Samak Rice Khichdi | Vrat ke Chawal | Farali Khichdi
Samak Rice Khichdi or Vrat ke Chawal or Farali Khichdi is a quick and easy recipe that uses the gluten-free millet Samak Rice or Barnyard Millet. A good replacement for rice and a quick, easy and healthy meal idea.
Samak Rice is used to prepare Khichdi or Pulav and is generally consumed during festival fasting days. Since the Chaitra Navratri is going to start soon, I decided to give this Samak Rice Khichdi a try and I am glad I did. The Pulav is done within minutes and is a great source of essential nutrients required during the fasting days.
What is Samak Rice
Idli, Dhokla, Dosa, kheer are also prepared using this Samak Rice also known as "Barnyard millet", or "Samo", "Moriya", "Bhagar", "Vari cha Tandul" or "Mordhan" or "Sava ke chawal". It is a good replacement for rice eaters and is a rich source of minerals and vitamins, providing essential nutrients. Since it is high in digestible fibres it becomes a healthy replacement for rice.
Simple or Masala Khichdi
This Samak Rice Khichdi turns out to be a light and healthy meal. I made this very simple by just adding some peanuts and potatoes, but one can add any type of vegetables one prefers. To add some additional crunch as well as to add some good fat content during fasting days I added some cashews as well.
I have made this khichdi less spicy. As at the end of a fasting day I need a light dinner. Also whenever I make such healthy meals, I go easy on the spice. All I did was added some green chillies and ginger. One can add red chilli or black pepper if you want more spicy.
Water content in Samak Rice Khichdi
Samak Rice absorbs a lot of water and you will be amazed how quickly it gets done. So go easy on the water. You might feel it is less but do not go overboard or else you might have a soggy khichdi.
Accompaniments to Samak Rice Khichdi
One can enjoy this with a simple achar or yoghurt. This Farali Peanut, Sesame and Curd Chutney will go well with this khichdi or even this, Rajgira Kadhi which is another good fasting recipe. I enjoy it with yoghurt and my mom's lemon pickle which is oil-free and good on the tummy. The addition of the pickle really lifted the taste of the Khichdi and I enjoyed this Samak Rice Khichdi to the core. One can have some delicious sabudana or aloo papad on the sides too.
Few more fasting/vrat recipes :
- Farali Raw Banana Kebab (Pan-Fried)
- Pumpkin Sweet Potato and Amaranth Patties
- Sabudana Vada
- Sabudana Pancake or Sabudana Fritters
- Buckwheat(Kuttu) Groat(Grain) PanCake
- Singdana (Peanut) Raita\dip
- Khajoor (Dates) Dry Fruit Barfi (Roll)
- Farali Kuttu aur Singhara ka dhokla
- Farali Singhara Paratha
- Buckwheat Sweet Potato Pancakes
and here is my complete Fasting thali and a complete collection of fasting recipes can be accessed here.
Samak Rice Khichdi | Vrat ke Chawal | Farali Khichdi
Print
Pin
Rate
Save
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Samak Rice
- 1-2 cup water **Check Notes
- 1-2 green chillies chopped (Depending on taste)
- 1//4 inch ginger chopped
- 1 small potato cubed (Boiled)
- 2 tablespoon peanuts
- 1 tablespoon cashews
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
- 1.5 tablespoon Ghee (Clarified Butter) (Clarified Butter)
- Salt
- Coriander to garnish
Instructions
- Wash and soak the Samak Rice for at least 30 minutes.¾ cup Samak Rice
- In a pan or a wok, add ghee.1.5 tablespoon Ghee (Clarified Butter)
- Once the ghee is hot, shallow fry the peanuts until lightly golden brown.2 tablespoon peanuts
- Remove and then shallow fry the Cashews until lightly golden brown. (This step is optional, but it adds to the taste)1 tablespoon cashews
- In the same pan, add cumin seeds.1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- Once it splutters add chopped ginger and saute for a minute.1//4 inch ginger chopped
- Then add the green chilly, potato and shallow fry for 1-2 minutes.1-2 green chillies chopped, 1 small potato cubed
- I used boiled potato, you can use the potato as it is. It might just take a few more minutes to be done.
