or more water. It is easy to digest and makes excellent food for small kids and convalescing people.

If making for small kids or people recovering from illness then skip adding pungent spices like green chili, red chili powder. Keeping in mind the health factor you can also omit the spices or some of the ingredients from the recipe.

If you have nut allergy then don’t add peanuts. I make this rice dish even without peanuts on occasion and it tastes good.

For a vegan palak khichdi use a neutral-flavored oil instead of ghee. Also, don’t drizzle the palak khichdi with oil while serving.

Other similar recipes you can make with palak and rice are:

• Palak biryani 
• Palak rice.

Serve palak khichdi hot or warm with plain curd/yogurt or raita or with pickle.

How to make Palak Khichdi

1. Pick and rinse both ½ cup rice and ½ cup moong dal together in water using a colander or strainer.

You can use any variety of non-sticky short-grained, medium-grained or long-grained rice like basmati rice.

For the mung lentils, I always use husked and split yellow mung lentils. But you can add split lentils with the green husks.

2. In a bowl, soak them together in enough water for about 30 minutes.

3. Measure and keep all the ingredients ready.

4. Rinse some palak or spinach leaves well in fresh water. Take an approximate portion of the spinach leaves that will yield about 2 cups of chopped spinach.

5. Drain all the water and then chop the leaves. Measure and add 2 cups of chopped spinach leaves in a mixer or blender.

6. Adding very little water, make a smooth puree of spinach.

7. Keep the spinach puree aside.

Making Palak Khichdi

8. Heat ghee or oil in a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker. Then add the following ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (or cumin seeds)
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
• 2 cloves
• 2 green cardamoms

You can also make this palak khichdi in Instant pot or pan adding water as needed.

9. On low to medium low heat, fry the whole spices for some seconds till they become fragrant.

10. Add 1 medium sized finely chopped onion (about ⅓ cup chopped onions)

11. Saute stirring often till they become golden.

12. Then add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste and 1 chopped green chili.

13. Saute for some seconds on low to medium-low heat or till the raw aroma of the ginger and garlic goes away.

14. Then add 1 medium-sized tomato, chopped finely (about ½ cup chopped tomato).

15. Saute stirring often till the tomatoes begin to soften.

16. Then add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 pinch of asafoetida (hing).

To make this dish gluten-free omit the asafoetida or use gluten-free asafoetida.

17. Stir and mix well.

18. Now add ¼ or ⅓ cup of raw peanuts and 1 medium-sized chopped potato.

The addition of potatoes is optional and can be skipped.

19. Saute for about 2 minutes.

20. Add the prepared spinach puree.

21. Continue to saute the spinach puree for 2 to 3 minutes on low to medium-low heat.

22. Drain all the water from the rice and moong dal.

23. Add the strained rice and moong dal to the mixture in pressure cooker.

24. Stir and mix well.

Cooking palak khichdi

25. Pour 3.5 to 4 cups of water.

26. Add salt as required. Stir and mix well. Check the taste of the liquid and it should be slightly salty.

27. Pressure cook on medium heat for 5 to 6 whistles. Once the pressure settles down on its own, then only remove the lid. Check the consistency of the palak dal khichdi.

30. If the palak khichdi looks thick, then you can add some hot water and simmer for a few minutes.

Remember to stir often as otherwise the spinach khichdi gets stuck at the bottom. If it appears thin, then simmer till you get the desired consistency. 

31. While serving, pour the palak khichdi in bowls or plates and top with ½ to 1 teaspoon of ghee, if preferred.

32. Serve the palak khichdi hot or warm with plain curd (yogurt) or raita or a simple vegetable salad or papad.

It makes for a filling and healthy meal that you can prepare for lunch or dinner.

Few more tasty khichdi varieties:

Bengali Recipes

Bengali Khichdi | Khichuri Recipe

Dal (Lentils) & Legumes

Khichdi Recipe | Easy Moong Dal Khichdi Recipe (Healthy)

Breakfast Recipes

Oats Khichdi

North Indian Food Recipes

Masala Khichdi | Vegetable Khichdi

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.

This Palak Khichdi post from the archives (January 2014) has been republished and updated on 25 September 2021.