“Khichdi Is My Comfort Food”: Chef Sanjeev Kapoor

National dish or not, Khichdi is a favourite among India’s top chefs.

We caught up with Chef Sanjeev Kapoor on what makes khichdi a wholesome household favourite.

(Photo: iStock/Sanjeev Kapoor)

At the World India Food festival in New Delhi, humble khichdi was the highlight. Why? Because the country’s top chefs were getting together to prepare a container full of khichdi weighing 800 kgs!

A day before the feat, The Quint caught up with Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi on the dish and what makes it a wholesome household favourite.

Chef Sokhi in his oh-so-colourful manner took us on a short culinary-historical trip of khichdi. He described how khichdi has been a part of our culture ever since Emperor Akbar’s time. The dish has been mentioned even in Ain-i-Akbari.

Khichdi has evolved tremendously. Yet, the quintessential yellow khichdi remains a favourite among all!

Chef Sokhi

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor on the other hand is a khichdi aficionado. He calls it “comfort food”.

I eat khichdi at least once a month. Plus, khichdi is the combination of dal and rice. A combination that is essential to many of our recipes such as dosa, idlis and pongal. 

Sanjeev Kapoor

Khichdi has had a exasperating run on social media for the past few days. So much so that the Union Minister of Food Processing had to tweet saying that the dish will NOT be declared the national dish of the country.

However, when The Quint caught up with her on the sidelines of the World Food India Festival, she said “Khichdi is the undeclared national food of the country.”

A slight contradiction from her tweet, but, humble khichdi continues to shine, nevertheless. Care to cook a plateful?