- Once done, add the peanuts and Samak Rice. Give everything a quick stir.2 tablespoon peanuts, ¾ cup Samak Rice
- Now add 2 cups of water and salt to taste. (**Check Notes for water)1-2 cup water, Salt
- Let this cook on medium for 7-8 minutes mixing in between.
- Do not stir quite often and do not overcook it. It can go mushy within minutes, so do keep a close watch.
- Add half of the cashews and mix.
- Switch off and let it sit for 10 minutes for the rice to absorb all the flavours.
- Garnish with the cashews and coriander and serve with yogurt or some pickle.Coriander to garnish, 1 tablespoon cashews
Notes
- Do not overcook or else it will go soggy.
- If you want grainy and fluffy texture, just add 1 cup water.
- If you want a squishy or soft texture, add 1.5-2 Cups of water.
Tried this recipe? Please comment and rate the recipe. Share your pics and tag us.
Subscribe to my email list to get the new recipes straight into your mailbox.
That is a fantastic start Renu, looking forward to read all your dishes! I love Samak and have been using it regularly...the dish looks very good.
Thank You so much.
Awesome start !
I was hoping that besides Veena someone else too would pick other grains and not rice .. and here you are .
I remember eating samak as a kid , now I shall bookmark this series , the recipe is simple but I am sure very delicious .
Yes the recipe is very simple , yet delicious. Yes I am trying to replace rice with millets whenever I can. Thank You.
Thats a healthy start and defnietly a yummy pualo... Even i have tried quite a few recipes with Samak rice..
Thank You
Good to know about Samak rice. Never heard about it. Kichidi looks delicious.
Thank You
A good one. This Millet khichdi is a simple and filling dish sticking to those 'fasting' parameters.
Thank You
That is such a tempting looking dish. Love your presentation. Looking forward to reading the other dishes you put up. Yum!
Thank You
I love samak as well and this is such an enjoyable version of khichdi. Good start to the series..
Thank You
I always love samak after rice... Its mine fav especially in navratra i can eat whole 7 days.. awesome start.. and delicious recipe.
Thank You
What a wonderful start. I love replacing rice with millet. This kichdi with samak rice looks absolutely fantastic. The peanuts and cashew add such a nice crunch factor to it.
Thank you
I love millets and barnyard is my favorite of all. This khichdi sounds delicious and a great way to start the mega BM.
Thank
Looks so much like our sabudana khichdi. This Mega BM has surely got us all thinking differtnely and thuis is such a tasty dish for fasting or those looking to replace rice ! wow..
Thank You
Never heard of samak rice khichdi but looks very delicious and irresistible! Thank you for sharing!
Thank You
Lovely start for the event Renu.. Sama rice khichdi looks great, fasting or no fasting will love to have it anyday.
Thank You
We use samai a lot and this recipe is now added to my millet recipes to try. Looks very good and healthy too
I love all rice dishes and this samak rice sounds interesting. I have not cooked with it before but I hope to source it so I can. I like your pictorial recipe instructions, they are very helpful for a novice cook. A lovely vrat ka khana recipe.
Thank You
Samak Pulao looks nice. I have never tasted any dish with this grain. I must get some and try it out.
Thank You
This is one of my favorites. Loving all the awesome flavors in this vrat ki khichdi. I used to make it simple with potatoes but never add ginger & peanuts, this combination sounds yum. 🙂
Thank You
Good idea to make sama khichdi with a bit of potato and peanuts added to it. I usually just add cashew nuts. Would love to try this version. I love sama khichdi as its a light on the stomach and yet filling meal.
Yes it becomes a bit more filling and good for those who dont like sama much. Thank You
Thanks for the recipe, I tried it yesterday and it turned out perfect.
Thanks for trying and your feedback.
Awesome so easy
What else easy recipeetell
Thanks to your tip of adding too much water I now know where I am going wrong. Love the Samak rice khichidi planning it for tomorrows meal. Thanks.
The samak rice khichedi looks exciting. what a lovely dish to enjoy when fasting. My MIL used to make it for us and I haven't made it for a long time so thanks for sharing this recipe.
I have never tried cooking samak ke chawal. The farali khichdi looks so delicious.Navratras have started and I will try this in a day or two.
Thank You, hope you like it