Tikho Khichado | Chadeli Gahu no khichado

Tikho Khichado | Chadeli Gahu no Khichado is a traditional Gujarati dish made with husked wheat. The dish is wholesome and is specially made during Makar Sankranti.

Makar Sankranti marks the beginning of Uttara – aayana , which signifies the Sun’s northward movement. It is a festival that is celebrated with great enthusiasm. Here in Gujarat, it is also called the Kite Flying Festival. Preparations to celebrate this festival begin months ahead. On Uttarayan day, We see terraces packed with friends and relatives. The sky is full of kites. No Festivities are complete without food. For Uttarayan almost all Gujju homes must cook dishes like Undhiyu, Jalebi, Chikki, Khichado, and Leelva Kachori.

Khichado is made with husked wheat that is easily available at grocery stores. Tikho means spicy in Gujarati. It also means savory. So the khichdo is actually not very spicy as it is made with simply green chilly. It is very aromatic because of the whole spices. We also have a sweet version of Khichado. The Mitho Khichdo is the sweet one and is cooked in a similar manner. The tempering varies, and of course, the sugar takes over the spices.

What is Chadela Gahu ?

Husked wheat is called chadela gahu in Gujarati. It is easily available at the grocery stores in winter. If you can’t find it, you can make it at home with Wheat Kernels.

How to make Chadela Gahu or Husked Wheat?

Begin by washing the wheat berries very well.
Now soak it in hot water for 8-10 hours or overnight.
Next day, drain the water and wash the berries again. After washing, drain the water and put the berries to dry on a kitchen cloth. Dry them for 15-20 minutes only.
Now take a handful of these berries and pound them in a mortar and pestle. Make sure to bring up the berries at the bottom after pounding a few times. This way the berries at the bottom will get pounded too. It takes about 5-7 minutes to pound a handful. The pounding process is what loosens the skin. You shall see the berries will fluff up a little and look whitish in color.
Once all the berries are pounded, proceed to cook the Khichdo.

Ingredients required to make Tikho Khichado | Chadeli Gahu no khichado

Wheat Berries ( dehusked )
Toor Dal
Peanuts ( raw)
Dry Dates
Oil
Whole Spices
Turmeric Powder
Ginger Garlic
Green Chilly

How to make Tikho Khichado | Chadeli Gahu no khichado

Boiling the Khichado

At first, we will soak the wheat berries for 8-10 hours. I normally soak them overnight.
Soak the Toor Dal for an hour at least.
Wash till the water turns clear.
Wash and soak the raw peanuts too for an hour.
Pound the dry dates and discard the seeds. Roughly pound to make a little smaller pieces.
Drain the water from wheat berries, toor dal, and peanuts.
Now using a pressure cooker we will add the soaked wheat berries, toor dal, raw peanuts, dry dates, salt to taste, and 4 cups of hot water.
At this time you can add a teaspoon of sugar, but if you do not want it, skip it.
Pressure Cook on a medium flame for 5 whistles.
Do not open the cooker, let the pressure release naturally.
Once the pressure is released, open the cooker and check if the wheat is soft. Take a grain and press it between your forefinger and thumb.
Give a good mix to this khichado.

Tempering

Now we will temper the khichado .
Heat 1/4 cup oil in a pan.
As soon as the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, and slit green chili. Give a quick stir and now add peppercorns, cinnamon, and cloves. Again give a quick stir and add a pinch of turmeric.
Now add the cooked khichado and mix well.
The khichado dries up very fast so we must make sure that the consistency is on the soft side.
At this point add 1/4 cup hot water and mix very well.
Finally, add fried cashews and raisins and serve hot.

Serving Suggestions

Tikho Khichado is very flavourful and generally served as a complete dish. However, a few families serve a vegetable on the side. Fresh Turmeric Pickle and Pickled Chillies make excellent accompaniments.

Storage Suggestions

You can store the Tikho khichdo for 2-3 days in the refrigerator. I have never tried freezing it, but I am sure you can freeze it too.

Tips & Suggestions

• The Chadelu gehu is available around Makar Sankranti, but you can make this wheat at home too.
• The khichado is made as a sweet too, Boiling process remains the same, only tempering changes.
• Always remember the ratio is 1:2, so we will add double the water. If the wheat and dal is 2 cups then we will add 4 cups of water.
• It is always good to add hot water for easy and quick cooking.

Print Pin

5 from 3 votes

Tikho Khichado | Chadeli Gehu no Khichado

Tikho Khichado | Chadeli Gahu no Khichado is a traditional Gujarati dish made with husked wheat. The dish is wholesome and is specially made during Makar Sankranti.

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Gujrati, Indian Cuisine

Keyword Festival Food

Prep Time 8 hours hours

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Vaishali Sabnani

Equipment

• Pressure Cooker
• Pan / Kadai / Wok

Ingredients

Boil

• 1 cup Wheat Berries dehusked
• 1/2 cup Toor Dal
• 1/4 cup Peanuts raw
• 3-4 Dry Dates
• 1 teaspoon Sugar optional , but recommend
• Salt to taste
• 4 cups Water hot

Temper

• 1/4 cup Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• 1 teaspoon Ginger finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Garlic fresh green garlic
• 2-3 Green Chilly slit
• 3-4 Whole peppercorns
• 1 small stick Cinnamon
• 2-4 Cloves
• 8-10 Cashews halved
• 10-15 Raisins
• Pinch Turmeric

Garnish

• Coriander Leaves
• Cashews& Raisins

Instructions

Boil

• At first we will soak the wheat berries for 8-10 hours. I normally soak them overnight.
• Soak the Toor Dal for an hour at least.
• Wash till the water turns clear .
• Wash and soak the raw peanuts too for an hour.
• Pound the dry dates and discard the seeds. Roughly pound to make a little smaller pieces.
• Drain the water from wheat berries , toor dal and peanuts.
• Now using a pressure cooker we will add the soaked wheat berries, toor dal , raw peanuts, dry dates, salt to taste and 4 cups of hot water.
• At this time you can add a teaspoon of sugar, but if you do not want it , skip it.
• Pressure Cook on medium flame for 5 whistles.
• Do not open the cooker, let the pressure release naturally.
• Once the pressure is released , open the cooker and check if the wheat is soft. Take a grain and press between your forefinger and thumb.
• Give a good mix to this khichado.

Temper

• Now we will temper the khichado .
• Heat 1/4 cup oil in a pan.
• As soon as the oil is hot , add cumin seeds, ginger , garlic, slit green chilly. Give a quick stir and now add peppercorns, cinnamon and cloves. Again give a quick stir and add a pinch of turmeric.
• Now add the cooked khichado and mix well.
• The khichado dries up very fast so we must make sure that the consistency is on the soft side.
• At this point add 1/4 cup hot water and mix very well .
• Finally add fried cashews and raisins and serve hot.

Notes

1. The Chadelu gehu is available around Makar Sankranti, but you can make this wheat at home too.
2. The khichado is made as a sweet too, Boiling process remains the same, only tempering changes.
3. Always remember the ratio is 1:2, so we will add double the water. If the wheat and dal is 2 cups then we will add 4 cups of water.
4. It is always good to add hot water for easy and quick cooking.