27th January 2020: Updating another of my blog post from 2012. It took me this long. This long! But I had to do it sooner or later. Time on hand seems like the most precious for me these days. That I get time to breath seems like a miracle. But Saraswati puja is just round the corner so I could not but stop thinking about making ‘Bhoger Khichuri’ and looked up for the recipe. Oh yes! I do that all the time if I cannot find my ma on the phone! Ma is happy with the recipe I use … I can strongly recommend this recipe. Here is the recipe from 2012…..

In my house, we usually make two kinds of khichuri/ khichdi- one that is little runny and with lots of vegetable and other one little fluffy like Pulao and without vegetable. The runny khichuri which we call ‘Patla khichuri’ will be made on a rainy day and days when my ma is not in a mood to cook something nicer. We would eat it with something fried like an omelette, fried potatoes, fried chicken etc. The fluffy khichuri which is  also called ‘Bhuna khichuri’ is made on occasions like puja for offering or ‘Bhog’, as lunch on a special day . When it is cooked for puja, it will be accompanied by fried vegetable always in odd number, so like it will be accompanied by 3 or 5 or 7 kind of vegetable fries. Usually potatoes, pumpkin, aubergine, pointed gourd, okra, sweet potatoes, kakrole (Teasle gourd) etc are fried to eat with ‘Bhoger khichuri’

Bhoger Khichuri  and Bhaji from Saraswati Puja 2019

Bhuna Khichuri for puja is cooked without any onion. But when Bhuna khichuri is cooked for other days one can add onions too.When it is cooked to eat on special lunch for mortals like us ( not goddess) , it is accompanied by egg dopiyaja, chicken kosha or mutton kosha, fish, tomato chutney and the list can go on.

Photo from 2012 Durga Puja