My Life in Rice: Apoorva Sripathi’s Midweek Arisi Paruppu Sadham and Carrot Salad

I can tell you about my life in rice: I eat too much of it. My phone is filled with photos and videos of fluffy biryanis, homely pulaos, gloopy risotto, sweet payasam, kanji, stir-fries, dosais, idlis, idiyappam, kozhukattai, aval, bhel puri, and just about every rice dish I hold dear. But more and more, it is hard to resist the gentleness of creamy porridge, “the tastes of peace and quiet, of gentleness and calm,” as Nigel Slater observes in The Kitchen Diaries on quiet food. The porridge here is khichdi, rice and lentils cooked together with a simple tempering of spices.

The khichdi is certainly quiet, its tranquility forming an imagined landscape of certainty that emerges when you cook rice and lentils together. Scientifically too, the pairing works, with each complementing the other’s amino acid profiles and giving us a complete protein, which in the time of exaggerated protein worship is soothing news. Every rice and lentil combination is unique, and in India it is even more so – ubiquitous that it’s eaten as an everyday food but also special, finding mention in native ancient texts as well as recorded by foreign travellers for posterity. It can be savoury and sweet, both enveloping the eater with a certain stillness and joy. 

Not every rice and lentil dish is a khichdi, however. This recipe borrows from the arisi paruppu sadham that’s usually made in the geographical region of Kongunadu in Tamil Nadu. I don’t deviate too much from it, but I make my own rules as I go: cook it mushier than it’s originally done, puree the tomatoes, use paella rice instead of parboiled rice, and serve with a quick carrot salad. As always, fried potato works better here.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes
3/4 cup toor dal (you can do ¼ moong + ½ cup toor), washed and soaked alongside the rice in hot water
3 big tomatoes, pureed
2 big shallots, finely chopped
5-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons sambar powder (you can add garam masala if you like)
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
2 teaspoons chilli powder
2 sprigs curry leaves (about 10-12 individual leaves)
2 teaspoons kasuri methi (optional, but it adds a smoky depth)
1 tablespoon + 4 tablespoons ghee (for serving)
2 teaspoons mustard seeds 
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 cups water

For the carrot salad

4 large carrots, grated
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon urad dal
2 green chillies, finely chopped
4-5 curry leaves
½ lemon
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon oil, for tempering
A handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped

Grate the carrots, salt them, and leave aside. I do this in advance so the salt can draw the juices out and it makes for a wet salad that’s oddly satisfying. 

Make the khichdi/arisi paruppu sadham: In a pressure cooker on medium high, add a tablespoon of ghee and two tablespoons of vegetable oil. Once this mixture is hot, add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop. You can turn the flame on high, give it a quick stir, and stand aside. Once the mustard seeds pop and dance, add the cumin and the curry leaves and the onions and garlic. Saute till the onions are soft and begin to turn golden brown. 

Add the pureed tomatoes and swirl the mixture around. Tip in the spices: turmeric, sambar, cumin, coriander, and chilli powder powders plus salt and stir till incorporated. Place a lid on top and let this cook. The tomatoes need to reduce in quantity, thicken, and take on a darker colour. Then drain the rice and dal and add to the tomato mixture. Stir everything together till the grains are coated in this. Pour in the water and mix and cook for 10 minutes. If cooking in a saucepan/Dutch oven, place the lid on top and check on it from time to time, as the rice and lentils will have a tendency to get stuck at the bottom. Top with water if necessary.

Temper the salad: In a small saucepan/frying pan, add the oil and heat on a medium-high flame. Add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop. Then add the urad dal, chopped green chillies, and the curry leaves. Swirl the pan around and once the dal begins to take on a darker colour, switch the flame off and tip this over the grated carrots. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon and mix everything. Taste for salt and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve: Wait for the pressure to settle, then open the cooker and mash thoroughly. Crush the kasuri methi leaves in between your palms and sprinkle all over the dish. Serve with a tablespoon of ghee on top and the carrot salad on the side. Eat hot!

Don’t keep leftovers for more than a day or two. And to reheat, add about 1/8th cup of water and mix.

Apoorva Sripathi is a writer and editor from Chennai, and the co-founder of the independent magazine CHEESE. She also writes shelf offering, a food and culture newsletter. You can find all her work at apoorvasripathi.com. All photography by Apoorva Sripathi.

You can read all of Apoorva’s recipes on Something Curated here.